James 5

Warning to the Rich

1 Come now, you rich! Weep and cry aloudt over the miseries that are coming on you.2 Your riches have rotted and your clothing has become moth-eaten.3 Your gold and silver have rusted and their rust will be a witness against you. It will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have hoarded treasure!t4 Look, the pay you have held back from the workers who mowed your fields cries out against you, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.5 You have lived indulgently and luxuriously on the earth. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.s

6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person, although he does not resist you.t

Patience in Suffering

7 So be patient, brothers and sisters,t until the Lord’s return.t Think of how the farmer waitst for the precious fruit of the ground and is patientt for it until it receives the early and late rains.8 You also be patient and strengthen your hearts, for the Lord’s return is near.9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers and sisters,t so that you may not be judged. See, the judge stands before the gates!s10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers and sisters,t take the prophets who spoke in the Lord’s name.11 Think of how we regardt as blessed those who have endured. You have heard of Job’s endurance and you have seen the Lord’s purpose, that the Lord is full of compassion and mercy.s

12 And above all, my brothers and sisters,t do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath. But let your “Yes” be yes and your “No” be no, so that you may not fall into judgment.

Prayer for the Sick

13 Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone in good spirits? He should sing praises.14 Is anyone among you ill? He should summon the elders of the church, and they should pray for him and anointt him 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 – and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.t16 So confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great effectiveness.t17 Elijah was a human beingt like us, and he prayed earnestlyt that it would not rain and there was no rain on the land for three years and six months!

18 Thent he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the land sprouted with a harvest.
19 My brothers and sisters,t if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back,

20 he should know that the one who turns a sinner back from his wandering patht will save that person’st soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

JAMES 5

Warning to the Rich

1 You rich people should cry and weep! Terrible things are going to happen to you. 2 t Your treasures have already rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3 t Your money has rusted, and the rust will be evidence against you, as it burns your body like fire. Yet you keep on storing up wealth in these last days.

4 t You refused to pay the people who worked in your fields, and now their unpaid wages are shouting out against you. The Lord All-Powerful has surely heard the cries of the workers who harvested your crops.
5 While here on earth, you have thought only of filling your own stomachs and having a good time. But now you are like fat cattle on their way to be butchered.

6 t You have condemned and murdered innocent people, who couldn't even fight back.

Be Patient and Kind

9 Don't grumble about each other or you will be judged, and the judge is right outside the door.
10 My friends, follow the example of the prophets who spoke for the Lord. They were patient, even when they had to suffer.

11 t In fact, we praise the ones who endured the most. You remember how patient Job was and how the Lord finally helped him. The Lord did this because he is so merciful and kind.

12  t My friends, above all else, don't take an oath. You must not swear by heaven or by earth or by anything else. “Yes” or “No” is all you need to say. If you say anything more, you will be condemned.
13 If you are having trouble, you should pray. And if you are feeling good, you should sing praises. 14 t If you are sick, ask the church leaderst to come and pray for you. Ask them to put olive oilt on you in the name of the Lord.

15 If you have faith when you pray for sick people, they will get well. The Lord will heal them, and if they have sinned, he will forgive them.
16  t If you have sinned, you should tell each other what you have done. Then you can pray for one another and be healed. The prayer of an innocent person is powerful, and it can help a lot. 17 t Elijah was just as human as we are, and for three and a half years his prayers kept the rain from falling.

18 t But when he did pray for rain, it fell from the skies and made the crops grow.
19 My friends, if any followers have wandered away from the truth, you should try to lead them back. 20 t If you turn sinners from the wrong way, you will save them from death, and many of their sins will be forgiven.