James 5
5
Judgment of Rich Oppressors
1 Come now, you rich people, weep and howl over the miseries that are coming upon you. 2 Your wealth has rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you and will consume your flesh like fire. In these last days, you have stored up treasure for yourselves. 4 Behold, the wages of the labourers who mowed your fields, which have been withheld by you, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of armies. 5 You have lived in luxury and self-indulgence on the earth. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have pronounced judgment and put to death the righteous person; he does not resist you.
Patience in Suffering
7 Therefore, be patient, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the soil, being patient about it, until it receives the early and late rains. 8 You also, be patient. Strengthen your hearts, because the coming of the Lord has drawn near. 9 Brothers, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. Behold, the Judge is standing at the doors. 10 Brothers, take as an example of suffering and patience the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Behold, we count as blessed those who have endured. You have heard about the endurance of Job, and you have seen the Lord's intended outcome,* that the Lord is exceedingly compassionate and merciful.
Against Swearing
12 Now above all, my brothers, do 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 judgment.
Prayer and Singing Praises to God
13 Is anyone among you experiencing suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone experiencing gladness of heart? Let him sing praises. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with olive oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will heal the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person, when it is working, possesses great power. 17 Elijah was a man of the same nature as us, and he prayed intensely* that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the earth produced its fruit.
On Straying from the Truth and Restoration
19 My brothers, if anyone among you strays from the truth and someone turns him back, 20 let him know that the one who turns a sinner back from the error of his way will save his soul from death and cover a great number of sins.*
Notes
11 Greek the outcome of the Lord
17 Greek prayed with prayer
20 Some ancient manuscripts insert Amen at the end of the letter
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James 5: AFINTLIT
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Copyright © 2026 Michael Adeyemi Adegbola. This Scripture text is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).
