James 4:13-5:6

New American Standard Bible 1995

^13 (A)Come now, you who say, “^(B)Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” ^14 [a]Yet you do not know ^[b]what your life will be like tomorrow. ^(C)You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. ^15 [c]Instead, you ought to say, “^(D)If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” ¹⁶ But as it is, you boast in your ^[d]arrogance; ^(E)all such boasting is evil. ¹⁷ Therefore, ^(F)to one who knows the ^[e]right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.

Misuse of Riches

5 ^(G)Come now, ^(H)you rich, ^(I)weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. ^2 (J)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 ^(K)in the last days that you have stored up your treasure! ⁴ Behold, ^(L)the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and ^(M)the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of ^(N)the Lord of ^[f]Sabaoth. ⁵ You have ^(O)lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have ^[g]fattened your hearts in ^(P)a day of slaughter. ⁶ You have condemned and ^[h](Q)put to death ^(R)the righteous man; he does not resist you.