James 5:18

 James 5:18

And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

a. ASV: And he prayed again; and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.  [Thomas Nelson & Sons first published the American Standard Version in 1901. This translation of the Bible is in the public domain.]

b. YLT: And again he did pray, and the heaven did give rain, and the land did bring forth her fruit. [The Young's Literal Translation was translated by Robert Young, who believed in a strictly literal translation of God's word. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.]

c. Classic Amplified: And [then] he prayed again and the heavens supplied rain and the land produced its crops [as usual]. [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

d. Peshitta Eastern Text:  And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruits.  [HOLY BIBLE FROM THE ANCIENT EASTERN TEXT. Copyright  Ⓒ 1933 by A.J. Holmon Co.; copyright  Ⓒ renewed 1968 by A.J. Holmon Co.; All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. HarperCollins Publishers, 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007.]

e. NLT: Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops. [Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.]

1. “And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.”

a. And [Strong: 2532 kaí, kahee; apparently, a primary particle, having a copulative and sometimes also a cumulative force; and, also, even, so then, too, etc.; often used in connection (or composition) with other particles or small words:—and, also, both, but, even, for, if, or, so, that, then, therefore, when, yet.]

b. [he] prayed [Strong: 4336 proseúchomai, pros-yoo'-khom-ahee; from G4314 and G2172; to pray to God, i.e. supplicate, worship:—pray (X earnestly, for), make prayer.] [Zodhiates: to pray to God; proseuchomai; pros-to; euchomai-to pray.] [Thayer: to offer prayers, to pray.]

c. again [Strong: 3825 pálin, pal'-in; probably from the same as G3823 (through the idea of oscillatory repetition); (adverbially) anew, i.e. (of place) back, (of time) once more, or (conjunctionally) furthermore or on the other hand:—again.]

d. and [Strong: 2532 kaí, kahee; apparently, a primary particle, having a copulative and sometimes also a cumulative force; and, also, even, so then, too, etc.; often used in connection (or composition) with other particles or small words:—and, also, both, but, even, for, if, or, so, that, then, therefore, when, yet.]

e. the [Strong: 3588. [ho] ὁ ho ho, including the feminine he hay, and the neuter to to in all their inflections; the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom):--the, this, that, one, he, she, it, etc.] [Thayer: [ho] ὁ, ἡ, τό, originally τος, τῇ, τό (as is evident from the forms τοι, ται for οἱ, αἱ in Homer and the Ionic writings), corresponds to our definite article the (German der, die, das), which is properly a demonstrative pronoun, which we see in its full force in Homer, and of which we find certain indubitable traces also in all kinds of Greek prose, and hence also in the N. T.] [Additional variants: tē, hoi, oi, tēn, ta, tēs, tois, tais, tō, tōn, tou, Hē, hé  hē, hai, tas.]

f. heaven [Strong: 3772 ouranós, oo-ran-os'; perhaps from the same as G3735 (through the idea of elevation); the sky; by extension, heaven (as the abode of God); by implication, happiness, power, eternity; specially, the Gospel (Christianity):—air, heaven(-ly), sky.]

g. gave [Strong: 1325 dídōmi, did'-o-mee; a prolonged form of a primary verb (which is used as an alternative in most of the tenses); to give (used in a very wide application, properly, or by implication, literally or figuratively; greatly modified by the connection):—adventure, bestow, bring forth, commit, deliver (up), give, grant, hinder, make, minister, number, offer, have power, put, receive, set, shew, smite (+ with the hand), strike (+ with the palm of the hand), suffer, take, utter, yield.]

h. rain [Strong: 5205 huĕtŏs, hoo-et-os'; from a primary ὕω huō (to rain); rain, especially a shower:—rain.]

i. and [Strong: 2532 kaí, kahee; apparently, a primary particle, having a copulative and sometimes also a cumulative force; and, also, even, so then, too, etc.; often used in connection (or composition) with other particles or small words:—and, also, both, but, even, for, if, or, so, that, then, therefore, when, yet.]

