5:16a

Therefore: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Therefore here introduces a command to do something based on what James had just written. God heals sick people in answer to prayer, even if they have sinned (5:15). So people who are sick should seek to be healed by confessing their sins. For example:

So (God’s Word)
-or-
For this reason
-or-
Because of that
-or-
On the basis of what I have just said

confess: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as confess means “openly admit” to another person that one has disobeyed God. In this context, it does not mean praying silently to God.

Some other ways to translate this word are:

admit (God’s Word)
-or-
you should tell each other what you have done (Contemporary English Version)

your sins: The word sins here refers to anything that a person has done that is contrary to God’s will and desire for his people. Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

the things that you have done wrong
-or-
your evil thoughts and deeds
-or-
your wrongs

to each other: The phrase to each other refers to other members of the church. Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

to one another
-or-
to your fellow believers

5:16b

and pray for each other: The word pray means “ask God.” In this context of a person confessing that he has sinned, the topic of the prayer is clear. Here pray for implies that they will ask God to forgive and heal this member of the church. Some other ways to translate this are:

and pray to God for one another
-or-
and ask God to heal and forgive you and your fellow believers

5:16c

so that you may be healed: The purpose of the prayer is so that you may be healed. It is a passive clause. There are at least two ways to translate it:

• Use a passive verb. For example:

so that you will be healed (Good News Translation)

• Use an active verb. For example:

so God can heal you (New Century Version)
-or-
so that the Lord may heal you

5:16d

The prayer: In some languages, it is more natural to translate the noun prayer as a verb. For example:

When a believing person prays (New Century Version)

a righteous man: The phrase a righteous man means “a person who lives in the way that God requires.” Some other ways to translate this word are:

a person who does what is right/just
-or-
a person who follows/keeps God’s laws
-or-
a straight person

This same word occurs in 5:6a where the New International Version (2011 Revision) translates it as “innocent men.”

5:16e

has great power to prevail: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as power to prevail indicates that when a righteous person prays, it causes great things to happen.

Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

has great power and produces wonderful results (New Living Translation (2004 Revision))
-or-
is powerful, and it can help a lot (Contemporary English Version)

In some languages, it will be natural to translate power to prevail as one phrase that is emphasized. For example:

has great effectiveness (NET Bible)
-or-
does great things
-or-
accomplishes a lot
-or-
is very powerful

© 2012 by SIL International®

Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.