James 5
5
Warning to the Rich
1Look here, you rich people: Weep and groan with anguish because of all the terrible troubles ahead of you. 2Your wealth is rotting away, and your fine clothes are moth-eaten rags. 3Your gold and silver are corroded. The very wealth you were counting on will eat away your flesh like fire. This corroded treasure you have hoarded will testify against you on the day of judgment. 4For listen! Hear the cries of the field workers whom you have cheated of their pay. The cries of those who harvest your fields have reached the ears of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
5You have spent your years on earth in luxury, satisfying your every desire. You have fattened yourselves for the day of slaughter. 6You have condemned and killed innocent people,#5:6a Or killed the Righteous One. who do not resist you.#5:6b Or Don’t they resist you? or Doesn’t God oppose you? or Aren’t they now accusing you before God?
Patience and Endurance
7Dear brothers and sisters,#5:7 Greek brothers; also in 5:9, 10, 12, 19. be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. 8You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near.
9Don’t grumble about each other, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. For look—the Judge is standing at the door!
10For examples of patience in suffering, dear brothers and sisters, look at the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11We give great honor to those who endure under suffering. For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance. You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy.
12But most of all, my brothers and sisters, never take an oath, by heaven or earth or anything else. Just say a simple yes or no, so that you will not sin and be condemned.
The Power of Prayer
13Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. 14Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. 15Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.
16Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. 17Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! 18Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops.
Restore Wandering Believers
19My dear brothers and sisters, if someone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back, 20you can be sure that whoever brings the sinner back from wandering will save that person from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins.
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James 5
5
Warning to the Rich
1Come now, #Luke 6:24; [Prov. 11:28; Amos 6:1; 1 Tim. 6:9] you rich, weep and howl for the #Rom. 3:16miseries that are coming upon you. 2#Job 13:28; Isa. 50:9; Matt. 6:19, 20Your riches have rotted and #Job 13:28; Isa. 50:9; Matt. 6:19, 20your garments are moth-eaten. 3Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. #Matt. 6:19; Luke 12:21; Rom. 2:5You have laid up treasure #[ver. 8, 9]in the last days. 4Behold, #Job 24:10; See Lev. 19:13the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and #Deut. 24:15the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of #Rom. 9:29the Lord of hosts. 5#[Job 21:13; Luke 16:19; 2 Pet. 2:13] You have lived on the earth in luxury and #1 Tim. 5:6in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in #Jer. 12:3a day of slaughter. 6You have condemned and #ch. 4:2murdered #[Acts 3:14]the righteous person. He does not resist you.
Patience in Suffering
7Be patient, therefore, brothers,#5:7 Or brothers and sisters; also verses 9, 10, 12, 19 until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives #See Deut. 11:14the early and the late rains. 8You also, be patient. #1 Thess. 3:13Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord #1 Pet. 4:7; [Rom. 13:11, 12; Phil. 4:5; Heb. 10:25, 37]is at hand. 9Do not grumble against one another, brothers, #Matt. 7:1so that you may not be judged; behold, #[1 Pet. 4:5; Rev. 22:12] the Judge is standing #Matt. 24:33; Mark 13:29; [1 Cor. 4:5]at the door. 10As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take #Matt. 5:12; 23:34; Acts 7:52; Heb. 11:32-38the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of #Job 1:21, 22; 2:10the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen #Job 42:10, 12the purpose of the Lord, how #See Ex. 34:6the Lord is compassionate and merciful.
12But above all, my brothers, #Matt. 5:34do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.
The Prayer of Faith
13Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him #[Col. 3:16]sing praise. 14Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, #Mark 6:13; [Mark 16:18]anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And #Isa. 33:24; Matt. 9:2; Mark 2:5; Luke 5:20if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16Therefore, #Acts 19:18confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, #Heb. 12:13that you may be healed. #Gen. 18:23-32; 20:17; Num. 11:2; 1 Kgs. 13:6; 17:22; 2 Kgs. 4:33; 19:15-20; 20:2-5; Job 42:8; Prov. 15:29The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.#5:16 Or The effective prayer of a righteous person has great power 17Elijah was a man #Acts 14:15with a nature like ours, and #1 Kgs. 17:1; 18:1he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for #Luke 4:25three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18#1 Kgs. 18:42, 45Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.
19My brothers, #[Matt. 18:15; Gal. 6:1] if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone #Ps. 51:13; Dan. 12:3; Mal. 2:6; [Luke 1:16]brings him back, 20let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering #See Rom. 11:14will save his soul from death and #1 Pet. 4:8; [Neh. 4:5; Ps. 32:1; 85:2; Prov. 10:12]will cover a multitude of sins.
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