j. the [Strong: 3588. [hē] ὁ ho ho, including the feminine he hay, and the neuter to to in all their inflections; the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom):--the, this, that, one, he, she, it, etc.] [Thayer: [hē] ὁ, ἡ, τό, originally τος, τῇ, τό (as is evident from the forms τοι, ται for οἱ, αἱ in Homer and the Ionic writings), corresponds to our definite article the (German der, die, das), which is properly a demonstrative pronoun, which we see in its full force in Homer, and of which we find certain indubitable traces also in all kinds of Greek prose, and hence also in the N. T.] [Additional variants: tē, hoi, oi, tēn, ta, tēs, tois, tais, tō, tōn, tou, Hē, hé  hē, hai, tas.]

k. earth [Strong: 1093 gē, ghay; contracted from a primary word; soil; by extension a region, or the solid part or the whole of the terrene globe (including the occupants in each application):—country, earth(-ly), ground, land, world.]

l. brought forth [Strong: 985 blastánō, blas-tan'-o; from βλαστός blastós (a sprout); to germinate; by implication, to yield fruit:—bring forth, bud, spring (up).]

m. her [Strong: 846 autós, ow-tos'; from the particle αὖ aû (perhaps akin to the base of G109 through the idea of a baffling wind) (backward); the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other persons:—her, it(-self), one, the other, (mine) own, said, (self-), the) same, ((him-, my-, thy- )self, (your-)selves, she, that, their(-s), them(-selves), there(-at, - by, -in, -into, -of, -on, -with), they, (these) things, this (man), those, together, very, which.]

n. [Strong: 3588. [ton] ὁ ho ho, including the feminine he hay, and the neuter to to in all their inflections; the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom):--the, this, that, one, he, she, it, etc.] [Thayer: [ton] ὁ, ἡ, τό, originally τος, τῇ, τό (as is evident from the forms τοι, ται for οἱ, αἱ in Homer and the Ionic writings), corresponds to our definite article the (German der, die, das), which is properly a demonstrative pronoun, which we see in its full force in Homer, and of which we find certain indubitable traces also in all kinds of Greek prose, and hence also in the N. T.] [Additional variants: tē, hoi, oi, tēn, ta, tēs, tois, tais, tō, tōn, tou, Hē, hé  hē, hai, tas.]

o. fruit [Strong: 2590 karpós, kar-pos'; probably from the base of G726; fruit (as plucked), literally or figuratively:—fruit.]

1). Why did Elijah pray for it not to rain? I don’t know for sure but there is an interesting Jewish tradition that attempts to fill in the blanks with some information that gives an explanation on the ending of 1 Kings 16 and the beginning of 1 Kings 17 concerning Elijah’s first appearance in Scripture.

a). “Elijah’s first appearance in the Bible is as a messenger to Ahab, considered the most sinful of Israel’s kings. He proclaims “As the Lord the God of Israel lives, for whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word” (1 Kings 17: 1).  In the Midrash version, we see that Elijah initially objects to meeting Ahab.  The Midrash version states, “Elijah at first refused to seek out the sinner who had violated the Divine Injunction against rebuilding Jericho, for he said that the blasphemous talk of such evil-doers always called for his rage” (Ginzberg 4).  The Midrash also claims that Ahab mocked Elijah, saying “Was not Moses greater than Joshua, and did he not say that God would let no rain descend upon the earth, if Israel served and worshipped idols? There is not an idol to which I do not pay homage, and yet we enjoy all that is goodly and desirable” (Ginzberg 4).  Elijah agrees and states “there shall be no dew nor rain these years, but according to my word” (Ginzberg 4)

http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/widow-of-zarephath-midrash-and-aggadah

b). It seems reasonable to believe that after Ahab’s mockery of God, Elijah prayed earnestly for a famine and that his prayer was heard, for the famine was 3 ½ years long, and only ended because Elijah prayed for it to be over. 

2). 1 Kings 18:1 And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth.

3). 1 Kings 18:42-46 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees,

18:43 And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times.

18:44 And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down that the rain stop thee not.

18:45 And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel.

18:46 And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.