13b chant Semantics The verb psallô literally means "to pluck"; i.e., to play a string instrument fingerstyle, without using a plectrum.

• It can have the general sense of playing music (e.g., G-1Sm 16:16 "playing (psallein) the lyre"), most often in the context of praising God: Ps 98:5 (G-97:5) "Sing praise to the Lord with the lyre." The verb psallô occurs also in Rom 15:9; 1Cor 14:15; Eph 5:19.
• Paul also closely connects this verb with praying: 1Cor 14:15 "I will pray with the spirit, but I will also pray with the mind. I will sing praise (psallô) with the spirit, but I will also sing praise with the mind."
• The more technical sense of psallô as reciting Psalms is likely a later development (cf. →Const. ap. 8.13.16–14.1).

13b is in good spirits Tranquility The verb euthumeô refers to having good courage; thus Acts 27:22 "I urge you now to keep up your courage (euthumein)." It denotes the ability to face difficulties calmly without complaint; cf. →Plutarch Tranq. an. [Mor. 465e–477f] and V's translation aequo animo est, lit. "having an equal mind."

13–18 Isotopy of Prayer Every verse in this passage refers to prayer; however, the words used are not simple synonyms.

• The noun euchê ("prayer," v. 15a) and the corresponding verb euchomai ("to pray," v. 16b) are generic terms.
• The verb expressing the prayer of petition is proseuchomai (v. 13a, 14b, 17b, 18a) or proseuchê (v. 17b).
• More concretely, the noun deêsis (v. 16c) stands for a supplication or a particular request.
• As for psallô ("to chant," v. 13b), it applies to prayer in the form of a hymn (Vocabulary Jas 5:13b), in particular in the liturgical context.

13 suffering + in good spirits — Antithesis The first two questions establish an antithesis between interior suffering and serenity. V, which translates kakopathei with the verb tristatur (evoking affliction or discouragement) only makes this antithesis more precise. Far from focusing on a contrast between sadness and cheerfulness, as is often thought, the phrase evokes rather the opposition between interior grief and a courageous serenity, frames of mind that each lead to a different form of prayer.

13a suffering Echo The verb to "suffer" (kakopatheô) echoes the cognate noun in v. 10a, "Take as an example of suffering" (kakopatheia / kakopathia).

13–20 Connection between Healing and Conversion Several biblical passages evince the connection between healing (Jas 5:14–16) and conversion from sin (Jas 5:19–20):

• G-Dt 30:2–3 "And return (epistrephô) to the Lord your God and obey his voice in all that I command you today…and the Lord will heal (iaomai) your sins."
• 2Chr 7:14 "if then my people…turn (M: šwb; G: apostrephô) from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal (G: iaomai; M = rp’) their land."
• Is 6:10 "they turn (M: šwb; G: epistrephô) and be healed (M: rp’; G: iaomai)."
• Jer 3:22 "Return (M: šwb; G: epistrephô), rebellious children! I will heal (M: rp’; G: iaomai) your rebellions."
• Hos 6:1 "Come, let us return (M: šwb; G: epistrephô) to the Lord, For it is he who has torn, but he will heal (M: rp’; G: iaomai) us" (NAB).
• See also Prv 3:7; Ez 34:4,16.

13f Declarative or Interrogative? The three opening phrases may also be translated as:

• declaratives: “Someone among you is suffering”;
• questions: “Is someone among you suffering?”;
• conditionals, as S does: “If someone among you is suffering.”

13–14a Rhetorical Questions? These opening phrases can be taken as questions (see Grammar Jas 5:13f). This is possible, as James frequently uses questions, and here the rapid series of three questions and responses gives the flavor of an oral give-and-take (cf. Jas 3:13 for the same construction).

