YAC 5:20 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) then you should know that someone who helps a sinner to come back from their deceitful ways will be saving their soul from death,[ref] and their many sins can be forgiven.

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT let him know that the one having turned back a sinner from his wandering way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

UST I want anyone who helps a sinner to repent to know that because of what he has done, God will save the sinner from spiritual death and will forgive his many sins.

BSB consider this: Whoever turns a sinner from [the] error of his way will save his soul from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

MSB consider this: Whoever turns a sinner from [the] error of his way will save a soul[fn] from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

BLB let him know that the one having brought back a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death, and will cover over a multitude of sins.

AICNT let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save {his}[fn] soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

5:20, a: Later manuscripts read “his.” BYZ TR

OEB be sure that the person who brings a sinner back from their mistaken ways will save that person’s soul from death, and will cover a multitude of sins.

WEBBE let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET he should know that the one who turns a sinner back from his wandering path will save that person’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

LSV let him know that he who turned back a sinner from the straying of his way will save a soul from death, and will cover a multitude of sins.

FBV let them know that whoever rescues a sinner from the error of their ways will save them from death, and will gain forgiveness for many sins.

TCNT be assured that whoever turns a sinner back from the error of his way will save [fn]a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.

5:20 a 90.9% ¦ his CT 5.7%

T4T the one who persuaded him should realize that because he has enabled the person who was sinning to stop doing what is wrong, God will save that person from ◄spiritual death/being separated from him forever►, and will forgive his many sins.

LEB he should know that the one who turns a sinner back from the error of his way will save that person’s[fn] soul from death, and will cover over a great number of sins.

5:20 Literally “his,” but in context this refers to the sinner, not the person who turns the sinner back

BBE Be certain that he through whom a sinner has been turned from the error of his way, keeps a soul from death and is the cause of forgiveness for sins without number.

Moff understand that he who brings a sinner back from the error of his way saves his soul from death and hides a host of sins.

Wymth let him know that he who brings a sinner back from his evil ways will save the man's soul from death and throw a veil over a multitude of sins.
¶ 

ASV let him know, that he who converteth a sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall cover a multitude of sins.

DRA He must know that he who causeth a sinner to be converted from the error of his way, shall save his soul from death, and shall cover a multitude of sins.

YLT let him know that he who did turn back a sinner from the straying of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall cover a multitude of sins.

Drby let him know that he that brings back a sinner from [the] error of his way shall save a soul from death and shall cover a multitude of sins.

RV let him know, that he which converteth a sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall cover a multitude of sins.

SLT Let him know, that he having turned the sinful from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall cover a multitude of sins.

Wbstr Let him know, that he who converteth a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death, and will hide a multitude of sins.

KJB-1769 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

KJB-1611 Let him know, that hee which conuerteth the sinner from the errour of his way, shall saue a soule from death, and shall hide a multitude of sinnes.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps Let the same knowe, that he which conuerteth the sinner from going astray out of his way, shall saue a soule from death, and shall hyde the multitude of sinnes.
(Let the same know, that he which converteth the sinner from going astray out of his way, shall save a soul from death, and shall hide the multitude of sins.)

Gnva Let him know that he which hath conuerted the sinner from going astray out of his way, shall saue a soule from death, and shall hide a multitude of sinnes.
(Let him know that he which hath/has converted the sinner from going astray out of his way, shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins. )

Cvdl let ye same knowe that he which conuerted the synner from goynge astraye out off his waye, shal saue a soule fro death, and shal hyde the multitude of synnes.
(let ye/you_all same know that he which converted the sinner from going astray out off his way, shall save a soul from death, and shall hide the multitude of sins.)

TNT let the same knowe that he which converted the synner from goynge a straye out of his waye shall save a soule from deeth and shall hyde the multitude of synnes.
(let the same know that he which converted the sinner from going a straye out of his way shall save a soul from death and shall hide the multitude of sins. )

Wycl he owith to wite, that he that makith a synner to be turned fro the errour of his weye, schal saue the soule of hym fro deth, and keuereth the multitude of synnes.
(he owith to wit/know, that he that maketh/makes a sinner to be turned from the error of his way, shall save the soul of him from death, and keuereth the multitude of sins.)

