James 5
1 Listen to me, you rich men, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming upon you!
Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming on you.
2 Your riches have wasted away, and your clothes have become moth-eaten.
Your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth-eaten.
3 Your gold and silver are rusted; and the rust on them shall be evidence against you, and shall eat into your very flesh. It was fire, so to speak, that you stored up for yourselves in these last days.
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.
4 I tell you, the wages of the labourers who mowed your fields, which you have been fraudulently keeping back, are crying out against you, and the outcries of your reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts!
Behold, 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 Armies.
5 You have lived on earth a life of extravagance and luxury; you have indulged your fancies in a time of bloodshed.
You have lived in luxury on the earth, and taken your pleasure. You 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?
You have condemned and you have murdered the righteous one. He doesn’t resist you.
7 Be patient, then, Brothers, till the Coming of the Lord. Even the farmer has to wait for the precious fruit of the earth, watching over it patiently, till 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 over it, until it receives the early and late rain.
8 And you must be patient also, and not be discouraged; for the Lord’s Coming is near.
You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
9 Do not make complaints against one another, Brothers, or judgment will be passed upon you. The Judge is already standing at the door!
Don’t grumble, brothers, against one another, so that you won’t be judged. Behold, the judge stands at the door.
10 Brothers, as an example of the patient endurance of suffering, take the Prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
Take, brothers, for an example of suffering and of perseverance, 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 call them blessed who endured. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and have seen the Lord in the outcome, and how the Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
12 Above all things, my Brothers, never take an oath, either by heaven, or by earth, or by anything else. With you let ‘Yes’ suffice for yes, and ‘No’ for no, so that you may escape condemnation.
But above all things, my brothers, don’t swear—not by heaven, or by the earth, or by any other oath; but let your “yes” be “yes”, and your “no”, “no”, so that you don’t fall into hypocrisy.
13 If any of you is in trouble, let him pray; if any one is happy, let him sing hymns.
Is any among you suffering? Let him pray. Is any cheerful? Let him sing praises.
14 If any one of you is ill, let him send for the Officers of the Church, and let them pray over him, after anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the assembly, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord;
15 The prayer offered in faith will save the man who is sick, and the Lord will raise him from his bed; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
and the prayer of faith will heal him who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be cured. Great is the power of a good man’s fervent prayer.
Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The insistent prayer of a righteous person is powerfully effective.
17 Elijah was only a man like ourselves, but, when he prayed fervently that it might not rain, no rain fell upon the land for three years and a half.
Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it didn’t 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.
He prayed again, and the sky gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
19 My Brothers, should one of you be led astray from the Truth, and someone bring him back again,
Brothers, if any among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back,
20 be sure that he who brings a sinner back from his mistaken ways will save that man’s soul from Death, and throw a veil over countless sins.
let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