1:1–5:20 James Depictions of James

Western Catholic Tradition

Depictions of James, the author of the epistle, in paintings, statues, manuscript illustrations, engravings, woodcuts, and embroidery on liturgical vestments are particularly prominent in the Middle Ages. A common consensus of the artists is that the author of the epistle is James the Just, leader of the Jerusalem church; he is typically further identified with James, son of Alphaeus, one of Jesus' Twelve (Mk 3:18), and "James the Less" (Mk 15:40; →Jameses near Jesus). The iconography of James draws particularly on accounts of James recorded in →Eusebius of Caesarea Hist. eccl. 2.23 and →Jerome Vir. ill. 2, who in turn draw on accounts from Clement of Alexandria and Hegesippus (→Introduction). Several prominent features of these portrayals may be noted:

• Following the tradition that he was the first bishop of Jerusalem, James is often portrayed anachronistically in bishop's vestments.
• James is often portrayed holding a fuller's club, alluding to the tradition that James was beaten to death with a such a club. Variations show him holding different types of clubs. Another related tradition shows James holding a bow such as one used by hat-makers of the Middle Ages.
• James bears a striking physical resemblance to his brother Jesus.
• One artistic tradition, based on accounts found in the preface to the →Glossa ord. and →de Voragine Leg. aur., portrays the infant James as part of a large extended family. According to this legend, Anne, mother of the Virgin Mary, had three children named Mary with three different husbands. James and his brothers Joses (Joseph), Simon, and Jude (cf. Mk 6:3) are the sons of Mary (daughter of Anne and Cleophas; cf. Jn 19:25) and Alphaeus (cf. Mk 3:18). James and his brothers are thus cousins of Jesus (son of Mary, daughter of Anne and Joachim) and of John the Evangelist and James the Greater (sons of Mary, daughter of Anne and Salomas).

The following images are noteworthy:

• A painting of James in the Armenian St. James Cathedral, Jerusalem: James is dressed in episcopal robes, wears a miter, and holds a crozier (→Gowler 2014, 54).
• Blessed James Apostle. In the Stavelot Bible (1093–1097, British Museum Add. MS. 28106–28107) illuminations of the apostle James are at the introduction to the Catholic epistles (f. 197 r→) and at the beginning of his epistle (f. 197 v→). The apostle stands, holding a book.
• Apostle James the Less, statue, south portal of Chartres Cathedral, early 13^th century.

James holds a club.

• Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper (1495–1498), Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan. 

James, who resembles his brother Jesus, is second from his left. This full-scale copy was the main source for the—unfortunate—twenty-year restoration of the original (1978–1998). It includes several lost details such as Christ's feet, the transparent glass decanters on the table, and the floral motifs of the tapestries that decorate the room's interior. It was first mentioned in 1626 by the author Bartolomeo Sanese as hanging in the Certosa di Pavia, a monastery near Pavia, Italy, but it is unlikely that it was intended for this location. At some point, the upper third of the picture was cut off, and the width was reduced. Giampietrino is thought to have worked closely with Leonardo when he was in Milan. A very fine, full-size copy of this painting, before it was cut down, is installed at Tongerlo Abbey in Westerlo, near Antwerp, Belgium. 

• Lucas Cranach the Elder, The Holy Kinship (1509), a triptych in the Städelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt, Germany. The infant Jesus, his mother Mary, and Mary's mother Anne are portrayed in the center. To the right is Anne's other daughter Mary, her husband Zebedee, and sons John the Evangelist and James the Greater. To the left is another of Anne's daughters named Mary with her husband Alphaeus; their children James, Joses (Joseph), Simon, and Jude are in the left and center panels.

The side and central panels describe a great hall with blue grey walls and three-colored tiles. In the side panels are depicted the half-sisters of the Virgin Mary —called after their fathers Mary Cleophas (left) and Mary Salome (right)—together with their husbands.

Left panel: Mary Cleophas and Alphaeus (with the features of Frederick the Wise) with their two sons, the Apostles James the Less (at her breast) and Joseph Justus, called Barnabas, depicted with a book as annunciator of the Gospel according to Matthew.