Luth der soll wissen, daß, wer den Sünder bekehret hat von dem Irrtum seines Weges, der hat einer SeeLE vom Tode geholfen und wird bedecken die Menge der Sünden.
(the/of_the should realise, that, who the sinners converted has from to_him Irrtum his way, the/of_the has one/a soul from_the deaths helped and becomes cover(v) the crowd(n) the/of_the sins(n).)

ClVg scire debet quoniam qui converti fecerit peccatorem ab errore viæ suæ, salvabit animam ejus a morte, et operiet multitudinem peccatorum.[fn]
(to_know must since/because who/which converted he_did a_sinner away by_mistake ways/roads his/her_own, will_save the_soul his from death, and will_cover multitude of_sins/sinners. )

5.20 Salvabit. Quidam codices habent: Salvabit animam suam a morte. Et vere qui errantem corrigit, per hoc ampliora gaudia vitæ cœlestis sibi conquirit.

5.20 Salvabit. Quidam codices they_have: Salvabit the_soul his_own from death. And really/truly who/which they_are_wanderingem corrects, through this ampliora joys of_life heavenly to_himself conquirit.

UGNT γινωσκέτω ὅτι ὁ ἐπιστρέψας ἁμαρτωλὸν ἐκ πλάνης ὁδοῦ αὐτοῦ, σώσει ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἐκ θανάτου, καὶ καλύψει πλῆθος ἁμαρτιῶν.
(ginōsketō hoti ho epistrepsas hamartōlon ek planaʸs hodou autou, sōsei psuⱪaʸn autou ek thanatou, kai kalupsei plaʸthos hamartiōn.)

SBL-GNT ⸀γινωσκέτω ὅτι ὁ ἐπιστρέψας ἁμαρτωλὸν ἐκ πλάνης ὁδοῦ αὐτοῦ σώσει ψυχὴν ⸀αὐτοῦ ἐκ θανάτου καὶ καλύψει πλῆθος ἁμαρτιῶν.
(⸀ginōsketō hoti ho epistrepsas hamartōlon ek planaʸs hodou autou sōsei psuⱪaʸn ⸀autou ek thanatou kai kalupsei plaʸthos hamartiōn.)

RP-GNT γινωσκέτω ὅτι ὁ ἐπιστρέψας ἁμαρτωλὸν ἐκ πλάνης ὁδοῦ αὐτοῦ σώσει ψυχὴν ἐκ θανάτου, καὶ καλύψει πλῆθος ἁμαρτιῶν.
(ginōsketō hoti ho epistrepsas hamartōlon ek planaʸs hodou autou sōsei psuⱪaʸn ek thanatou, kai kalupsei plaʸthos hamartiōn.)

TC-GNT [fn]γινωσκέτω ὅτι ὁ ἐπιστρέψας ἁμαρτωλὸν ἐκ πλάνης ὁδοῦ αὐτοῦ σώσει [fn]ψυχὴν ἐκ θανάτου, καὶ καλύψει πλῆθος ἁμαρτιῶν.
(ginōsketō hoti ho epistrepsas hamartōlon ek planaʸs hodou autou sōsei psuⱪaʸn ek thanatou, kai kalupsei plaʸthos hamartiōn. )

5:20 γινωσκετω ¦ γινωσκετε WH

5:20 ψυχην 90.9% ¦ ψυχην αυτου CT 5.7%

Key for above GNTs: red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 5:19–20: James encouraged believers to help the person who is no longer obeying God to obey him again

In this final section of James’ epistle, he encouraged his readers to help any fellow Christians who had stopped obeying God to begin to obey him again.

