James 5
Revised Geneva Translation
5 Come now, you 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 are corroded. And the rust of them shall be a witness against you and shall eat your flesh as if it were fire. You have heaped up treasure for the last days.
4 Behold, the wages of the laborers who have reaped your fields cry out (those which are fraudulently withheld by you). And the cries of those reapers are entered into the ears of the Lord of Hosts.
5 You have lived in pleasure on the Earth and been riotous. You have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.
6 You have condemned and have killed the just. And he has not resisted you.
7 Therefore brothers, be patient until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth (and has long patience for it) until he receives the early and the late rain.
8 Therefore, you also be patient, and settle your hearts. For the coming of the Lord draws near.
9 Do not groan against one another, brothers, lest you be condemned. Behold, the judge stands before the door.
10 My brothers, take the Prophets as an example of suffering adversity and of long patience, who have spoken in the Name of the Lord.
11 Behold, we count those blessed who endure. You have heard of the patience of Job and have known what end the Lord made. For the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.
12 But before all things, my brothers, do not swear - not by Heaven, nor by Earth, nor by any other oath. But let your ‘yes’ be ‘yes’ and your ‘no’, ‘no’, lest you fall into condemnation.
13 Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is any cheerful? Let him sing.
14 Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church. And let them pray for him and anoint 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 has committed sins, they shall be forgiven.
16 Acknowledge your faults one to another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. For the fervent prayers of the righteous avail much.
17 Elijah was a man subject to similar passions as we are. And he prayed earnestly that it might not rain. And it did not rain 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 Brothers, if any of you have erred from the truth, and someone has converted him,
20 let him know that the one who has returned a sinner from wandering shall save a soul from death and shall hide a multitude of sins.
James 5
New King James Version
Rich Oppressors Will Be Judged
5 Come now, you (A)rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! 2 Your (B)riches [a]are corrupted, and (C)your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. (D)You have heaped up treasure in the last days. 4 Indeed (E)the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and (F)the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of [b]Sabaoth. 5 You have lived on the earth in pleasure and [c]luxury; you have [d]fattened your hearts [e]as in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you.
Be Patient and Persevering
7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. 8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord [f]is at hand.
9 Do not [g]grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be [h]condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door! 10 (G)My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and (H)patience. 11 Indeed (I)we count them blessed who (J)endure. You have heard of (K)the perseverance of Job and seen (L)the end intended by the Lord—that (M)the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.
12 But above all, my brethren, (N)do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “Yes” be “Yes,” and your “No,” “No,” lest you fall into [i]judgment.
Meeting Specific Needs(O)
13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him (P)pray. Is anyone cheerful? (Q)Let him sing psalms. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, (R)anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. (S)And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 [j]Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. (T)The effective, [k]fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. 17 Elijah was a man (U)with a nature like ours, and (V)he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. 18 And he prayed (W)again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
Bring Back the Erring One
19 Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone (X)turns him back, 20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way (Y)will save [l]a soul from death and (Z)cover a multitude of sins.
Footnotes
- James 5:2 have rotted
- James 5:4 Lit., in Heb., Hosts
- James 5:5 indulgence
- James 5:5 Lit. nourished
- James 5:5 NU omits as
- James 5:8 has drawn near
- James 5:9 Lit. groan
- James 5:9 NU, M judged
- James 5:12 M hypocrisy
- James 5:16 NU Therefore confess your sins
- James 5:16 supplication
- James 5:20 NU his soul
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.
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
