Genesis 20:7

20:7 But now give back the man’s wife. Indeed ¹  he is a prophet ²  and he will pray for you; thus you will live. ³  But if you don’t give her back, ⁴  know that you will surely die ⁵  along with all who belong to you.”

Genesis 20:17

20:17 Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, as well as his wife and female slaves so that they were able to have children.

Job 42:8-9

42:8 So now take ⁶  seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job will intercede ⁷  for you, and I will respect him, ⁸  so that I do not deal with you ⁹  according to your folly, ¹⁰  because you have not spoken about me what is right, as my servant Job has.” ¹¹ 

42:9 So they went, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite, and did just as the Lord had told them; and the Lord had respect for Job. ¹² 

James 5:15-16

5:15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up – and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. ¹³  5:16 So confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great effectiveness. ¹⁴ 

James 5:1

Warning to the Rich

5:1 Come now, you rich! Weep and cry aloud ¹⁵  over the miseries that are coming on you.

James 5:16

5:16 So confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great effectiveness. ¹⁶ 

¹ tn Or “for,” if the particle is understood as causal (as many English translations do) rather than asseverative.

² sn For a discussion of the term prophet see N. Walker, “What is a Nabhi?” ZAW 73 (1961): 99-100.

³ tn After the preceding jussive (or imperfect), the imperative with vav conjunctive here indicates result.

⁴ tn Heb “if there is not you returning.” The suffix on the particle becomes the subject of the negated clause.

⁵ tn The imperfect is preceded by the infinitive absolute to make the warning emphatic.

⁶ tn The imperatives in this verse are plural, so all three had to do this together.

⁷ tn The verb “pray” is the Hitpael from the root פָּלַל (palal). That root has the main idea of arbitration; so in this stem it means “to seek arbitration [for oneself],” or “to pray,” or “to intercede.”

⁸ tn Heb “I will lift up his face,” meaning, “I will regard him.”

⁹ tn This clause is a result clause, using the negated infinitive construct.

¹⁰ tn The word “folly” can also be taken in the sense of “disgrace.” If the latter is chosen, the word serves as the direct object. If the former, then it is an adverbial accusative.

¹¹ sn The difference between what they said and what Job said, therefore, has to do with truth. Job was honest, spoke the truth, poured out his complaints, but never blasphemed God. For his words God said he told the truth. He did so with incomplete understanding, and with all the impatience and frustration one might expect. Now the friends, however, did not tell what was right about God. They were not honest; rather, they were self-righteous and condescending. They were saying what they thought should be said, but it was wrong.

¹² tn The expression “had respect for Job” means God answered his prayer.

¹³ tn Grk “it will be forgiven him.”

¹⁴ tn Or “the fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful”; Grk “is very powerful in its working.”

¹⁵ tn Or “wail”; Grk “crying aloud.”

¹⁶ tn Or “the fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful”; Grk “is very powerful in its working.”