James 5
1 Listen to me, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming upon you!
Go now, ye rich, weep, howling for your miseries that are approaching.
2 Your riches have wasted away, and your clothes have become moth-eaten.
Your wealth has decayed, and your garments have become moth-eaten.
3 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.
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.
4 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!
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.
5 You have lived on earth a life of extravagance and luxury; you have indulged your fancies in a time of bloodshed.
Ye have lived in luxury on the earth, and were self-indulgent. Ye have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter.
6 You have condemned, you have murdered, the righteous one! Must not God be opposed to you?
Ye have condemned, ye have murdered the righteous man. He is not hostile to you.
7 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.
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.
8 And you must be patient also, and not be discouraged; for the Lord’s coming is near.
Be ye also patient. Establish your hearts, because the coming of the Lord has approached.
9 Do not make complaints against one another, friends, or judgment will be passed on you. The judge is already standing at the door!
Do not grumble, brothers, against each other, so that ye not be judged. Behold, the judge stands before the doors.
10 Friends, as an example of the patient endurance of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
Take an example, my brothers, of evil-suffering and longsuffering, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
11 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.”
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.
12 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.
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.
13 If anyone of you is in trouble, they should pray; if anyone is happy, they should sing hymns.
Is any man among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is any cheerful? Let him sing praise.
14 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.
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.
15 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.
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.
16 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.
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.
17 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.
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.
18 And, when he prayed again, the clouds brought rain, and the land bore crops.
And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
19 My friends, should one of you be led astray from the truth, and someone bring them back again,
Brothers, if any man among you may be led astray from the truth, and some man converts him,
20 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.
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.
