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, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming on you.
2 Your wealth is unclean and insects have made holes in your clothing.
Your riches are 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 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 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 wages of the labourers 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 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 luxury on the earth, and taken your pleasure. 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 you have murdered the righteous one. He doesn’t resist 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, 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 Be as calm in your waiting; let your hearts be strong: because the coming of the Lord is near.
You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
9 Say no hard things against one another, brothers, so that you will not be judged; see, the judge is waiting at the doors.
Don’t grumble, brothers, against one another, so that you won’t be judged. Behold, the judge stands at 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, brothers, for an example of suffering and of perseverance, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
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 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 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 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 Is anyone among you in trouble? let him say prayers. Is anyone glad? let him make a song of praise.
Is any amongst you suffering? Let him pray. Is any cheerful? Let him sing praises.
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 amongst 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 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 will heal him who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
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 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 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 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 he made another prayer, and the heaven sent down rain and the earth gave her fruit.
He prayed again, and the sky gave rain, and the earth produced 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,
Brothers, if any amongst you wanders from the truth and someone turns 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 a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
