Misuse of Riches

5 Come [quickly] now, you rich [who lack true faith and hoard and misuse your resources], weep and howl over the miseries [the woes, the judgments] that are coming upon you. ² Your wealth has rotted and is ruined and your [fine] clothes have become moth-eaten. ³ Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. You have stored up your treasure in the last days [when it will do you no good]. ⁴ Look! The wages that you have [fraudulently] withheld from the laborers who have mowed your fields are crying out [against you for vengeance]; and the cries of the harvesters have come to the ears of ^[a]the Lord of Sabaoth.^{(A) 5} On the earth you have lived luxuriously and abandoned yourselves to soft living and led a life of wanton pleasure [self-indulgence, self-gratification]; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. ⁶ You have condemned and have put to death the righteous man; he offers you no resistance.

Exhortation

⁷ So wait patiently, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits [expectantly] for the precious harvest from the land, being patient about it, until it receives the early and late rains. ⁸ You too, be patient; strengthen your hearts [keep them energized and firmly committed to God], because the coming of the Lord is near. ⁹ Do not complain against one another, believers, so that you will not be judged [for it]. Look! The Judge is standing ^[b]right at the door. ¹⁰ As an example, brothers and sisters, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord [as His messengers and representatives]. ¹¹ You know we call those blessed [happy, spiritually prosperous, favored by God] who were steadfast and endured [difficult circumstances]. You have heard of the patient endurance of Job and you have seen the Lord’s outcome [how He richly blessed Job]. The Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.^(B)

¹² But above all, my fellow believers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but let your yes be [a truthful] yes, and your no be [a truthful] no, so that you may not fall under judgment.^(C)

¹³ Is anyone among you suffering? He must pray. Is anyone joyful? He is to sing praises [to God]. ¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? He must call for the elders (spiritual leaders) of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with ^[c]oil in the name of the Lord; ¹⁵ and the prayer of faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. ¹⁶ Therefore, confess your sins to one another [your false steps, your offenses], and pray for one another, that you may be healed and restored. The heartfelt and persistent prayer of a righteous man (believer) can accomplish much [when put into action and made effective by God—it is dynamic and can have tremendous power]. ¹⁷ Elijah was a man with a nature like ours [with the same physical, mental, and spiritual limitations and shortcomings], and he prayed ^[d]intensely for it not to rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.^{(D) 18} Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the land produced its crops [as usual].^(E)

¹⁹ My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you strays from the truth and falls into error and [another] one turns him back [to God], ²⁰ let the [latter] one know that the one who has turned a sinner from the error of his way will save that one’s soul from death and cover a multitude of sins [that is, obtain the pardon of the many sins committed by the one who has been restored].