James 5

New American Standard Bible 1995

Misuse of Riches

5 ^(A)Come now, ^(B)you rich, ^(C)weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. ^2 (D)Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. ³ Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is ^(E)in the last days that you have stored up your treasure! ⁴ Behold, ^(F)the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and ^(G)the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of ^(H)the Lord of ^[a]Sabaoth. ⁵ You have ^(I)lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have ^[b]fattened your hearts in ^(J)a day of slaughter. ⁶ You have condemned and ^[c](K)put to death ^(L)the righteous man; he does not resist you.

Exhortation

⁷ Therefore be patient, ^(M)brethren, ^(N)until the coming of the Lord. ^(O)The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until ^[d]it gets ^(P)the early and late rains. ^8 (Q)You too be patient; ^(R)strengthen your hearts, for ^(S)the coming of the Lord is ^(T)near. ^9 (U)Do not ^[e]complain, ^(V)brethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, ^(W)the Judge is standing ^[f](X)right at the ^[g]door. ¹⁰ As an example, ^(Y)brethren, of suffering and patience, take ^(Z)the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. ¹¹ We count those ^(AA)blessed who endured. You have heard of ^(AB)the ^[h]endurance of Job and have seen ^(AC)the ^[i]outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that ^(AD)the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.

¹² But above all, ^(AE)my brethren, ^(AF)do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but ^[j]your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment.

¹³ Is anyone among you ^(AG)suffering? ^(AH)Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to ^(AI)sing praises. ¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for ^(AJ)the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, ^[k](AK)anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; ¹⁵ and the ^(AL)prayer ^[l]offered in faith will ^[m](AM)restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will ^(AN)raise him up, and if he has committed sins, ^[n]they will be forgiven him. ¹⁶ Therefore, ^(AO)confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be ^(AP)healed. ^(AQ)The effective ^[o]prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. ¹⁷ Elijah was ^(AR)a man with a nature like ours, and ^(AS)he prayed ^[p]earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for ^(AT)three years and six months. ¹⁸ Then he ^(AU)prayed again, and ^(AV)the ^[q]sky ^[r]poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.

¹⁹ My brethren, ^(AW)if any among you strays from ^(AX)the truth and one turns him back, ²⁰ let him know that ^[s]he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will ^(AY)save his soul from death and will ^(AZ)cover a multitude of sins.