Central panel: Joseph, who seems to seems to sleep, the Virgin dressed in blue with yellow lining, Anna and the Christ Child on her knee, who is stretching out his hand towards an apple given to him by the Virgin Mary. Anna's three husbands following →de Voragine Leg. aur. are shown in the background in the matroneum: on the left Joachim, who is attracted by the holy women in front of him and whose relation is also shown by the corresponding blue and yellow color of his dress, Cleophas (with the physiognomy and chain of Emperor Maximilian I), and Salomas (with the physiognomy of Sixtus Oelhafen von Schöllenbach, secretary of Frederick III, Maximilian I, and Charles V), who are talking to each other. There is an architectural structure by a great stone bench in the foreground of the central panel with two marble columns on the sides, over which is stretched a cloth of gold. On the right column is a tablet with date and signature: LVCAS CHRONVS FACIEBAT ANNO MDIX (1509). The parapet of the matroneum is decorated by a sculptured frieze with dancing putti holding six escutcheons with the six fields of the electorate of Saxony. In the hall are shown the 17 members of the The Holy Kinship. In the central panel are shown two more children of Mary Cleophas and Alpheus: the Apostles Simon, patron saint of weavers, dyers, tanners, and saddlers, and Jude, who went on mission. They suffered their martyrdom together and therefore are regularly depicted together.

Right panel: Mary Salome and Zebedee (with the features of Frederick III, Elector of Saxony, and his brother Herzog Johann der Beständige). Mary Salome, dressed in gold with dark red lining, is combing her son James the Greater, while John the Evangelist is hiding in her dress.

• Paolo Veronese (Caliari), James as Bishop (ca. 1578), Burghley House Collection, Lincolnshire, UK. James with crozier and miter, holding a book.

• El Greco, Saint James the Less (1610–1614), Museo del Greco, Toledo, Spain. 

James is shown holding a Bible, symbolizing his status as a scriptural writer, in one hand. James is depicted in the Mannerist style with elongated form and without any of the traditional iconographic symbols

• Niccolò Bambini, The Communion of the Apostle James the Less→ (1722–1723).

The risen Jesus appears to James and breaks bread with him (based on an account recorded in →Jerome Vir. ill. 2, said to be drawn from the Gospel according to the Hebrews).

• Angelo de Rossi, James the Less→ (1705–1711), Saint John Lateran, Rome.

James holds a book and club.

• James Tissot, Saint James the Less→ (1886–1894), Brooklyn Museum, New York.

James, resembling Jesus, prays on his knees with outstretched arms. It perhaps reflects Hegesippus' statement that James spent so much time in prayer that his knees were as hard as a camel's.

Eastern Orthodox Traditions

• Martyrdom of James the Just, illustration from the Menologion of Basil II (late 10^th/early 11^th c., PG 117:9–614), Vatican Library, Vat. gr. 1613: image 131→.
• James the Just, Russian icon, 16^th c., Novgorod. James is depicted in episcopal robes and holds a book.

The inscription bearing the name of the saint has disappeared, but the iconography—facial features and beard shape—suggest that the icon is of James. Byzantine art places him among the founding fathers of the Church. As the creator of the first liturgy containing memorial services and the author of the message that speaks of the healing power of prayer (Jas 5:14–16), he was worshipped in ancient times as a healer. In Novgorod, James is prayed for the end of the epidemics. In sacred iconography, the representations of James alone are very rare. On icons he is represented with other saints: James the brother of the Lord, Nicholas the Thaumaturgist, and Ignatius the God-Bearer (end of the 15^th c.); James the brother of the Lord, Cosmas, and Damian (2^nd quarter of the 16^th c.).

For discussion of visual depictions, see →Bedford 1911; →Gowler 2014, 53–62.

10a,13a suffering Active Attitude The noun kakopatheia / kakopathia in v. 10a means literally “suffering evil.” Its cognate verb kakopatheô, “to suffer,” is found slightly further, in v. 13a. It comes from the noun pathos, “experience, emotion, state,” and kakos, “evil” (compare by contrast eupatheô, “to enjoy oneself”).

• Kakopathia can refer to a passive experience: suffering due to hardship (→Polybius Hist. 3.42.9; 2Mc 2:26; cf. Jon 4:10).
• It can also have the more active sense of an attitude: enduring or persevering through suffering (→Plutarch Num. 3.5). 

13–18 Exhortations on Prayer, Proper Speech, and Physical and Spiritual Healing The passage focuses on prayer (Literary Devices Jas 5:13–18). After warning the reader that he must ask God in faith, not doubting (Jas 1:5–8), and that he must not ask wrongly (Jas 4:2–3), James here gives examples of proper, effective prayer.