Some other possible headings for this section are:

Help Those Who Have Wandered Away from the Truth (GW)

Restore Wandering Believers (NLT)

Help people return to obeying God

Paragraph 5:19–20

The two verses of this paragraph are all one sentence in the Greek text. In 5:19 James described figuratively something that may happen to a Christian: a person strays away from God, and someone brings him back. In 5:20 James commented that bringing this person back into a relationship with God is a worthwhile thing to do.

5:20a

consider this:

he should know/realize that
that person may be sure that

consider this: There is a textual issue in this verse:

Some Greek texts have “He should know.”Huther, page 226; Ropes, page 315; Hiebert, pages 334–335; Mitton, page 212; Adamson (1976), page 203; Laws, pages 239–240; Davids (1982), page 199; Martin, page 217. This is the reading of most editions of the Greek text, including the UBS 3rd ed. and 4th ed. For example, the RSV says:
let him know that (RSV, NJB, NASB, KJV, NET)
Other Greek texts have “You^(plur) should know.”Alford, page 329; Mayor, page 176. This is the reading of Nestle’s 25th ed. and the UBS 1st ed. Greek texts. For example, the GNT says:
remember this (BSB, NIV, GNT, NRSV, REB, GW, NLT, NCV)

The evidence shows that option (1) is more likely to be the original text. It means that the person who brings his Christian brother back to believing and obeying God’s truth should know that he has done a good thing. To reflect this meaning, the NET translation is used as the source line in the Display.

Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

may he realize that

he can be sure that

5:20b

Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way

whoever brings a sinner back from his wandering/straying path
anyone who helps/causes an evildoer to return to God from his sin

In 5:20b, James continued to use the same figures of speech about wandering away and someone bringing the person back.

Whoever turns: The Greek verb that the BSB here translates as turns is the same as the word translated as “bring back” in 5:19b. For example:

whoever brings a sinner back (GW)

a sinner: The word sinner refers to a person who habitually disobeys God. Some other ways to translate this word are:

a sinful person

someone who disobeys God

a person who does evil

See the note at 4:8c for more information.

from the error of his way: The Greek word that the BSB translates as error is the noun form of the verb translated “wander” in 5:19a. The phrase his way refers to the path that he has taken. It means the kind of life he has been living. So the whole phrase refers to returning the sinner back “from the wandering/straying path.” It means to help the sinner repent from his life or behavior that no longer pleases God.

Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

from his wandering path (NET)

from his wandering (ESV)

from the wrong way (NCV)

from his wrong living

from doing bad things

In some languages, it may be possible to leave this phrase implicit. For example:

^20bwhoever brings the sinner back ^20cwill save that person (NLT)

5:20c

will save his soul from death

saves that person from eternal death.
rescues that person from hell.

will save his soul from death: The phrase that the BSB translates literally as will save his soul from death means that the person whose words and prayers help the sinner stop sinning and return to obeying God “will save the sinner from dying.” In this context of “saving his soul,” death refers to spiritual death. It is being eternally separated from God.

Some ways to make it clear that this refers to spiritual death are:

will save that sinner’s soul from death (NCV)

will save the soul of that sinner so that he does not go to hell

will rescue from eternal death the one who has been doing evil

In some languages, it is more natural to translate the noun death with a verb. For example:

will keep him from dying spiritually

save him from being punished eternally

save: The Greek word that the BSB translates as save here means “rescue” or “deliver.” The righteous person will be the means that God uses to save from spiritual death the person who went astray. See save, meaning 1, in the Glossary.

his soul: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates literally as his soul means his real inner self, in contrast to his body. This is the part of the person that is eternal. Here his soul refers to the soul of the sinner who has turned from the error of his ways.

Here is another way to translate this phrase:

him

5:20d

and cover over a multitude of sins.

He causes God not to look at that person’s many evil deeds anymore.
God will forgive the many sins of the one he brought back.

cover over: This is a figure of speech. The righteous person covers over the sins of the person who has wandered from the path of God’s way to live. This implies that God decides not to look at those sins anymore. It means that God forgives the sins. It does not mean that the righteous person has hidden the other person’s sins from God.

