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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 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

  1. James 5:2 have rotted
  2. James 5:4 Lit., in Heb., Hosts
  3. James 5:5 indulgence
  4. James 5:5 Lit. nourished
  5. James 5:5 NU omits as
  6. James 5:8 has drawn near
  7. James 5:9 Lit. groan
  8. James 5:9 NU, M judged
  9. James 5:12 M hypocrisy
  10. James 5:16 NU Therefore confess your sins
  11. James 5:16 supplication
  12. James 5:20 NU his soul
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James 5
GOD’S WORD Translation

Advice to Rich People

5 Pay attention to this if you’re rich. Cry and moan about the misery that is coming to you. 2 Your riches have decayed, and your clothes have been eaten by moths. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be used as evidence against you. Like fire, it will destroy your body.

You have stored up riches in these last days. 4 The wages you refused to pay the people who harvested your fields shout ⌞to God⌟ against you. The Lord of Armies has heard the cries of those who gather the crops. 5 You have lived in luxury and pleasure here on earth. You have fattened yourselves for the day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered people who have God’s approval, even though they didn’t resist you.

Be Patient

7 Brothers and sisters, be patient until the Lord comes again. See how farmers wait for their precious crops to grow. They wait patiently for fall and spring rains. 8 You, too, must be patient. Don’t give up hope. The Lord will soon be here. 9 Brothers and sisters, stop complaining about each other, or you will be condemned. Realize that the judge is standing at the door.

10 Brothers and sisters, follow the example of the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. They were patient when they suffered unjustly. 11 We consider those who endure to be blessed. You have heard about Job’s endurance. You saw that the Lord ended Job’s suffering because the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

Don’t Take Oaths

12 Above all things, my brothers and sisters, do not take an oath on anything in heaven or on earth. Do not take any oath. If you mean yes, say yes. If you mean no, say no. Do this so that you won’t be condemned.

Prayer Is Powerful

13 If any of you are having trouble, pray. If you are happy, sing psalms. 14 If you are sick, call for the church leaders. Have them pray for you and anoint you with olive oil [a] in the name of the Lord. 15 (Prayers offered in faith will save those who are sick, and the Lord will cure them.) If you have sinned, you will be forgiven. 16 So admit your sins to each other, and pray for each other so that you will be healed.

Prayers offered by those who have God’s approval are effective. 17 Elijah was human like us. Yet, when he prayed that it wouldn’t rain, no rain fell on the ground for three-and-a-half years. 18 Then he prayed again. It rained, and the ground produced crops.

Help Those Who Have Wandered Away from the Truth

19 My brothers and sisters, if one of you wanders from the truth, someone can bring that person back. 20 Realize that whoever brings a sinner back from the error of his ways will save him from death, and many sins will be forgiven.

Footnotes

  1. 5:14 People in ancient times used olive oil for healing.
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