James 5
5
Advice to Rich People
1Pay attention to this if you’re rich. Cry and moan about the misery that is coming to you. 2Your riches have decayed, and your clothes have been eaten by moths. 3Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be used as evidence against you. Like fire, it will destroy your body.
You have stored up riches in these last days. 4The wages you refused to pay the people who harvested your fields shout ⌞to God⌟ against you. The Lord of Armies has heard the cries of those who gather the crops. 5You have lived in luxury and pleasure here on earth. You have fattened yourselves for the day of slaughter. 6You have condemned and murdered people who have God’s approval, even though they didn’t resist you.
Be Patient
7Brothers and sisters, be patient until the Lord comes again. See how farmers wait for their precious crops to grow. They wait patiently for fall and spring rains. 8You, too, must be patient. Don’t give up hope. The Lord will soon be here. 9Brothers and sisters, stop complaining about each other, or you will be condemned. Realize that the judge is standing at the door.
10Brothers and sisters, follow the example of the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. They were patient when they suffered unjustly. 11We consider those who endure to be blessed. You have heard about Job’s endurance. You saw that the Lord ended Job’s suffering because the Lord is compassionate and merciful.
Don’t Take Oaths
12Above all things, my brothers and sisters, do not take an oath on anything in heaven or on earth. Do not take any oath. If you mean yes, say yes. If you mean no, say no. Do this so that you won’t be condemned.
Prayer Is Powerful
13If any of you are having trouble, pray. If you are happy, sing psalms. 14If you are sick, call for the church leaders. Have them pray for you and anoint you with olive oil #5:14 People in ancient times used olive oil for healing. in the name of the Lord. 15(Prayers offered in faith will save those who are sick, and the Lord will cure them.) If you have sinned, you will be forgiven. 16So admit your sins to each other, and pray for each other so that you will be healed.
Prayers offered by those who have God’s approval are effective. 17Elijah was human like us. Yet, when he prayed that it wouldn’t rain, no rain fell on the ground for three-and-a-half years. 18Then he prayed again. It rained, and the ground produced crops.
Help Those Who Have Wandered Away from the Truth
19My brothers and sisters, if one of you wanders from the truth, someone can bring that person back. 20Realize that whoever brings a sinner back from the error of his ways will save him from death, and many sins will be forgiven.
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
James 5
5
Warning to the Rich
1You rich people should cry and weep! Terrible things are going to happen to you. 2#Mt 6.19. Your treasures have already rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3#Si 29.10-12. Your money has rusted, and the rust will be evidence against you, as it burns your body like fire. Yet you keep on storing up wealth in these last days. 4#Dt 24.14,15. You refused to pay the people who worked in your fields, and now their unpaid wages are shouting out against you. The Lord All-Powerful has surely heard the cries of the workers who harvested your crops.
5While here on earth, you have thought only of filling your own stomachs and having a good time. But now you are like fat cattle on their way to be butchered. 6#Ws 2.10-20. You have condemned and murdered innocent people, who couldn't even fight back.
Be Patient and Kind
7My friends, be patient until the Lord returns. Think of farmers who wait patiently for the autumn and spring rains to make their valuable crops grow. 8Be patient like those farmers and don't give up. The Lord will soon be here! 9Don't grumble about each other or you will be judged, and the judge is right outside the door.
10My friends, follow the example of the prophets who spoke for the Lord. They were patient, even when they had to suffer. 11#Job 1.21,22; 2.10; Ps 103.8. In fact, we praise the ones who endured the most. You remember how patient Job was and how the Lord finally helped him. The Lord did this because he is so merciful and kind.
12 #
Mt 5.34-37. My friends, above all else, don't take an oath. You must not swear by heaven or by earth or by anything else. “Yes” or “No” is all you need to say. If you say anything more, you will be condemned.
13If you are having trouble, you should pray. And if you are feeling good, you should sing praises. 14#Mk 6.13. If you are sick, ask the church leaders#5.14 church leaders: Or “elders” or “presbyters.” to come and pray for you. Ask them to put olive oil#5.14 olive oil: The Jewish people used olive oil for healing. on you in the name of the Lord. 15If you have faith when you pray for sick people, they will get well. The Lord will heal them, and if they have sinned, he will forgive them.
16 #
Si 4.26. If you have sinned, you should tell each other what you have done. Then you can pray for one another and be healed. The prayer of an innocent person is powerful, and it can help a lot. 17#1 K 17.1; 18.1,2; Si 48.2,3. Elijah was just as human as we are, and for three and a half years his prayers kept the rain from falling. 18#1 K 18.42-46. But when he did pray for rain, it fell from the skies and made the crops grow.
19My friends, if any followers have wandered away from the truth, you should try to lead them back. 20#Pr 10.12; Tb 12.9; 1 P 4.8. If you turn sinners from the wrong way, you will save them from death, and many of their sins will be forgiven.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.