James 5
1 Go now, ye rich, weep, howling for your miseries that are approaching.
Come, you rich men, weep aloud and howl for your sorrows which will soon be upon you.
2 Your wealth has decayed, and your garments have become moth-eaten.
Your treasures have rotted, and your piles of clothing are moth-eaten;
3 Your gold and your silver have cankered, and their corrosion will be testimony against you, and will eat your flesh like fire. Ye have hoarded in the last days.
your gold and your silver have become covered with rust, and the rust on them will give evidence against you, and will eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded up wealth in these last days.
4 Behold the wage of the workmen who reaped your fields. The man who was defrauded by you cries out. And the outcries of those who reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of hosts.
I tell you that the pay of the labourers who have gathered in your crops--pay which you are keeping back--is calling out against you; and the outcries of those who have been your reapers have entered into the ears of the Lord of the armies of Heaven.
5 Ye have lived in luxury on the earth, and were self-indulgent. Ye have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter.
Here on earth you have lived self-indulgent and profligate lives. You have stupefied yourselves with gross feeding; but a day of slaughter has come.
6 Ye have condemned, ye have murdered the righteous man. He is not hostile to you.
You have condemned--you have murdered-- the righteous man: he offers no resistance.
7 Be patient therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient for it, until it receives the early and latter rain.
Be patient therefore, brethren, until the Coming of the Lord. Notice how eagerly a farmer waits for a valuable crop! He is patient over it till it has received the early and the later rain.
8 Be ye also patient. Establish your hearts, because the coming of the Lord has approached.
So you also must be patient: keeping up your courage; for the Coming of the Lord is now close at hand.
9 Do not grumble, brothers, against each other, so that ye not be judged. Behold, the judge stands before the doors.
Do not cry out in condemnation of one another, brethren, lest you come under judgement. I tell you that the Judge is standing at the door.
10 Take an example, my brothers, of evil-suffering and longsuffering, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
In illustration, brethren, of persecution patiently endured take the Prophets who have spoken as messengers from the Lord.
11 Behold, we regard those who endured, blessed. Ye have heard of the fortitude of Job, and have seen the outcome of the Lord, that he is very compassionate and merciful.
Remember that we call those blessed who endured what they did. You have also heard of Job's patient endurance, and have seen the issue of the Lord's dealings with him--how full of tenderness and pity the Lord is.
12 But above all things, my brothers, swear not. Neither by the heaven, nor the earth, nor any other oath, but let your yes be yes, and the no, no, so that ye may not fall into hypocrisy.
But above all things, my brethren, do not swear, either by Heaven or by the earth, or with any other oath. Let your 'yes' be simply 'yes,' and your 'no' be simply 'no;' that you may not come under condemnation.
13 Is any man among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is any cheerful? Let him sing praise.
Is one of you suffering? Let him pray. Is any one in good spirits? Let him sing a psalm.
14 Is any man weak among you? Let him summon the elders of the congregation, and let them pray near him, having anointed him with olive oil in the name of the Lord.
Is any one ill? Let him send for the Elders of the Church, and let them pray over him, after anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
15 And the prayer of faith will rescue him who is depressed, and the Lord will rouse him. And if he should be a man who has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.
And the prayer of faith will restore the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up to health; and if he has committed sins, they shall be forgiven.
16 Confess ye the trespasses to each other, and pray for each other so that ye may be healed. A working supplication of a righteous man is very powerful.
Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be cured. The heartfelt supplication of a righteous man exerts a mighty influence.
17 Elijah was a man of the same nature as we. And by prayer, he asked for it not to rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.
Elijah was a man with a nature similar to ours, and he earnestly prayed that there might be no rain: and no rain fell on the land for three years and six months.
18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
Again he prayed, and the sky gave rain and the land yielded its crops.
19 Brothers, if any man among you may be led astray from the truth, and some man converts him,
My brethren, if one of you strays from the truth and some one brings him back,
20 let him know that he who converts a sinful man from his wandering way, will save a soul from death, and will hide a multitude of sins.
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.
