James 5
1 Now [I have something to say to] the rich people [who do not believe in Christ and who] ([oppress you/cause you to suffer]). Listen [to me], you rich people! You should weep and wail [loudly] [DOU] because you will experience terrible troubles [PRS]!
Come now, you rich, weep and cry aloud for your miseries that are coming on you.
2 Your wealth [of various kinds] is [worthless] [MET], [as though it were] rotted. Your fine clothes are [worthless] [MET], [as though] termites had ruined them.
Your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth-eaten.
3 Your gold and silver are [worthless] [MET], [as though they were] corroded. [When God judges you], this worthless wealth [MTY] of yours will be evidence [PRS] that you are guilty [of being greedy], and as rust and fire [destroy] [MET, SYN] things, [God] will severely punish you [SIM]. You have ([in vain/uselessly]) (stored up/accumulated) [wealth] at a time when [God] is about to [judge you] [MTY].
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 Think [about what you have done]. You have not paid wages to the workmen who have harvested your fields for you, [with the result that] [PRS] those reapers are crying out [to God for him to help them]. [And God], the all-powerful Lord, has heard their loud cries.
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 You have lived luxuriously, just to have pleasure [here] on earth. [Just like cattle fatten themselves, not realizing that] they will be slaughtered [MET], you have [lived just for pleasure] [MTY], [not realizing that God will severely punish you].
You have lived delicately on the earth, and taken your pleasure. You have nourished your hearts in a day of slaughter.
6 You have [arranged for others/judges to] condemn innocent people. You have [arranged for others to kill] some people. [And even though] those people had not done anything wrong, they were not [able to] defend themselves against you. [My fellow believers, that is what I say to the rich people] ([who oppress you/cause you to suffer]).
You have condemned, you have murdered the righteous one. He does not resist you.
7 So, my fellow believers, [although rich people cause you to suffer], be patient until the Lord [Jesus Christ] comes [back]. Remember that when farmers [plant a field], they wait for their valuable crops to grow. They must wait patiently for the rain [that comes] at the planting season and for more rain [that comes] just before the harvest season. They wait [for] the crops [to grow and mature before they can harvest them].
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 [Similarly], you also should [wait] patiently and trust the Lord [Jesus] firmly, because he is coming [back] soon [and will judge all people fairly].
You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.
9 My fellow believers, do not complain about each other, in order that you will not be condemned [and punished by the Lord Jesus] {in order that [the Lord Jesus] will not condemn you}. It is he who will judge us, and he is ready to appear.
Do not grumble, brothers, against one another, so that you won't be judged. Look, the judge stands at the door.
10 My fellow believers, as an example [of how to be patient], (consider/think about) the prophets whom the Lord [God sent long ago] to speak his messages [MTY]. [Although people caused] the prophets to suffer a lot, they endured it patiently.
Take, brothers, for an example of suffering and of patience, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
11 And we know that [God] (approves of/is pleased with) those who endure [suffering for him]. You have also heard about Job. You know that [although he suffered much], the Lord [God] finally caused things to turn out well [for Job because] he endured [that suffering] (OR, because he continued [to trust God]). [And from that we know] that the Lord is very compassionate and kind.
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 Also, my fellow believers, [I want to say] something important [about how you talk]. [If you say that you will do something], do not say, “If I do not do it, may [God in] heaven [MTY] punish me.” Do not even say, “If I do not do it, may [someone here on] earth [MTY] punish me.” Do not say anything like that. Instead, if you say “Yes,” then [do what you said that you would do]. If you say “No,” then do not [do it]. Otherwise, [God] will condemn you.
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 Whoever among you is experiencing trouble [RHQ] should pray [that God would help him. Whoever] is cheerful/happy [RHQ] should sing songs of praise [to God].
Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone cheerful? He should sing praises.
14 Whoever among you is sick [RHQ] should call the leaders of the congregation [to come to pray for him]. They should put [olive] oil on him and, with the Lord’s authority [MTY] (OR, calling on the Lord [to heal him]), pray.
Is anyone among you sick? He should call for the elders of the church, and they should pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
15 And if they truly trust [in the Lord] when they pray [PRS], the sick person will be healed. The Lord will heal him. And if that person has sinned ([in a way that caused him to be/and because of that he became]) [sick, if he] ([confesses what he did/says that he did what is wrong]), he will be forgiven {[the Lord] will forgive him}.
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 So, [because the Lord is able to heal the sick and to forgive sins], tell each other the sinful things that you have done, and pray for each other in order that you may be healed {that [God] may heal you} [physically and spiritually]. If righteous people [pray and] ask fervently [for God to do something, God] will certainly do it in a powerful way.
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 [Although the prophet] Elijah was (an ordinary person/just a human being) like us, he earnestly prayed that it would not rain. [As a result], it did not rain for three and a half years.
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 Then he prayed again, [asking God to send rain], and [as a result God] [MTY] sent rain, and plants [grew and] produced crops [again].
He prayed again, and the sky gave rain, and the earth brought forth its fruit.
19 My fellow believers, if anyone of you stops obeying the true message [from God], someone from among you should persuade that person to once again do [what God has told us to do]. [If he stops doing what is wrong],
My brothers, if any among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back,
20 the one [who persuaded him] should realize that [because] he has enabled the person who was sinning to stop doing what is wrong, [God] will save that person from ([spiritual] death/being separated from him forever), and will forgive [his] many 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.
