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James

About this book
Chapter 5

1 Come now, you rich! Weep and cry aloud over the miseries that are coming on you.⁠ 2 Your riches have rotted and your clothing has become moth-eaten.⁠ 3 Your gold and silver have rusted and their rust will be a witness against you.⁠ It will consume your flesh like fire.⁠ It is in the last days that you have hoarded treasure! 4 Look, the pay you have held back from the workers who mowed your fields cries out against you, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.⁠ 5 You have lived indulgently and luxuriously on the earth. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.⁠ 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person, although he does not resist you. 7 So be patient, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s return. Think of how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the ground and is patient for it until it receives the early and late rains. 8 You also be patient and strengthen your hearts, for the Lord’s return is near. 9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be judged.⁠ See, the judge stands before the gates! 10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers and sisters, take the prophets who spoke in the Lord’s name. 11 Think of how we regard as blessed those who have endured. You have heard of Job’s endurance and you have seen the Lord’s purpose, that the Lord is full of compassion and mercy. 12 And above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath. But let your “Yes” be yes and your “No” be no, so that you may not fall into judgment.⁠ 13 Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone in good spirits? He should sing praises. 14 Is anyone among you ill? He should summon the elders of the church, and they should pray for him and anoint him with olive oil in the name of the Lord.⁠ 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up—and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 So confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great effectiveness.⁠ 17 Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain and there was no rain on the land for three years and six months!⁠ 18 Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the land sprouted with a harvest. 19 My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back,⁠ 20 he should know that the one who turns a sinner back from his wandering path will save that person’s soul from death⁠ and will cover a multitude of sins.⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare James 5:20 and Pirkei Avot 5:18

New Testament · Rabbinic

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Summary

James ends by urging his readers to help those who have gone astray, saying that doing so can save a life and bring forgiveness. Rabbinic tradition in Pirkei Avot similarly praises those who guide others toward good and restore them to the community.

Passages

James 5:20

New Testament
16 So confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great effectiveness. 17 Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain and there was no rain on the land for three years and six months! 18 Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the land sprouted with a harvest. 19 My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back, 20 he should know that the one who turns a sinner back from his wandering path will save that person’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
80–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in James

Pirkei Avot 5:18

Rabbinic · Mishnah
18 Whoever causes the multitudes to be righteous, sin will not occur on his account; and whoever causes the multitudes to sin, they do not give him the ability to repent. Moses was righteous and caused the multitudes to be righteous, therefore the righteousness of the multitudes is hung on him, as it is said, "He executed the Lord's righteousness and His decisions with Israel" (Deuteronomy 33:21). Jeroboam sinned and caused the multitudes to sin, therefore the sin of the multitudes is hung on him, as it is said, "For the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and which he caused Israel to sin thereby" (I Kings 15:30).
190–230 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Pirkei Avot

References

"... The Pirke Avot (Sayings of the Fathers) is a tractate of the Mishnah, written in Hebrew, and attributed to Judah the Prince. Although dated circa 200 CE, it contains sayings from the earlier generations of pharisaic sages. It clearly continues the sort of wisdom encouraged (and perhaps even institutionalized) by Sirach (see 24:1-23; 51:23-30), with its ethos joining the study and observance of Torah. It is not difficult to locate among its sayings a large number of similarities to James ... Associates are to choose between two 'ways' of behavior (Avot 2:6), which can be expressed in terms of a contrast between the wise man and the clod (Avot 5:7). In addition to practicing the prescribed virtues oneself, this means avoiding evil neighbors (Avot 5:18 = James 4:4) and encouraging others to a life of rectitude (Avot 5:18 = James 5:20). The one who acts according to the commands of Torah is described as a 'friend of God' (Avot 6:1 = James 2:23; 4:4). These 'ways' of behavior, in turn, are explicitly attached to religious motivations that also resemble those in James. The observance of the law is taking on the yoke of the kingdom (Avot 3:5) and gives the one who observes it a sort of kingship ..."
Luke Timothy Johnson, The Letter of James: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (New York: Doubleday, 1995), 34–35.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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James 5:20 and Pirkei Avot 5:18

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