James 5
Worldwide English (New Testament)
5 Rich people, listen to me! Cry loud and long because of the troubles you will have.
2 Your things are spoiled. Bugs have eaten your clothes.
3 Your gold and silver are all spoiled. The wrong in them will prove that you have done wrong. The wrong will burn you up like fire. You have kept all these things and now time is almost ended.
4 Listen! Men worked in your fields to cut your grain and you did not pay them! That money shouts against you. The men who cut your harvest have called out to the Lord who has power and he has heard them.
5 You have had a good time on earth. You have done anything you wanted to do. Your lives are full of everything. Like a fat animal, you will soon be killed.
6 You have punished good people. You have killed them. And they do not stop you.
7 So brothers, take your troubles quietly and wait until the Lord comes. A farmer waits until the harvest grows from the ground. He waits for it a long time until it has had the first and second rain.
8 You must wait also. Keep your hearts strong, because the Lord will come soon.
9 Brothers, do not say mean things to each other. If you do, you will be judged. Listen, the judge is standing at the door now.
10 My brothers, look at the lives of the prophets of God who spoke in the name of the Lord. See the troubles they had. They took them and waited. Do as they did.
11 God blesses those who take their troubles quietly and keep on believing. You have heard about Job's troubles and how he took them. And you have seen what the Lord did for him at the end. The Lord is very kind and helps people.
12 My brothers, here is something that matters very much. When you make a promise do not ask heaven to hear it, or the earth, or any other thing. When you mean `Yes,' just say, `Yes.' And when you mean `No,' just say, `No.' If you do that, you will not be judged.
13 Is any one of you in trouble? He should talk to God about it. Is any one of you happy? He should sing songs of praise to God.
14 Is any one of you sick? He should call for the leaders of the church people. They should talk to God about him and put oil on him in the name of the Lord.
15 Because they talk to God, and believe, he will hear them. The sick man will be healed. The Lord will make him well again. If the sick man has done wrong things, the Lord will forgive him.
16 So tell one another the wrong things you have done. And tell God about each other's needs, so that you will be healed. When a good man talks to God, big things can be done.
17 Elijah was a man like us. He asked God not to let it rain. And for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth.
18 Then he talked to God again. And it rained. Plants grew on the earth.
19 My brothers, has one of you left the right way? Has another person brought him back again?
20 Do not forget that the person who has brought a man back from his wrong ways will save that man from death. He will cover up many wrong things and be forgiven.
James 5
New Living Translation
Warning to the Rich
5 Look here, you rich people: Weep and groan with anguish because of all the terrible troubles ahead of you. 2 Your wealth is rotting away, and your fine clothes are moth-eaten rags. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded. The very wealth you were counting on will eat away your flesh like fire. This corroded treasure you have hoarded will testify against you on the day of judgment. 4 For listen! Hear the cries of the field workers whom you have cheated of their pay. The cries of those who harvest your fields have reached the ears of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
5 You have spent your years on earth in luxury, satisfying your every desire. You have fattened yourselves for the day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and killed innocent people,[a] who do not resist you.[b]
Patience and Endurance
7 Dear brothers and sisters,[c] be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. 8 You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near.
9 Don’t grumble about each other, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. For look—the Judge is standing at the door!
10 For examples of patience in suffering, dear brothers and sisters, look at the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 We give great honor to those who endure under suffering. For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance. You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy.
12 But most of all, my brothers and sisters, never take an oath, by heaven or earth or anything else. Just say a simple yes or no, so that you will not sin and be condemned.
The Power of Prayer
13 Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. 14 Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.
16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. 17 Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! 18 Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops.
Restore Wandering Believers
19 My dear brothers and sisters, if someone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back, 20 you can be sure that whoever brings the sinner back from wandering will save that person from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins.
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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