James 5
Names of God Bible
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
- James 5:14 People in ancient times used olive oil for healing.
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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