Jacob 5
1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming on you.
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]!
2 Your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth-eaten.
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.
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 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].
4 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 Hosts.
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.
5 You have lived in luxury on the earth, and taken your pleasure. You have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter.
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].
6 You have condemned and you have murdered the righteous one. He doesn’t resist you.
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]).
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.
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].
8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
[Similarly], you also should [wait] patiently and trust the Lord [Jesus] firmly, because he is coming [back] soon [and will judge all people fairly].
9 Don’t grumble, brothers, against one another, so that you won’t be judged. Behold, the judge stands at the door.
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.
10 Take, brothers, for an example of suffering and of perseverance, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
13 Is any amongst you suffering? Let him pray. Is any cheerful? Let him sing praises.
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].
14 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;
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.
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 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}.
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.
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.
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.
[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.
18 He prayed again, and the sky gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
Then he prayed again, [asking God to send rain], and [as a result God] [MTY] sent rain, and plants [grew and] produced crops [again].
19 Brothers, if any amongst you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back,
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],
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.
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.
