Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

James 5:15

εὐχὴ τῆς πίστεως. The prayer which is based upon faith, which proceeds from faith. Comp. Matthew 21:22 καὶ πάντα ὅσα ἂν αἰτήσητε ἐν τῇ προσευχῇ πιστεύοντες λήμψεσθε.

σώσει τὸν κάμνοντα. κάμνειν here and Hebrews 12:3 only in the sense of being sick. σώσει, here in the sense of physical recovery as in Matthew 9:22; Mark 5:23, and John 11:12. The difficulty that such means have not been and could not be always efficacious in the recovery of the sick is resolved by the consideration that prayer is always subject to the condition of deo volente. Such a prayer unanswered might well result in a higher σωτηρία than the recovery of bodily health.

ἐγερεῖ αὐτὸν ὁ κύριος. This also must refer to the raising from the bed of sickness—it is an expansion of σώσει. The unconditional promise is startling, but again ἐὰν ὁ κύριος θέλῃ is to be understood.

κἂν ἁμαρτίας ᾖ πεποιηκώς κ.τ.λ. The underlying thought here is that sin is the hindrance to recovery. For ἀφεθήσεται see Matthew 16:19; Matthew 18:18, and John 20:23 ἄν τινων�· ἄν τινων κράτητε κεκράτηνται.

For the analytic form ἦ πεποιηκώς see Winer III. xlv.

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Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

James 5:15

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