James 5
1 Come now, you rich, weep and cry aloud for your miseries that are coming on you.
Listen to me, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming upon you!
2 Your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth-eaten.
Your riches have wasted away, and your clothes have become moth-eaten.
3 Your gold and your silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be for a testimony against you, and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up your treasure in the last days.
Your gold and silver are rusted; and the rust on them will be evidence against you, and will eat into your flesh. It was fire, so to speak, that you stored up for yourselves in these last days.
4 Look, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you have kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of those who reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of hosts.
Listen! The wages you have held back from the labourers who mowed your fields are crying out against you, and the outcries of your harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts!
5 You have lived delicately on the earth, and taken your pleasure. You have nourished your hearts in a day of slaughter.
You have lived on earth a life of extravagance and luxury; you have indulged your fancies in a time of bloodshed.
6 You have condemned, you have murdered the righteous one. He does not resist you.
You have condemned, you have murdered, the righteous one! Must not God be opposed to you?
7 Be patient therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Look, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient over it, until it receives the early and late rain.
Be patient, then, friends, until the coming of the Lord. Even the farmer has to wait for the precious fruit of the earth, watching over it patiently, until it has had the spring and summer rains.
8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.
And you must be patient also, and not be discouraged; for the Lord’s coming is near.
9 Do not grumble, brothers, against one another, so that you won't be judged. Look, the judge stands at the door.
Do not make complaints against one another, friends, or judgment will be passed on you. The judge is already standing at the door!
10 Take, brothers, for an example of suffering and of patience, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
Friends, as an example of the patient endurance of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
11 Look, we call them blessed who endured. You have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the Lord in the outcome, and how the Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
We count those who displayed such endurance blessed! You have heard, too, of Job’s endurance, and have seen what the Lord’s purpose was, for “the Lord is full of pity and compassion.”
12 But above all things, my brothers, do not swear, neither by heaven, nor by the earth, nor by any other oath; but let your "yes" be "yes," and your "no," "no;" so that you do not fall under judgment.
Above all things, my friends, never take an oath, either by heaven, or by earth, or by anything else. Let your “Yes” suffice for yes, and “No” for no, so that you may escape condemnation.
13 Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone cheerful? He should sing praises.
If anyone of you is in trouble, they should pray; if anyone is happy, they should sing hymns.
14 Is anyone among you sick? He should call for the elders of the church, and they should pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
If anyone of you is ill, they should send for the church elders, and let them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord.
15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
The prayer offered in faith will save the person who is sick, and the Lord will raise them from their bed; and if they have committed sins, they will be forgiven.
16 Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerfully effective.
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be cured. Great is the power of a good person’s fervent prayer.
17 Eliya was a human being with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.
Elijah was only human like ourselves, but, when he prayed fervently that it might not rain, no rain fell on the land for three and a half years.
18 He prayed again, and the sky gave rain, and the earth brought forth its fruit.
And, when he prayed again, the clouds brought rain, and the land bore crops.
19 My brothers, if any among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back,
My friends, should one of you be led astray from the truth, and someone bring them back again,
20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death, and will cover a multitude of sins.
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.
