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.
James 5
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 5
Warning to the Rich.[a] 1 Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries.(A) 2 Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become moth-eaten,(B) 3 your gold and silver have corroded, and that corrosion will be a testimony against you; it will devour your flesh like a fire. You have stored up treasure for the last days.(C) 4 Behold, the wages you withheld from the workers who harvested your fields are crying aloud, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.(D) 5 You have lived on earth in luxury and pleasure; you have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter.(E) 6 You have condemned; you have murdered the righteous one;(F) he offers you no resistance.[b]
Patience and Oaths. 7 [c]Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains.[d] 8 You too must be patient. Make your hearts firm, because the coming of the Lord is at hand.(G) 9 Do not complain, brothers, about one another, that you may not be judged. Behold, the Judge is standing before the gates. 10 Take as an example of hardship and patience, brothers, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Indeed we call blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of the perseverance of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, because “the Lord is compassionate and merciful.”(H)
12 (I)But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath, but let your “Yes” mean “Yes” and your “No” mean “No,” that you may not incur condemnation.[e]
IV. The Power of Prayer
Anointing of the Sick. 13 Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone in good spirits? He should sing praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick?[f] He should summon the presbyters of the church, and they should pray over him and anoint [him] with oil in the name of the Lord,(J) 15 and the prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven.[g]
Confession and Intercession. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful. 17 Elijah was a human being like us; yet he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain upon the land.(K) 18 Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the earth produced its fruit.(L)
Conversion of Sinners. 19 (M)My brothers, if anyone among you should stray from the truth and someone bring him back, 20 (N)he should know that whoever brings back a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.[h]
Footnotes
- 5:1–6 Continuing with the theme of the transitory character of life on earth, the author points out the impending ruin of the godless. He denounces the unjust rich, whose victims cry to heaven for judgment on their exploiters (Jas 5:4–6). The decay and corrosion of the costly garments and metals, which symbolize wealth, prove them worthless and portend the destruction of their possessors (Jas 5:2–3).
- 5:6 The author does not have in mind any specific crime in his readers’ communities but rather echoes the Old Testament theme of the harsh oppression of the righteous poor (see Prv 1:11; Wis 2:10, 12, 20).
- 5:7–11 Those oppressed by the unjust rich are reminded of the need for patience, both in bearing the sufferings of human life (Jas 5:9) and in their expectation of the coming of the Lord. It is then that they will receive their reward (Jas 5:7–8, 10–11; cf. Hb 10:25; 1 Jn 2:18).
- 5:7 The early and the late rains: an expression related to the agricultural season in ancient Palestine (see Dt 11:14; Jer 5:24; Jl 2:23).
- 5:12 This is the threat of condemnation for the abuse of swearing oaths (cf. Mt 5:33–37). By heaven or by earth: these words were substitutes for the original form of an oath, to circumvent its binding force and to avoid pronouncing the holy name of God (see Ex 22:10).
- 5:14 In case of sickness a Christian should ask for the presbyters of the church, i.e., those who have authority in the church (cf. Acts 15:2, 22–23; 1 Tm 5:17; Ti 1:5). They are to pray over the person and anoint with oil; oil was used for medicinal purposes in the ancient world (see Is 1:6; Lk 10:34). In Mk 6:13, the Twelve anoint the sick with oil on their missionary journey. In the name of the Lord: by the power of Jesus Christ.
- 5:15 The results of the prayer and anointing are physical health and forgiveness of sins. The Roman Catholic Church (Council of Trent, Session 14) declared that this anointing of the sick is a sacrament “instituted by Christ and promulgated by blessed James the apostle.”
- 5:20 When a Christian is instrumental in the conversion of a sinner, the result is forgiveness of sins and a reinstatement of the sinner to the life of grace.
James 5
King James Version
5 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.
5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.
6 Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.
7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.
10 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.
11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.
12 But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.
13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.
18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
19 Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;
20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.
James 5
Easy-to-Read Version
A Warning to Rich and Selfish People
5 You rich people, listen! Cry and be very sad because much trouble will come to you. 2 Your riches will rot and be worth nothing. Your clothes will be eaten by moths. 3 Your gold and silver will rust, and that rust will be a proof that you were wrong. That rust will eat your bodies like fire. You saved your treasure in the last days. 4 People worked in your fields, but you did not pay them. They are crying out against you. They harvested your crops. Now the Lord All-Powerful has heard their cries.
5 Your life on earth was full of rich living. You pleased yourselves with everything you wanted. You made yourselves fat, like an animal ready for the day of slaughter.[a] 6 You showed no mercy to good people. They were not against you, but you killed them.
Be Patient
7 Brothers and sisters, be patient; the Lord will come. So be patient until that time. Look at the farmers. They have to be patient. They have to wait for their valuable crop to grow and produce a harvest. They wait patiently for the first rain and the last rain.[b] 8 You must be patient too. Never stop hoping. The Lord is coming soon. 9 Brothers and sisters, don’t complain against each other. If you don’t stop complaining, you will be judged guilty. And the Judge is ready to come!
10 Brothers and sisters, follow the example of the prophets who spoke for the Lord. They suffered many bad things, but they were patient. 11 And we say that those who accepted their troubles with patience now have God’s blessing. You have heard about Job’s patience.[c] You know that after all his troubles, the Lord helped him. This shows that the Lord is full of mercy and is kind.