The passage also relates to James' concern with proper speech: after giving many admonitions against improper speech (e.g., Jas 5:9,12), James here gives example of the proper use of speech in praying and singing. See also →Speech in James.

The passage presents a holistic view of illness and healing: here, these two elements are closely associated: physical illness and “spiritual illness” (sin) on the one hand, and physical healing and forgiveness of sin on the other, are closely linked. There is also a strong link between understanding the anointing ritual as providing healing (both spiritual and physical) in this life, and understanding the anointing and prayer as preparation for ultimate healing in the resurrection and eternal life. This holistic emphasis reflects the theme of wholeness and integrity found throughout the letter. See further →Perfection / Wholeness in James.

Catholic tradition has drawn out the meaning of Jas 5:14–15 in various ways, primarily through the development of the teaching on the sacrament of the anointing of the sick. The tradition has at various times emphasized the different aspects of James’ integral vision: spiritual healing (Origen, John Chrysostom, Council of Trent), physical healing (an early tradition of anointing by the laity, Vatican II’s emphasis on a broader understanding of healing), and the eschatological dimension (the traditional emphasis on “extreme unction” as preparation for eternal life). See also Christian Tradition Jas 5:14f; Theology Jas 5:14f.

Following this section, the letter’s final section is James’ exhortation to community members to turn back a straying fellow-believer (Jas 5:19–20). James thus reiterates his characteristic concern for harmony within the community. The history of interpretation generally interpreted this ambiguous passage to mean that a person who converted another from sin would in turn receive pardon of his own sins; this interpretation then took its place in a traditional list of ways in which one could seek pardon for one’s sins. See also Christian Tradition Jas 5:20c.

13 A Different Latin Reading

• →Bede Ep. cath. (Hurst 1985, 60; Hurst 1983, 220–221) and →Ps.-Hilary of Arles Tract. Jac. (McNally 1973, 75) punctuate the passage differently and read et for est in v. 13b: "Is someone among you suffering? Let him pray in good spirits and sing psalms (oret aequo animo et psallat)."
• →Valla Coll. NT ad loc. (Perosa 1970, 262) and →Erasmus Annot. Jac. ad loc. (van Poll-van de Lisdonk 2014, 424) also know the above reading and reject it as corrupt, restoring it to be more in line with their interpretation of the Greek: "Is someone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is someone contented? Let him sing psalms."

13–20 Connection between Conversion and Healing As part of the generally assumed connection between illness and sin, conversion and health, many texts parallel James in linking healing (Jas 5:14–16) with references to repentance or conversion from sin (Jas 5:19–20).

• →Test. Dom. 1.24 (prayer over the oil for healing): “send on this oil (mšḥ’), which is the type of your fatness, the delivering [power] of your good compassion, that it may deliver those who labour and heal those who are sick, and sanctify those who return (mtpnyn), when they approach to your faith; for you are mightily and [to be] praised for ever and ever" (Cooper and MacLean 1902, 78; Rahmani 1899, 48)
• →Polycarp Phil. 6.1 identifies caring for the sick (episkeptomenoi pantas astheneis) and "turning back those who have gone astray (epistrephontes ta apopeplanêmena)" as duties of the presbyters (presbuteroi; Ehrman 2003, 1:340–341).

The language of physical healing can be used to describe repentance and conversion:

• →Const. ap. 2.14.11 "Now we ought to assist those who are with us (variant reading: 'those who are sick') and are in danger, and fall, and, as far as lies in our power, to reduce them to sobriety by our exhortations, and so save them from death (hugiazein autous kai ruesthai ek thanatou)" (ANF 7:401; Metzger 1985, 1:176–177).

