James 5
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Warning to Rich Oppressors
5 Come now, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming to you. 2 Your riches have rotted, and your clothes are moth-eaten.(A) 3 Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you, and it will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure[a] during the last days. 4 Listen! The wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.(B) 5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have nourished your hearts in a day of slaughter.(C) 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous one, who does not resist you.
Patience in Suffering
7 Be patient, therefore, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains.(D) 8 You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.[b](E) 9 Brothers and sisters, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors!(F) 10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers and sisters, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Indeed, we call blessed those who showed endurance. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the outcome that the Lord brought about, for the Lord is compassionate and merciful.(G)
12 Above all, brothers and sisters, 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 condemnation.[c]
The Prayer of Faith
13 Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise.(H) 14 Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord.(I) 15 The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up, and anyone who has committed sins 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 the righteous is powerful and effective.(J) 17 Elijah was a human like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth.(K) 18 Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth yielded its harvest.(L)
19 My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth[d] and is brought back by another, 20 you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner’s[e] soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.(M)
James 5
Contemporary English Version
Warning to the Rich
5 You rich people should cry and weep! Terrible things are going to happen to you. 2 (A) Your treasures have already rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3 (B) 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 (C) 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.
5 While 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 (D) You have condemned and murdered innocent people, who couldn't even fight back.
Be Patient and Kind
7 My 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. 8 Be patient like those farmers and don't give up. The Lord will soon be here! 9 Don't grumble about each other or you will be judged, and the judge is right outside the door.
10 My friends, follow the example of the prophets who spoke for the Lord. They were patient, even when they had to suffer. 11 (E) 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 (F) 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.
13 If you are having trouble, you should pray. And if you are feeling good, you should sing praises. 14 (G) If you are sick, ask the church leaders[a] to come and pray for you. Ask them to put olive oil[b] on you in the name of the Lord. 15 If 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 (H) 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 (I) Elijah was just as human as we are, and for three and a half years his prayers kept the rain from falling. 18 (J) But when he did pray for rain, it fell from the skies and made the crops grow.
19 My friends, if any followers have wandered away from the truth, you should try to lead them back. 20 (K) If you turn sinners from the wrong way, you will save them from death, and many of their sins will be forgiven.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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