James 5:16

“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
King James Version (KJV)

Other Translations of James 5:16

Confesse your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that yee may bee healed: the effectuall feruent prayer of a righteous man auaileth much.
- King James Version (1611) - Compare to scan of original James chapter 5

Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.
- New American Standard Version (1995)

Confess therefore your sins one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The supplication of a righteous man availeth much in its working.
- American Standard Version (1901)

So then, make a statement of your sins to one another, and say prayers for one another so that you may be made well. The prayer of a good man is full of power in its working.
- Basic English Bible

Confess therefore your offences to one another, and pray for one another, that ye may be healed. [The] fervent supplication of the righteous [man] has much power.
- Darby Bible

Confess therefore your sins one to another: and pray one for another, that you may be saved. For the continual prayer of a just man availeth much.
- Douay Rheims Bible

Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of the righteous man availeth much.
- Webster's Bible

Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be cured. The heartfelt supplication of a righteous man exerts a mighty influence.
- Weymouth Bible

Confess your offenses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The insistent prayer of a righteous person is powerfully effective.
- World English Bible

Therfor knouleche ye ech to othere youre synnes, and preye ye ech for othere, that ye be sauyd. For the contynuel preyer of a iust man is myche worth.
- Wycliffe Bible

Be confessing to one another the trespasses, and be praying for one another, that ye may be healed; very strong is a working supplication of a righteous man;
- Youngs Literal Bible

Mike's comment on 2015-09-01 18:06:05:

I believe the KJV is correct here and the word used should have been faults. We are to confess our sins to God and repent and he will forgive us because of the finished work of Christ on Calvary. But if we do a wrong to a brother or sister in Christ, we should also go to them and admit our wrongdoing faults and try to restore our relationship with that believer. We should also be willing to humble ourselves and admit our faults to one another...but confess your sins to God, who is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins!

Thomas's comment on 2015-08-09 19:55:45:

God forgives sins. A fault is some personal thorn in us. The person who is tangled in such needs help. But the help must be carefully chosen. The fervent prayer of the righteous avails much. The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous and His ears are open to their prayers. comp. 1 Pet. 3:12 .

MockingBird's comment on 2015-07-06 05:36:53:

Find one in your body of believers that you can depend upon : To trust in you confiding of your faults : to help you overcome : to be able to give an account of your progress To confess to if you have wronged them and to get it right before each other so that your prayers be not hindered and have that free flow to God. I do not believe that I am to confess every sin to my fellow believers :

Terri's comment on 2015-06-27 14:56:16:

Prayer is the up lifting of all sins we need to confess our sins to our lord and ask the persons we offended forgiveness if we want to move on and have eternal life and freedom to serve the Lord without any condemning yourself to eternal damnation

Tony P.'s comment on 2015-04-02 11:07:05:

Most people commenting on this verse fail to recognize the most fundamental premise of Biblical study application, and that is to "rightly divide the word of truth " per 2 Timothy 2:15. The Epistle Of James could not, for the most part, doctrinally apply to Christians in this present age of grace, because it implies salvation either by works or validated by them. It actually fits in better applied to believers in The Tribulation, see Revelation 12:17, 14 12 especially since it is addressed to Jewish believers, James 1:1. We find no where in the 13 certain Pauline Epistles, excluding Hebrews to appease those who have certain doubts, Paul The Apostle Of The Gentiles, see Romans 11:13, instructing us to anoint anyone for any reason. But I suppose if we were to grant that we could should anoint the sick, we should first observe a time of self examination, confession of personal faults these would be areas of inclined weaknesses, NOT SINS , and of course fervent effectual prayer. The only prayer that will save a lost Hell-bound sinner, is the one were he she admits their pitiful condition, and by faith receives The Lord Jesus Christ as their own personal Saviour. It has two distinct sides, repentance towards God for what you are and have done, and then faith in The Lord Jesus Christ for who He is and what He has done! See Acts 20:21. God speed.

stan hilton's comment on 2014-12-21 10:14:28:

the way i see it,allow me to be straight to the point there are many christians who would not dare go there.they want to appear they have it all together pure and righteous or they would not want a fellow brother or sister in Christ to know their garbage.a lack of trust in the body of Christ is one of the biggest problems in the Church of today.remember Christ came for the sinner,not the righteous.i would love to see us practice literally James 5 16.revival would happen !

Kenneth Owusu's comment on 2014-12-20 15:04:38:

There 's this simile "As ugly as sin ". But as ugly as our sins or faults may look, God wants us to unburden them to one another so as to be remembered in prayer by our brethren. There are a lot of Christians who could have half solved their challenge of sin by just confessing sharing to one another, but their problem is that they can 't trust their brethren with their secrets, weakness and shortcomings. If only their confessed sins, shortcomings and weakness will remain a prayer topic other than an information for distribution, believers would overcome their sins faults and sickness easily because " the fervent effectual prayer of intercessors is powerful and effective to produce wonderful result " So anytime you hear of a brethren 's sin fault sickness, weakness do not thank God that you 're not like that brethren Luke 18 11 12 but interceed for for him.

darren's comment on 2014-08-20 15:51:16:

Well technically the word "faults " is not the same as "sin " in the original greek, however it is referring to the same thing as sin...going against what his word teaches. It is a transgression against his law. However in the context where this word is used, it implies a deeper meaning. A sinful condition that causes a variety of sins. It is the difference between saying "I stole 5 dollars " and "I am a thief, I covet, I envy, I lie about it, and I need you brother to help me by holding me accountable if need be...pray for me, support me, love me in spite of my faults because I cannot seem to control this by myself. " Thats why this verse is followed by the story of Elias...big things can happen in a congregation when we have the courage to follow this teaching. In fact we can "hide a multitude of sins "...why? Because we get to the root of the problem. In fact, James says to tell anyone who is willing to "BEAR ONE ANOTHER 'S BURDENS " that they are helping to save that person from death and Hell. This is the most underestimated verse in the scriptures. We don 't teach it, encourage it..be willing to show the example, reward one for doing so. Nor do we expect the receiver to be responsible for the erring brother. It is one of the greatest commandments and purpose to the Lord 's Church. "Lord, how many times should I forgive my brother? "....get the point? You should. Jesus always got to the root of the problem in a person 's life ...every time.

michael's comment on 2014-07-20 23:04:24:

I like the scripture of James confession is a power full weapon.

Marie's comment on 2014-07-07 19:38:34:

This Scripture is not telling us to confess our sins one to another. We are not able to bear sins!! We confess our sins to Jesus. He 's telling us to repent and make peace with one another. pray for one another, because the "effectual fervent prayers of the righteous man availeth much "! Your prayers that you send up for one another, moves God, and action soon begins to take place. God is the only one who can take Sin.... by you confessing your sins to me, there 's nothing I can do with it..

Bonnie Skillman's comment on 2014-04-08 17:21:29:

I would but I can 't because it happened so long ago that if I was to confess it would probably kill my mother. She is 78 and in poor health.

MockingBird's comment on 2014-04-08 07:20:48:

I get so much from others comments on here. It Blesses me. I believe that the Lord is talking about confessing your faults and or sins to another that you can trust to be discreet and without judging and or condemning To pray with you That way they know what they are dealing with and will know how to pray for you and with you about the matter you are going through .Confession dealing with it is half the battle and if your willing obedient to turn around. I do not believe that we are to tell every one in the Church of our sins. so on. Just those that are faithful to bear your burden with you. God Bless

R C's comment on 2013-12-05 16:52:19:

My comment is that as we begin to walk in faith and remember what Paul commanded in 1 tim,2:1 that we should pray for all people then we will grab a hold of Jam 5:16 and be grateful to for our sis and brothers knowing that God is enabeling us to function that His glory will be seen. miracles will happen when we obey God in praying one for another.

Patrice Obute Awelo's comment on 2013-09-25 09:33:34:

We should always be open and acknowledge our problems to one another so that he or she may assist us in prayer ,which we have been assured releases much power since we are we have right standing with God

Sam Chiaka's comment on 2013-08-29 23:13:12:

This scripture doesn't mean we are to continually confess our sins to our brothers and sisters in church, if that were to be the case, we would all lose our love for and faith in one another. No this verse is telling us to own up our wrongs. If I offend my brother I ought to say 'I was wrong, I am sorry'. This is the reason some are sickly in the house of God, they refuse to accept their faults and would rather bear grudges. This is why it say "...and pray one for another that ye may be healed."

Onome's comment on 2013-08-02 05:15:48:

I am having a beautiful meaning to this wonderful scripture. Our faults can be meant to mean our struggles, our fears, our emotions and trails and here the bible is saying we should confess them to one another. There is a power that goes forth when we confess our "selves" and in the process expose the dark side and lies the devil has been holding us in bondage on. It actually liberates us because in the process of confessing, the true us is reveal and that would often give rise to prayer. Prayer is a great weapon that breaks every darkness and exposes to light that which is hid. When I know that my sister is struggling with something through her confession to me, that gives rise to prayer because I believe we all have a Father who is deeply moved by the feelings of our infirmity (struggles, fears, worries, anxieties e.t.c.) and He always hears us too. The effectual fervent prayer said in righteousness of heart will give great results because when we bear iniquity in our hearts, God our Father who cannot behold sin, will not hear us.

larry nelson's comment on 2013-06-28 06:43:41:

i'm going through a time that has been filled with sickness, serious kinds, financial woes , loss of spirtual closeness to God due to my suc***bing to the terible situations. so i'm confessing my faulys which are many as compared to once living so close to MY SAVIOR . Using this tool to put James 5 into action in my life

Petrus's comment on 2013-04-24 07:19:45:

Jim's comment on 2013-01-01 09:11:21:

Faults are the root cause of sin. Dealing with faults (through confession and counseling) allows for objective steps to address the real issue(s). Conversely, confession of sins puts a "bandage" on deeper issues, and often is only subjective emotionalism (not a sin to cry about it). Romans 7:8 in dealing with the issue of sin, makes it clear our walk with Christ is the root issue, not the sin itself. Faults are related to certain failures in that walk. Sin is only a consequence of those failures. So confession, may make some feel better (for awhile), but until they deal with the root cause, repeated sin is likely and with that a defeated attitude.

Lynette's comment on 2012-10-17 18:46:01:

This scripture teaches me that when we are going through something, when we share it with a fellow believer, we are to confess our faults and pray for each other, and believe in FAITH that we will be healed. The prayers are those that pray with a sincere, faithful heart can and will move on the heart of God. These are prayers that matter. And when you fast and pray this shows God how sincere and passionate you are about that which you are praying for.

Add your comment

Viewing Mobile Version.
Switch to desktop version.