13–18 Parallel with 1 Clement Several themes and some specific vocabulary occurring in Jas 5 appears in a prayer recorded in →1 Clem. 59.4 (Ehrman 2003, 1:142–143):

• "Save (sôᵢzô) those of us who are in affliction" (cf. Jas 5:15a: sôᵢzô);
• "raise (egeirô) those who have fallen" (cf. Jas 5:15b: egeirô);
• "heal (iaomai) those who are sick (astheneis)" (cf. Jas 5:14a: astheneô; Jas 5:16b: iaomai);
• "set straight (epistrephô) those among your people who are going astray (planaô)" (cf. Jas 5:19: planaô, epistrephô);
• "raise up (anistêmi) the weak (astheneis)" (cf. Jas 5:14a: astheneô; Jas 5:15b: egeirô).

Some scholars posit that 1 Clement is dependent on James, but the relationship may also be seen as a common reliance on early Christian vocabulary and concerns (see Bemmerl 2023, 34–35).

13b chant

Singing at Liturgy

The tradition interprets James' word for sing praise (Byz TR Nes: psallô; V: psallo) as referring to singing during a worship service.

• →Bede Ep. cath. ad loc. notes that James has just admonished those who are sad and suffering to avoid complaining against one another (Jas 5:9). Rather, they should gather together at church and pray that God send the grace of his consolation. He then directly addresses his readers, "You yourselves also drive away the harmful disease of sadness (nocivam maestitiae pestem) from your heart by the frequent sweetness of psalm-singing (psalmodiae)" (Hurst 1985, 60–61; Hurst 1983, 221).
• →John Chrysostom Hom. Heb. 4.7 censures his congregations for their public "wailing," "groaning," "howling," and other "unseemly behavior" (including the hiring of professional mourners) for Christians who have passed away. Such behavior causes non-believers to laugh at Christians who supposedly believe in resurrection. The Christian should not fear death, but regard it as the victory over life's struggles and the beginning of eternal glory in heaven. The Church encourages this joyful attitude by including the singing of hymns and psalms at the funeral (quoting Jas 5:13 as an example of singing joyfully; NPNF¹ 14:385–387; PG 63:42–43).
• Newman, "Religious Worship a Remedy for Excitements" (→Paroch. Serm., 1891, 3:336–349), understands “praying” and “singing psalms” as worship in the Church, and suffering and being in good spirits (he translates as “merry”) as various emotional states (“excitements of the mind"). The fixed worship service offers stability to those whose minds are unstable either due to worldly distractions or an excess of religious enthusiasm.

Singing Praise and the Harmony of the Soul

• →Athanasius of Alexandria Ep. Marcell. 28 "as in music (harmonia) there is a plectrum [i.e., a pick to play stringed instruments], so the man becoming himself a stringed instrument (psaltêrion) and devoting himself completely (holoklêrôs) [cf. Jas 1:4] to the Spirit may obey in all his members and emotions, and serve the will of God. The harmonious reading of the Psalms is a figure and type (eikôn kai tupos) of such undisturbed and calm equanimity of our thoughts. For just as we discover the ideas (noêmata) of the soul and communicate them through the words we put forth, so also the Lord, wishing the melody (melôᵢdia) of the words to be a symbol of the spiritual harmony (harmonia) in a soul, has ordered that the odes be chanted tunefully (emmelôs psallesthai), and the Psalms recited with song. The desire of the soul is this—to be beautifully disposed, as it is written, 'Is anyone among you cheerful? Let him sing praise' (Jas 5:13). In this way that which is disturbing and rough and disorderly in it is smoothed away, and that which causes grief is healed (to de lupoun therapeuetai) when we sing psalms, 'Why are you very sad, O my soul, and why do you trouble me?' (Ps 42:5 [G-41:6])" (Gregg 1980, 124–125; PG 27:40).

10–20 Use in Lectionary

• →BL: Special and General Feasts: Prophets; one of three reading options.
• →BL: For the sick (or Jas 5:10–16).
• →BL: For rain (or Jas 5:16–20).
• →BL: For oil for the sick.

13–20 Use in Lectionary

• →BL: For confession.
• →BL: Julian June 14, Feast of the Prophet Elisha. 
• →RML: Saturday, Week 7, Year 2.
• →RCL: Proper 21, Year B.

13–16 Use in Lectionary

• →RML (1570): Votive Mass for the sick.

12–20 Use in Lectionary

• →BL: Julian October 29, Saints Abramios and Mary of Edessa.