< James 5 >

1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming on you.
Come, you rich men, weep aloud and howl for your sorrows which will soon be upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth-eaten.
Your treasures have rotted, and your piles of clothing are 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 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.
4 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.
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.
5 You have lived in luxury on the earth, and taken your pleasure. You have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter.
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.
6 You have condemned and you have murdered the righteous one. He doesn’t resist you.
You have condemned--you have murdered-- the righteous man: he offers no resistance.
7 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.
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.
8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
So you also must be patient: keeping up your courage; for the Coming of the Lord is now close at hand.
9 Don’t grumble, brothers, against one another, so that you won’t be judged. Behold, the judge stands at the door.
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.
10 Take, brothers, for an example of suffering and of perseverance, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
In illustration, brethren, of persecution patiently endured take the Prophets who have spoken as messengers from the Lord.
11 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.
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.
12 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.
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.
13 Is any among you suffering? Let him pray. Is any cheerful? Let him sing praises.
Is one of you suffering? Let him pray. Is any one in good spirits? Let him sing a psalm.
14 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;
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.
15 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.
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.
16 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.
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.
17 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.
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.
18 He prayed again, and the sky gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
Again he prayed, and the sky gave rain and the land yielded its crops.
19 Brothers, if any among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back,
My brethren, if one of you strays from the truth and some one brings him back,
20 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.
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.

< James 5 >