Be Careful What You Say
12 My brothers and sisters, it is very important that you not use an oath when you make a promise. Don’t use the name of heaven, earth, or anything else to prove what you say. When you mean yes, say only “yes.” When you mean no, say only “no.” Do this so that you will not be judged guilty.
The Power of Prayer
13 Are you having troubles? You should pray. Are you happy? You should sing. 14 Are you sick? Ask the elders of the church to come and rub oil on you[d] in the name of the Lord and pray for you. 15 If such a prayer is offered in faith, it will heal anyone who is sick. The Lord will heal them. And if they have sinned, he will forgive them.
16 So always tell each other the wrong things you have done. Then pray for each other. Do this so that God can heal you. Anyone who lives the way God wants can pray, and great things will happen. 17 Elijah was a person just like us. He prayed that it would not rain. And it did not rain on the land for three and a half years! 18 Then Elijah prayed that it would rain. And the rain came down from the sky, and the land grew crops again.
Helping People When They Sin
19 My brothers and sisters, if anyone wanders away from the truth and someone helps that person come back, 20 remember this: Anyone who brings a sinner back from the wrong way will save that person from eternal death and cause many sins to be forgiven.
Footnotes
- James 5:5 You made yourselves fat … slaughter Literally, “You fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter.”
- James 5:7 first rain … last rain The “first rain” came in the fall, and the “last rain” came in the spring.
- James 5:11 Job’s patience See the book of Job in the Old Testament.
- James 5:14 rub oil on you Oil was used like medicine.
Gia-cơ 5
New Vietnamese Bible
5 Bây giờ, hãy nghe đây, những người giàu có! Anh chị em hãy khóc lóc kêu la vì tai ương sắp đổ xuống trên anh chị em! 2 Tài sản anh chị em bị mục nát, áo quần bị mối ăn; 3 vàng và bạc của anh chị em han gỉ, chất gỉ ấy làm chứng tố cáo anh chị em và ăn thịt anh chị em như lửa thiêu đốt. Anh chị em đã tích trữ tài sản trong thời cuối cùng. 4 Này, tiền công các thợ gặt đã làm việc trong đồng ruộng anh chị em mà anh chị em giữ lại đang to tiếng tố cáo anh chị em. Tiếng kêu than của các thợ gặt ấy đã thấu đến tai Chúa Vạn Quân. 5 Anh chị em đã sống xa xỉ, bê tha trên mặt đất. Anh chị em đã nuôi mình mập béo cho ngày làm thịt.[a] 6 Anh chị em đã kết án và giết người công chính mà họ không chống cự.
Kiên Nhẫn Chờ Đợi Chúa Đến
7 Thưa anh chị em, hãy kiên nhẫn cho đến khi Chúa quang lâm. Kìa, người nông phu chờ đợi hoa quả quý báu của đất ruộng, kiên nhẫn đợi chờ cho đến khi đượm mưa thu và mưa xuân. 8 Anh chị em cũng hãy kiên nhẫn và vững lòng vì ngày Chúa quang lâm gần rồi. 9 Thưa anh chị em, đừng phàn nàn trách móc nhau để anh chị em khỏi bị xét đoán. Kìa, Đấng Thẩm Phán đang đứng trước cửa.
10 Thưa anh chị em, hãy noi gương chịu bạc đãi và kiên nhẫn của các tiên tri đã nhân danh Chúa mà nói. 11 Kìa, những người có lòng kiên trì chúng ta xem là có phước. Anh chị em đã nghe về tính kiên nhẫn của Gióp và thấy kết quả Chúa đãi ông thế nào, vì Chúa nhân từ và đầy lòng thương xót.
12 Nhưng thưa anh chị em của tôi, trên hết mọi việc, đừng thề thốt; đừng chỉ trời, chỉ đất hay chỉ bất kỳ vật gì khác mà thề. Nhưng đối với anh chị em, phải thì nói phải, không thì nói không, để anh chị em khỏi bị kết án.
Cầu Nguyện Bởi Đức Tin
13 Có ai trong anh chị em bị bạc đãi, người ấy hãy cầu nguyện. Có ai vui mừng hãy đàn hát ca ngợi. 14 Có ai trong anh chị em yếu đau, hãy mời các trưởng lão của hội thánh đến, để họ nhân danh Chúa xức dầu rồi cầu nguyện cho mình. 15 Lời cầu nguyện bởi đức tin sẽ cứu chữa người bệnh; Chúa sẽ đỡ người ấy dậy. Nếu người bệnh phạm tội cũng sẽ được tha. 16 Vậy hãy xưng tội với nhau và cầu thay cho nhau, để anh chị em được lành bệnh. Lời cầu xin của người công chính rất mạnh mẽ và hiệu nghiệm.
17 Ê-li cũng là con người cùng bản chất như chúng ta. Ông khẩn thiết cầu nguyện xin cho đừng mưa thì không có mưa rơi xuống đất suốt ba năm rưỡi. 18 Ông cầu nguyện lại thì trời mưa xuống và đất sinh hoa màu.
19 Thưa anh chị em của tôi, nếu có ai trong anh chị em lầm lạc xa cách chân lý và có người đưa kẻ ấy trở lại, 20 thì xin anh chị em biết rằng người dìu dắt tội nhân trở lại khỏi đường lầm lạc, sẽ cứu linh hồn người ấy khỏi chết và che giấu rất nhiều tội lỗi.
Footnotes
- 5:5 Nt: nuôi tấm lòng cho mập
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