James 5
1599 Geneva Bible
5 1 He threateneth the rich with God’s severe judgment, for their pride, 7 that the poor hearing the miserable end of the rich, 8 may patiently bear afflictions, 11 as Job did, 14 even in their distresses.
1 Go [a]to now, ye rich men: weep, and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupt, and your garments are moth eaten.
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 up treasure for the last days.
4 Behold, the hire of the laborers, which have reaped your fields (which is of you kept back by fraud) crieth, and the cries of them which have reaped, are entered into the [b]ears of the Lord of hosts.
5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and in wantonness. Ye have [c]nourished your hearts, as in a [d]day of slaughter.
6 Ye have condemned, and have killed the just, and he hath not resisted you.
7 [e]Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. [f]Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the former, and the latter rain.
8 Be ye also patient therefore, and settle your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth near.
9 [g][h]Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: [i]behold, the judge standeth before the door.
10 [j]Take, my brethren, the Prophets for an example of suffering adversity, and of long patience, which have spoken in the name of the Lord.
11 Behold, we count them blessed which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have known what [k]end the Lord made. For the Lord is very pitiful and merciful.
12 [l]But before all things, my brethren, (A)swear not, neither by heaven, nor by earth, nor by any other oath: but let [m]your yea, be yea, and your nay, nay, lest ye fall into condemnation.
13 [n]Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is any merry? Let him sing.
14 [o]Is any sick among you? Let him call for the Elders of the Church, and let them pray for him, and anoint him with (B)[p]oil in the [q]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 [r]sins, they shall be forgiven him.
16 [s]Acknowledge your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed: [t]for the prayer of a righteous man availeth much, if it be fervent.
17 (C)Elijah 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 for three years and six months.
18 And he prayed again: and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
19 [u]Brethren, (D)If any of you hath erred from the truth, and some man hath [v]converted him,
20 Let him know that he which hath converted the sinner from going astray out of his way, shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.
Footnotes
- James 5:1 He denounceth utter destruction to the wicked and profane rich men, and such as are drowned in their riotousness, mocking at their foolish confidence when as there is nothing indeed more vain than such things.
- James 5:4 The Lord who is more mighty than ye are, hath heard them.
- James 5:5 Ye have pampered up yourselves.
- James 5:5 The Hebrews call a day that is appointed to solemn banqueting, a day of slaughter or feasting.
- James 5:7 He applieth that to the poor, which he spake against the rich, warning them to wait for the Lord’s coming patiently, who will revenge the injuries which the rich men do them.
- James 5:7 The taking away of an objection: Although his coming serve to linger, yet at the least we must follow the husbandmen, who do patiently wait for the times that are proper for the fruits of the earth. And again, God will not defer the least iota of the time that he hath appointed.
- James 5:9 He commendeth Christian patience, so that whereas others through impatience use to accuse one another, the faithful on the contrary side complain not, although they receive injury.
- James 5:9 By grudging, he meaneth a certain inward complaining which betokeneth impatience.
- James 5:9 The conclusion: The Lord is at the door, who will defend his own, and revenge his enemies, and therefore we need not to trouble ourselves.
- James 5:10 Because most men are wont to object, that it is good to repel injuries by what means soever, he setteth against that, the examples of the Fathers, whose patience had a most happy end, because God as a most bountiful Father, never forsaketh his.
- James 5:11 What end the Lord gave.
- James 5:12 Because even the best men sometimes through impatience break out into oaths sometimes lesser, sometimes greater, the Apostle warneth us to detest such wickedness, and to accustom our tongues to simple and true talk.
- James 5:12 That that you have to say or affirm, speak or affirm it simply, and without an oath: and that that you will deny, deny it simply and flatly.
- James 5:13 He showeth the best remedy against all afflictions, to wit, prayers which have their place both in sorrow and joy.
- James 5:14 He showeth peculiarly, to what physicians especially we must go, when we are diseased, to wit, to the prayers of the Elders, which then also could cure the body, (for so much as the gift of healing was then in force) and take away the chiefest cause of sickness and diseases, by obtaining for the sick through their prayers and exhortations, remission of sins.
- James 5:14 This was a sign of the gift of healing: and now seeing we have the gift no more, the sign is no longer necessary.
- James 5:14 By calling on the Name of the Lord.
- James 5:15 He hath reason in making mention of sins, for diseases are for the most part sent because of sins.
