James 5
Disciples’ Literal New Testament
Ill-Gotten Riches Will Yield a Treasure of Miseries
5 Come now, rich ones, weep while wailing over your miseries coming-upon you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have become corroded[a]. And their corrosion will be for a testimony against you, and will eat your flesh like fire. You stored-up treasure[b] in the last days! 4 Behold— the wages of the workers having mowed your fields, the wages having been fraudulently-withheld by you, cry-out. And the outcries of the ones having reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth[c]. 5 You lived-in-luxury upon the earth, and you lived-indulgently[d]. You fattened your hearts in[e] a day of slaughter. 6 You condemned, you murdered the righteous. He does not oppose[f] you!
Be Patient and Endure Hardship Until The Lord Comes
7 Therefore be patient, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Behold— the farmer waits-for the precious fruit of the land, being-patient with it until it receives the early and late rain. 8 You also be-patient. Establish your hearts, because the coming of the Lord has drawn-near. 9 Do not be groaning against one another, brothers, in order that you may not be judged. Behold— the Judge stands in front of the doors. 10 Take as an example of suffering-hardship and patience, brothers, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Behold— we consider-blessed the ones having endured! You heard of the endurance of Job, and you saw the outcome from the Lord: that the Lord is large-hearted[g] and compassionate.
Above All, Be True To Your Word. Be Praying And Singing-Praise
12 And above all, my brothers, do not be swearing[h]— neither by heaven nor by earth nor by any other oath. But let your yes be yes and your no be no, in order that you may not fall under judgment. 13 Is anyone among you suffering-hardship? Let him be praying. Is anyone cheerful? Let him be singing-praise.
Pray For One Another So That You May Be Healed
14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him summon the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, having anointed[i] him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of [j] faith will restore[k] the one being ill, and the Lord will raise him. And if he has committed[l] sins, it will be forgiven him. 16 Therefore be confessing-out[m] your sins to one another, and be praying for one another so that you may be healed. A prayer[n] of a righteous person can-do much while working[o]. 17 Elijah was a person of-like-nature to us, and he prayed with prayer[p] that it not rain. And it did not rain upon the land for three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
Try To Turn Back Those Who Stray From The Truth
19 My brothers, if anyone among you errs[q] from the truth and someone turns him back, 20 let him know that the one having turned-back a sinner from the error of his way will save his[r] soul[s] from death, and will cover a multitude of sins.
Footnotes
- James 5:3 Or, tarnished.
- James 5:3 Or, wrath, witnesses.
- James 5:4 Or, hosts, armies.
- James 5:5 Or, lived-for-pleasure.
- James 5:5 That is, in connection with.
- James 5:6 Or, resist, set himself in array against.
- James 5:11 Or, very-affectionate, very-kind.
- James 5:12 That is, swearing an oath to strengthen or guarantee your word.
- James 5:14 Or, rubbed, smeared. A medicinal use of oil may be in view here, as in Lk 10:34; or, a symbolic use of oil, as in Mk 6:13. In the latter case, the oil may be symbolic of the healing power of the Holy Spirit.
- James 5:15 That is, characterized by; or, proceeding from.
- James 5:15 Or, save from disease.
- James 5:15 That is, if he is in a state of having committed sins, resulting in his sickness.
- James 5:16 Or, openly acknowledging.
- James 5:16 That is, prayer request, petition.
- James 5:16 Or, while at-work. Or this may be rendered ‘the working prayer of a righteous person can do much’, in which case the working (or, effective) prayer means the prayer that God answers.
- James 5:17 he prayed with prayer. This is a Hebrew way of speaking, meaning he prayed earnestly.
- James 5:19 Or, wanders, goes astray, is led astray.
- James 5:20 That is, the sinner’s.
- James 5:20 Or, life.
James 5
World English Bible
5 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming on you. 2 Your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth-eaten. 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. 4 Behold, 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 Armies.[a] 5 You have lived in luxury on the earth, and taken your pleasure. You have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and you have murdered the righteous one. He doesn’t resist you.
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. 8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
9 Don’t grumble, brothers, against one another, so that you won’t be judged. Behold, the judge stands at the door. 10 Take, brothers, for an example of suffering and of perseverance, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 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.
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.[b]
13 Is any among you suffering? Let him pray. Is any cheerful? Let him sing praises. 14 Is any among 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; 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. 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. 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. 18 He prayed again, and the sky gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
19 Brothers, if any among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back, 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.
James 5
New King James Version
Rich Oppressors Will Be Judged
5 Come now, you (A)rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! 2 Your (B)riches [a]are corrupted, and (C)your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. (D)You have heaped up treasure in the last days. 4 Indeed (E)the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and (F)the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of [b]Sabaoth. 5 You have lived on the earth in pleasure and [c]luxury; you have [d]fattened your hearts [e]as in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you.
Be Patient and Persevering
7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. 8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord [f]is at hand.
9 Do not [g]grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be [h]condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door! 10 (G)My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and (H)patience. 11 Indeed (I)we count them blessed who (J)endure. You have heard of (K)the perseverance of Job and seen (L)the end intended by the Lord—that (M)the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.
12 But above all, my brethren, (N)do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “Yes” be “Yes,” and your “No,” “No,” lest you fall into [i]judgment.
Meeting Specific Needs(O)
13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him (P)pray. Is anyone cheerful? (Q)Let him sing psalms. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, (R)anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. (S)And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 [j]Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. (T)The effective, [k]fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. 17 Elijah was a man (U)with a nature like ours, and (V)he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. 18 And he prayed (W)again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
Bring Back the Erring One
19 Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone (X)turns him back, 20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way (Y)will save [l]a soul from death and (Z)cover a multitude of sins.
Footnotes
- James 5:2 have rotted
- James 5:4 Lit., in Heb., Hosts
- James 5:5 indulgence
- James 5:5 Lit. nourished
- James 5:5 NU omits as
- James 5:8 has drawn near
- James 5:9 Lit. groan
- James 5:9 NU, M judged
- James 5:12 M hypocrisy
- James 5:16 NU Therefore confess your sins
- James 5:16 supplication
- James 5:20 NU his soul
Disciples' Literal New Testament: Serving Modern Disciples by More Fully Reflecting the Writing Style of the Ancient Disciples, Copyright © 2011 Michael J. Magill. All Rights Reserved. Published by Reyma Publishing
by Public Domain. The name "World English Bible" is trademarked.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
