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James 5:19–20, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
James 5:19–20
Turn a Wanderer toward Truth, Life, and Covered Sin
Go after the wanderer as a rescue, not as a trophy
If anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings that person back, whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins. James ends on restoration. The church is not a museum of the already-correct. It is a people who notice absence and walk toward it.
Bring people back without humiliation. Covering sins here is mercy's work, not a cover-up of abuse. Restoration does not authorize coercion, threats, kidnapping, conversion pressure, harassment, or control of another person's relationships and conscience. Seek the wanderer the way you would want to be sought: honestly, patiently, without treating them as a project. The letter that began with scattered tribes ends with one person going after another. That is the family business.
How this should shape us
Notice who has drifted, and go after them as rescue rather than as a trophy or a control project. Seek the wanderer the way you would want to be sought, without coercion and without covering up abuse.
Teach it back
Explain James 5:19–20 in your own words. Include its place in James's movement, the unit's logic, one material uncertainty, and one misuse the context rules out.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do careful interpreters disagree?
Why it fits:
Difficulty:
Best judgment: Interpreters differ over whether death is physical, spiritual, or final; whose soul and sins are in view; and whether covering means forgiveness or charitable non-exposure. The preferred reading sees the restored person's life and sins, with all action bounded by the letter's mercy and truth.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
James 5:19–20, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Supports: Greek wording, clause relationships, and base text for original-language discussion.
Faithlife SBLGNT repository, data/sblgnt/text/Jas.txt, 5:19–20
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, textual alternatives, and interpretive notes.
NET Bible official six-page James PDF, 5:19–20 translation and attached translator, study, and textual notes
Supports: Historical-critical orientation, authorship and audience alternatives, structure, wisdom, social ethics, and theology.
Enter the Bible James course, Summary, Outline, Background, Introductory Issues, and Theological Themes; applied to James 5:19–20
Supports: Current confessional whole-letter flow, verse exposition, theological synthesis, and application.
Doriani, 'James,' section covering 5:19–20, with introduction, outline, bibliography, and endnotes
Supports: Full-letter historical exegesis, Greek and KJV-language notes, unit boundaries, alternatives, and verse-level interpretation.
Ropes, ICC James, introduction printed pp. 1–115 and commentary printed pp. 313–316
Supports: Suffering, cheer, elders, anointing, sickness, confession, prayer, Elijah, and restoration.
Kiel, 'Commentary on James 5:13–20,' complete commentary
Supports: Independent morphology, form, and lexical-range cross-check for material Greek claims.
STEP Bible Data repository, Greek morphology and lexical records for James 5:19–20
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: James 5:19–20, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording, clause relationships, and base text for original-language discussion.
Exact location: Faithlife SBLGNT repository, data/sblgnt/text/Jas.txt, 5:19–20
Open the James Greek text file ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — James with translators' and textual notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2005–2026 online edition
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, textual alternatives, and interpretive notes.
Exact location: NET Bible official six-page James PDF, 5:19–20 translation and attached translator, study, and textual notes
Open the official NET James PDF ↗modern scholarly book introduction
James course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, and theological themes
James L. Boyce; revised by Mary Hinkle Shore
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, 2023 revision
Supports: Historical-critical orientation, authorship and audience alternatives, structure, wisdom, social ethics, and theology.
Exact location: Enter the Bible James course, Summary, Outline, Background, Introductory Issues, and Theological Themes; applied to James 5:19–20
Open source ↗modern open commentary
James
Dan Doriani
The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, 2023
Supports: Current confessional whole-letter flow, verse exposition, theological synthesis, and application.
Exact location: Doriani, 'James,' section covering 5:19–20, with introduction, outline, bibliography, and endnotes
Open source ↗public domain critical commentary
A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle of St. James
James Hardy Ropes
T&T Clark, International Critical Commentary, 1916
Supports: Full-letter historical exegesis, Greek and KJV-language notes, unit boundaries, alternatives, and verse-level interpretation.
Exact location: Ropes, ICC James, introduction printed pp. 1–115 and commentary printed pp. 313–316
Open source ↗modern scholarly pastoral commentary
Commentary on James 5:13–20
Micah D. Kiel
Working Preacher, Luther Seminary, 2012
Supports: Suffering, cheer, elders, anointing, sickness, confession, prayer, Elijah, and restoration.
Exact location: Kiel, 'Commentary on James 5:13–20,' complete commentary
Open source ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: Independent morphology, form, and lexical-range cross-check for material Greek claims.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data repository, Greek morphology and lexical records for James 5:19–20
Open source ↗