James 5
1 Come now, you men of wealth, give yourselves to weeping and crying because of the bitter troubles which are coming to you.
Come, now, you rich men, weep and lament for your miseries that are coming upon you.
2 Your wealth is unclean and insects have made holes in your clothing.
Your wealth is corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten:
3 Your gold and your silver are wasted and their waste will be a witness against you, burning into your flesh. You have put by your store in the last days.
your gold and your silver are covered with rust; and their rust will be a testimony against you, and will eat your flesh as fire. You have heaped up treasures in the last days.
4 See, the money which you falsely kept back from the workers cutting the grass in your field, is crying out against you; and the cries of those who took in your grain have come to the ears of the Lord of armies.
Behold, the hire of the laborers who have reaped your fields, which has been unjustly withheld by you, cries out: and the cries of those who have reaped, have entered into the ears of the Lord of hosts.
5 You have been living delicately on earth and have taken your pleasure; you have made your hearts fat for a day of destruction.
You have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; you have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.
6 You have given your decision against the upright man and have put him to death. He puts up no fight against you.
You have condemned and killed the Just One: and he does not set himself against you.
7 Go on waiting calmly, my brothers, till the coming of the Lord, like the farmer waiting for the good fruit of the earth till the early and late rains have come.
Be patient, therefore, brethren, till the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer looks for the precious fruit of the earth, and waits patiently for it, till he receives the early and the latter rain.
8 Be as calm in your waiting; let your hearts be strong: because the coming of the Lord is near.
Be you also patient, establish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draws near.
9 Say no hard things against one another, brothers, so that you will not be judged; see, the judge is waiting at the doors.
Indulge not in complaints against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned: behold, the judge stands before the door.
10 Take as an example of pain nobly undergone and of strength in trouble, the prophets who gave to men the words of the Lord.
Take, my brethren, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering evil, and of patience.
11 We say that those men who have gone through pain are happy: you have the story of Job and the troubles through which he went and have seen that the Lord was full of pity and mercy in the end.
Behold, we count those happy who endure. You have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the final dealing of the Lord, that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.
12 But most of all, my brothers, do not take oaths, not by the heaven, or by the earth, or by any other thing: but let your Yes be Yes, and your No be No: so that you may not be judged.
But above all things, my brethren, swear not, either by heaven, or by the earth, or with any other oath: but let your yes, be yes, and your no, be no, lest you fall into condemnation.
13 Is anyone among you in trouble? let him say prayers. Is anyone glad? let him make a song of praise.
Is any one among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any one cheerful? let him sing praise.
14 Is anyone among you ill? let him send for the rulers of the church; and let them say prayers over him, putting oil on him in the name of the Lord.
Is any one among you sick? let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil, in the name of the Lord.
15 And by the prayer of faith the man who is ill will be made well, and he will be lifted up by the Lord, and for any sin which he has done he will have forgiveness.
And the prayer of faith shall save the sick; and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
16 So then, make a statement of your sins to one another, and say prayers for one another so that you may be made well. The prayer of a good man is full of power in its working.
Confess your faults one to another, and pray for one another, that you may be restored to health: the fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
17 Elijah was a man of flesh and blood as we are, and he made a strong prayer that there might be no rain; and there was no rain on the earth for three years and six months.
Elijah was a man with passions like our own; and he earnestly prayed that it might not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.
18 And he made another prayer, and the heaven sent down rain and the earth gave her fruit.
And he prayed again; and the heavens gave rain, and the earth brought forth its fruit.
19 My brothers, if one of you has gone out of the way of the true faith and another has made him see his error,
Brethren, if any among you should err from the truth, and one should turn him back,
20 Be certain that he through whom a sinner has been turned from the error of his way, keeps a soul from death and is the cause of forgiveness for sins without number.
let him know that he who turns back a sinner from the error of his way, will save a soul from death, and cover a multitude of sins.
