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James 5
Legacy Standard Bible

Miseries of the Rich

5 (A)Come now, (B)you rich, (C)cry, howling over your miseries which are coming upon you. 2 (D)Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and your silver have rusted, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. You have stored up such treasure (E)in the last days! 4 Behold, (F)the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields—that which has been withheld by you—cries out against you; and (G)the outcries of those who did the harvesting have reached the ears of (H)the [a]Lord of [b]Sabaoth. 5 You have (I)lived luxuriously on the earth and lived in self-indulgence. You have [c]fattened your hearts in a (J)day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and (K)murdered (L)the righteous man; [d]he does not resist you.

Patience and Perseverance

7 Therefore be patient, (M)brothers, (N)until the coming of the Lord. Behold, (O)the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the soil, being patient about it, until [e]it receives (P)the early and late rains. 8 (Q)You too be patient; (R)strengthen your hearts, for (S)the coming of the Lord is (T)at hand. 9 (U)Do not groan, (V)brothers, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged. Behold, (W)the Judge is standing [f](X)right at the [g]door. 10 As an example, (Y)brothers, of suffering and patience, take (Z)the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Behold, we count those (AA)blessed who persevere. You have heard of (AB)the [h]perseverance of Job and have seen (AC)the [i]outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that (AD)the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.

12 But above all, (AE)my brothers, (AF)do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let [j]your yes be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment.

13 Is anyone among you (AG)suffering? (AH)Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to (AI)sing praises. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for (AJ)the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, [k](AK)anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the (AL)prayer [l]offered in faith will (AM)save the one who is sick, and the Lord will (AN)raise him up, and if he has committed sins, [m]they will be forgiven him. 16 Therefore, (AO)confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be (AP)healed. (AQ)The effective [n]prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. 17 Elijah was (AR)a man with a nature like ours, and (AS)he prayed [o]earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for (AT)three years and six months. 18 Then he (AU)prayed again, and (AV)the [p]sky gave rain and the earth produced its fruit.

19 My brothers, (AW)if any among you strays from (AX)the truth and one turns him back, 20 let him know that [q]he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will (AY)save his soul from death and will (AZ)cover a multitude of sins.

Footnotes

  1. James 5:4 In OT, Yahweh, cf. Is 5:9
  2. James 5:4 Hosts
  3. James 5:5 Lit nourished
  4. James 5:6 Or does He not resist you?, cf. 4:6
  5. James 5:7 Or he
  6. James 5:9 Lit before
  7. James 5:9 Lit doors
  8. James 5:11 Or steadfastness
  9. James 5:11 Lit end of the Lord
  10. James 5:12 Lit yours is to be yes, yes, and no, no
  11. James 5:14 Lit having anointed
  12. James 5:15 Lit of
  13. James 5:15 Lit it
  14. James 5:16 Lit supplication
  15. James 5:17 Lit with prayer
  16. James 5:18 Lit heaven
  17. James 5:20 Lit he who has turned
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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

  1. 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).
  2. 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).
  3. 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).
  4. 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. 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).
  6. 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.
  7. 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.”
  8. 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.
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New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.