James 5
1 Come, you rich men, weep aloud and howl for your sorrows which will soon be upon you.
Come now, you rich, weep and cry aloud for your miseries that are coming on you.
2 Your treasures have rotted, and your piles of clothing are moth-eaten;
Your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth-eaten.
3 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.
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 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.
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.
5 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.
You have lived delicately on the earth, and taken your pleasure. You have nourished your hearts in a day of slaughter.
6 You have condemned--you have murdered-- the righteous man: he offers no resistance.
You have condemned, you have murdered the righteous one. He does not resist you.
7 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.
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.
8 So you also must be patient: keeping up your courage; for the Coming of the Lord is now close at hand.
You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.
9 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.
Do not grumble, brothers, against one another, so that you won't be judged. Look, the judge stands at the door.
10 In illustration, brethren, of persecution patiently endured take the Prophets who have spoken as messengers from the Lord.
Take, brothers, for an example of suffering and of patience, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
11 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.
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.
12 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.
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.
13 Is one of you suffering? Let him pray. Is any one in good spirits? Let him sing a psalm.
Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone cheerful? He should sing praises.
14 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.
Is anyone among you sick? He should call for the elders of the congregation, and they should pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
15 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.
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.
16 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.
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.
17 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.
Elijah 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.
18 Again he prayed, and the sky gave rain and the land yielded its crops.
He prayed again, and the sky gave rain, and the earth brought forth its fruit.
19 My brethren, if one of you strays from the truth and some one brings him back,
My brothers, if any among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back,
20 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.
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.