- James 5:16 Because God pardoneth their sins which confess and acknowledge them, and not theirs which justify themselves, therefore the Apostle addeth, that we ought freely to confer one with another touching those inward diseases, that we may help one another with our prayers.
- James 5:16 He commendeth prayers by the effects that come of them, that all men may understand that there is nothing more effectual than they are, so that they proceed from a pure mind.
- James 5:19 The taking away of an objection: All reprehensions are not condemned, seeing that on the contrary part there is nothing more acceptable to God, than to call into the way a brother that was wandering out of the way.
- James 5:19 Hath called him back from his way.
James 5
New English Translation
Warning to the Rich
5 Come now, you rich! Weep and cry aloud[a] over the miseries that are coming on you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your clothing has become moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have rusted and their rust will be a witness against you. It will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have hoarded treasure![b] 4 Look, the pay you have held back from the workers who mowed your fields cries out against you, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.[c] 5 You have lived indulgently and luxuriously on the earth. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.[d] 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person, although he does not resist you.[e]
Patience in Suffering
7 So be patient, brothers and sisters,[f] until the Lord’s return.[g] Think of how the farmer waits[h] for the precious fruit of the ground and is patient[i] for it until it receives the early and late rains. 8 You also be patient and strengthen your hearts, for the Lord’s return is near. 9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers and sisters,[j] so that you may not be judged. See, the judge stands before the gates![k] 10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers and sisters,[l] take the prophets who spoke in the Lord’s name. 11 Think of how we regard[m] as blessed those who have endured. You have heard of Job’s endurance and you have seen the Lord’s purpose, that the Lord is full of compassion and mercy.[n] 12 And above all, my brothers and sisters,[o] 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 into judgment.
Prayer for the Sick
13 Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone in good spirits? He should sing praises. 14 Is anyone among you ill? He should summon the elders of the church, and they should pray for him and anoint[p] him with olive oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up—and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.[q] 16 So confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great effectiveness.[r] 17 Elijah was a human being[s] like us, and he prayed earnestly[t] that it would not rain and there was no rain on the land for three years and six months! 18 Then[u] he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the land sprouted with a harvest.
19 My brothers and sisters,[v] if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back, 20 he should know that the one who turns a sinner back from his wandering path[w] will save that person’s[x] soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
Footnotes
- James 5:1 tn Or “wail”; Grk “crying aloud.”
- James 5:3 tn Or “hoarded up treasure for the last days”; Grk “in the last days.”
- James 5:4 tn Traditionally, “Lord of Hosts” or “Lord Sabaoth,” which means “Lord of the [heavenly] armies,” sometimes translated more generally as “Lord Almighty.”
- James 5:5 sn James’ point seems to be that instead of seeking deliverance from condemnation, they have defied God’s law (fattened your hearts) and made themselves more likely objects of his judgment (in a day of slaughter).
- James 5:6 tn Literally a series of verbs without connectives, “you have condemned, you have murdered…he does not resist.”
- James 5:7 tn Grk “brothers”; this phrase occurs again three times in the paragraph. See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.
- James 5:7 tn Or “advent”; or “coming” (also in v. 8).
- James 5:7 tn Grk “Behold! The farmer waits.”
- James 5:7 tn Grk “being patient.”
- James 5:9 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.
- James 5:9 sn The term gates is used metaphorically here. The physical referent would be the entrances to the city, but the author uses the term to emphasize the imminence of the judge’s approach.
- James 5:10 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.
- James 5:11 tn Grk “Behold! We regard…”
- James 5:11 sn An allusion to Exod 34:6; Neh 9:17; Pss 86:15; 102:13; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2.
- James 5:12 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.
- James 5:14 tn Grk “anointing.”
- James 5:15 tn Grk “it will be forgiven him.”
- James 5:16 tn Or “the fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful”; Grk “is very powerful in its working.”
- James 5:17 tn Although it is certainly true that Elijah was a “man,” here ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos) has been translated as “human being” because the emphasis in context is not on Elijah’s masculine gender, but on the common humanity he shared with the author and the readers.
- James 5:17 tn Grk “he prayed with prayer” (using a Hebrew idiom to show intensity).
- James 5:18 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events.
- James 5:19 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.
- James 5:20 tn Grk “from the error of his way” (using the same root as the verb “to wander, to err” in the first part of the verse).
- James 5:20 tn Grk “his soul”; the referent (the sinner mentioned at the beginning of the verse) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
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