And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick. The Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.
Parallel translations
- WEB and the prayer of faith will heal him who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
- KJV And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
- NKJV And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
- NASB and the prayer of faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.
- NLT Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and any sins will be forgiven. God answers believing prayer and grants both restoration and forgiveness.
Overview
James promises that the prayer of faith brings healing and that the Lord raises up the sick, adding that sins will be forgiven. Faithful interpreters caution that this assurance rests on God's sovereign will rather than guaranteeing healing in every case, since God may have higher purposes in continued suffering. The verse links physical and spiritual restoration, pointing to the Lord who forgives sins and ultimately raises his people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- 1 Jn 5:14–16And this is the confidence that we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
- Jas 5:13Is any one of you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone cheerful? He should sing praises.
- Jas 5:16Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail.
- Matt 21:21–22“Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen.
- Jas 1:6But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
- Matt 17:20“Because you have so little faith,” He answered. “For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
- Mark 2:5–11When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
- Mark 16:17–18And these signs will accompany those who believe: In My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;
- Isa 33:24And no resident of Zion will say, “I am sick.” The people who dwell there will be forgiven of iniquity.
- Mark 11:22–24“Have faith in God,” Jesus said to them.
- John 5:14Afterward, Jesus found the man at the temple and said to him, “See, you have been made well. Stop sinning, or something worse may happen to you.”
- 1 Cor 11:30–32That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.
- Matt 9:2–6Just then some men brought to Him a paralytic lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.”
- 1 Cor 12:28–30And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, and those with gifts of healing, helping, administration, and various tongues.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The wisdom from above and the royal law of love are the life of those who belong to 'our glorious Lord Jesus Christ' — faith in him made visible in works.
How James 5:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.