There are at least two ways to translate this figure of speech:

Keep the metaphor. For example:
and will cover a multitude of sins (NRSV)
Translate the meaning. For example:
and will cause many sins to be forgiven. (NCV)
and God will forgive his many sins.

a multitude of sins: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as a multitude of sins means “very many sins.” Make sure that in your language this expression does not mean “most but not all.” James did not mean that some sins would not be covered. All will be forgiven.

General Comment on 5:19–20

In some languages, it may be natural to break up this long sentence into two or more smaller sentences. For example:

^19aMy brothers, perhaps one of you will wander from the truth. ^19bIf that happens, someone can bring that person back. ^20aHe should know that ^20bwhoever brings a sinner back from the error of his ways ^20cwill save him from death. ^20dAlso, his many sins will be forgiven.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: writing-pronouns

γινωσκέτω

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: γινώσκετε ὅτι ὁ ἐπιστρέψας ἁμαρτωλόν ἐκ πλάνης ὁδοῦ αὐτοῦ σώσει ψυχήν αὐτοῦ ἐκ θανάτου καί καλύψει πλῆθος ἁμαρτιῶν)

The pronoun him refers to the person who corrects another believer who has been deceived. Alternate translation: [the person who corrects the deceived believer should know]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

ὁ ἐπιστρέψας ἁμαρτωλὸν ἐκ πλάνης ὁδοῦ αὐτοῦ

the_‹one› ˓having˒_turned_back (Some words not found in SR-GNT: γινώσκετε ὅτι ὁ ἐπιστρέψας ἁμαρτωλόν ἐκ πλάνης ὁδοῦ αὐτοῦ σώσει ψυχήν αὐτοῦ ἐκ θανάτου καί καλύψει πλῆθος ἁμαρτιῶν)

James is using the possessive form to describe a way or path that is characterized by wandering. Alternate translation: [the one who turns back a sinner who has wandered away]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ὁ ἐπιστρέψας ἁμαρτωλὸν ἐκ πλάνης ὁδοῦ αὐτοῦ

The expressions turns back and wandering continue the metaphor of someone guiding a person in the right direction. Alternate translation: [anyone who corrects a sinner who has stopped doing what God wants]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

σώσει ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἐκ θανάτου

˓will_be˒_saving (Some words not found in SR-GNT: γινώσκετε ὅτι ὁ ἐπιστρέψας ἁμαρτωλόν ἐκ πλάνης ὁδοῦ αὐτοῦ σώσει ψυχήν αὐτοῦ ἐκ θανάτου καί καλύψει πλῆθος ἁμαρτιῶν)

James is speaking as if this person’s actions would save the sinner’s soul from death. But James means by association that God will use those actions to persuade the sinner to repent and be saved. Alternate translation: [will be an instrument of God’s work to save the sinner’s soul from death]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

σώσει ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἐκ θανάτου

James seems to be speaking not of literal, physical death but of spiritual death, that is, of eternal separation from God. Alternate translation: [from spiritual death] (as in UST) or [from eternal separation from God]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / synecdoche

σώσει ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἐκ θανάτου

However, some interpreters believe that James actually is speaking of literal, physical death. They believe he is saying that a person who stops his sinful lifestyle will not experience physical death as a consequence of his sin. In that case, James would be using one part of a person, his soul, to mean all of the person. Alternate translation: [will keep him from dying]

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

καλύψει πλῆθος ἁμαρτιῶν

˓will_be˒_covering ˓a˒_multitude ˱of˲_sins

James is speaking of one person’s sins as if they were objects that another person could cover so that God would not see them. He means that by helping a sinner to repent, another believer can help that sinner to be forgiven. Alternate translation: [will help him to be forgiven]

Parallel YAC 5:20

Section 5:19–20: James encouraged believers to help the person who is no longer obeying God to obey him again

Paragraph 5:19–20

5:20a

5:20b

5:20c

5:20d

General Comment on 5:19–20