James 5:14

Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
Is	ἀσθενεῖ asthenei	G770	to be feeble (in any sense) · verb — present active indicative, 3rd person singular
any	τις tis	G5100	some or any person or object · indefinite pronoun — nominative singular masculine
sick	ἀσθενέω asthenéō	G770	to be feeble (in any sense)
among	ἐν en	G1722	"in · preposition
you	ὑμῖν hymîn	G5213	to (with or by) you
call	προσκαλεσάσθω proskalesasthō	G4341	to call toward oneself · verb — aorist middle deponent imperative, 3rd person singular
elders	πρεσβυτέρους presbuterous	G4245	older · noun — accusative plural masculine
church	ἐκκλησίας ekklēsias	G1577	a calling out · noun — genitive singular feminine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
pray	προσευξάσθωσαν proseuxasthōsan	G4336	to pray to God · verb — aorist middle deponent imperative, 3rd person plural
over	ἐπ᾽ ep᾽	G1909	properly · preposition
him	αὐτὸν auton	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — accusative singular masculine
anointing	ἀλείψαντες aleipsantes	G218	to oil (with perfume) · verb — aorist active participle, nominative plural masculine
him	αὐτὸν auton	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — accusative singular masculine
oil	ἐλαίῳ elaiō	G1637	olive oil · noun — dative singular neuter
in	ἐν en	G1722	"in · preposition
name	ὀνόματι onomati	G3686	a "name" (literally or figuratively) (authority · noun — dative singular neuter
Lord	κυρίου. kuriou	G2962	supreme in authority · noun — genitive singular masculine, a title

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Mark 6:13 And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.
Acts 28:8 And it came to pass, that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux: to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his…
Mark 16:18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall re…
2 Kings 4:33 He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the LORD.
2 Kings 5:11 But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD…
Acts 9:40 But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and w…
Acts 14:23 And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.
Acts 15:4 And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that Go…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on James 5:12–end

This epistle now drawing to a close, the penman goes off very quickly from one thing to another: hence it is that matters so very different are insisted on in these few verses. I. The sin of swearing is cautioned against: But above all things, my brethren, swear not, etc., Jam 5:12. Some understand this too restrictedly, as if the meaning were, "Swear not at your persecutors, at those that reproach you and say all manner of evil of you; be not put into a passion by the injuries they do you, so as in your passion to be provoked to swear." This swearing is no doubt forbidden here: and it will not excuse those that are guilty of this sin to say they sear only when they are provoked to it, and b…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on James 5:14

let him call for the elders--not some one of the elders, as Roman Catholics interpret it, to justify their usage in extreme unction. The prayers of the elders over the sick would be much the same as though the whole Church which they represent should pray [BENGEL]. anointing him with oil--The usage which Christ committed to His apostles was afterwards continued with laying on of hands, as a token of the highest faculty of medicine in the Church, just as we find in Co1 6:2 the Church's highest judicial function. Now that the miraculous gift of healing has been withdrawn for the most part, to use the sign where the reality is wanting would be unmeaning superstition. Compare other apostolic u…

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Adam Clarke on James 5:14

Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders - This was also a Jewish maxim. Rabbi Simeon, in Sepher Hachaiyim, said: "What should a man do who goes to visit the sick? Ans. He who studies to restore the health of the body, should first lay the foundation in the health of the soul. The wise men have said, No healing is equal to that which comes from the word of God and prayer. Rabbi Phineas, the son of Chamma, hath said, 'When sickness or disease enters into a man's family, let him apply to a wise man, who will implore mercy in his behalf.'" See Schoettgen. St. James very properly sends all such to the elders of the Church, who had power with God through the great Mediator, that they mi…

The Church Fathers

This sickness is the sickness of sin. If someone is struck down by his own thoughts, then he should pray on his own, but if he has committed some sin he should ask for the church's prayers. The custom mentioned here is followed even today, for the grace of mercy is symbolized by oil.
— Hilary of Arles, INTRODUCTORY TRACTATE ON THE LETTER OF JAMES

Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord, 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. "anointing him with oil." This is what the apostles did while the Lord was still among men, anointing the sick with oil and healing them. (Mark 6:13)
— Oecumenius, Commentary on James

Is anyone among you sick? etc. Just as he gave counsel to the sorrowful, so he gives counsel to the sick, on how to guard themselves from the foolishness of murmuring, and he sets the manner of healing according to the manner of the wound, instructing the sorrowful that they should pray and sing Psalms for themselves, but commanding the sick either in body or in faith to remember to cure themselves with the aid of several, and especially elders, and not to refer the cause of their weakness to the younger and less learned, lest they might receive some harmful word or advice from them.
— Bede, Commentary on the Catholic Epistles

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Anoint — The practice of anointing with perfumed oil was common among the Hebrews. (1.) The act of anointing was significant of consecration to a holy or sacred use; hence the anointing of the high priest…
Anointing — in Holy Scripture, is either, I. Material—with oil—or II. Spiritual—with the Holy Ghost. I. MATERIAL.—
Bishop — An overseer. In apostolic times, it is quite manifest that there was no difference as to order between bishops and elders or presbyters (Acts 20:17-28; 1 Pet. 5:1, 2; Phil. 1:1; 1 Tim. 3). The term…
Oil — Only olive oil seems to have been used among the Hebrews. It was used for many purposes: for anointing the body or the hair (Ex. 29:7; 2 Sam. 14:2; Ps. 23:5; 92:10; 104:15; Luke 7:46); in some of the…
Prayer — Is converse with God; the intercourse of the soul with God, not in contemplation or meditation, but in direct address to him. Prayer may be oral or mental, occasional or constant, ejaculatory or…
Afflicted · DUTY TO THE — DUTY TO THE
Afflicted, Duty Toward The · To pray for them — To pray for them
Anointing · Of the sick — Of the sick
Diseases · God often entreated to cure — God often entreated to cure
Elder · IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH — IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
Intercession · OF MAN WITH GOD — OF MAN WITH GOD
Oil · Used: For anointing the sick — Used: For anointing the sick

James 5:14

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on James 5:12–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on James 5:14

Adam Clarke on James 5:14

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

James 5:14

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on James 5:12–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on James 5:14

Adam Clarke on James 5:14

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on James 5:14

John Calvin on James 5:14-15

Tyndale Open Study Notes on James 5:14