< James 5 >

1 Come now, you who are rich, weep and wail over the misery to come upon you.
Come now, you men of wealth, give yourselves to weeping and crying because of the bitter troubles which are coming to you.
2 Your riches have rotted and moths have eaten your clothes.
Your wealth is unclean and insects have made holes in your clothing.
3 Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and consume your flesh like fire. You have hoarded treasure in the last days.
Your gold and your silver are wasted and their waste will be a witness against you, burning into your flesh. You have put by your store in the last days.
4 Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.
See, the money which you falsely kept back from the workers cutting the grass in your field, is crying out against you; and the cries of those who took in your grain have come to the ears of the Lord of armies.
5 You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in the day of slaughter.
You have been living delicately on earth and have taken your pleasure; you have made your hearts fat for a day of destruction.
6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous, who did not resist you.
You have given your decision against the upright man and have put him to death. He puts up no fight against you.
7 Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer awaits the precious fruit of the soil—how patient he is for the fall and spring rains.
Go on waiting calmly, my brothers, till the coming of the Lord, like the farmer waiting for the good fruit of the earth till the early and late rains have come.
8 You, too, be patient and strengthen your hearts, because the Lord’s coming is near.
Be as calm in your waiting; let your hearts be strong: because the coming of the Lord is near.
9 Do not complain about one another, brothers, so that you will not be judged. Look, the Judge is standing at the door!
Say no hard things against one another, brothers, so that you will not be judged; see, the judge is waiting at the doors.
10 Brothers, as an example of patience in affliction, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
Take as an example of pain nobly undergone and of strength in trouble, the prophets who gave to men the words of the Lord.
11 See how blessed we consider those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen the outcome from the Lord. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
We say that those men who have gone through pain are happy: you have the story of Job and the troubles through which he went and have seen that the Lord was full of pity and mercy in the end.
12 Above all, my brothers, do not swear, not by heaven or earth or by any other oath. Simply let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, so that you will not fall under judgment.
But most of all, my brothers, do not take oaths, not by the heaven, or by the earth, or by any other thing: but let your Yes be Yes, and your No be No: so that you may not be judged.
13 Is any one of you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone cheerful? He should sing praises.
Is anyone among you in trouble? let him say prayers. Is anyone glad? let him make a song of praise.
14 Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.
Is anyone among you ill? let him send for the rulers of the church; and let them say prayers over him, putting oil on him in the name of the Lord.
15 And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick. The Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.
And by the prayer of faith the man who is ill will be made well, and he will be lifted up by the Lord, and for any sin which he has done he will have forgiveness.
16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail.
So then, make a statement of your sins to one another, and say prayers for one another so that you may be made well. The prayer of a good man is full of power in its working.
17 Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.
Elijah was a man of flesh and blood as we are, and he made a strong prayer that there might be no rain; and there was no rain on the earth for three years and six months.
18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth yielded its crops.
And he made another prayer, and the heaven sent down rain and the earth gave her fruit.
19 My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back,
My brothers, if one of you has gone out of the way of the true faith and another has made him see his error,
20 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.
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.

< James 5 >