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James 5
New International Version
James 5
New International Version
Warning to Rich Oppressors
5 Now listen,(A) you rich people,(B) weep and wail(C) because of the misery that is coming on you. 2 Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes.(D) 3 Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days.(E) 4 Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers(F) who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries(G) of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.(H) 5 You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves(I) in the day of slaughter.[a](J) 6 You have condemned and murdered(K) the innocent one,(L) who was not opposing you.
Patience in Suffering
7 Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming.(M) See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting(N) for the autumn and spring rains.(O) 8 You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming(P) is near.(Q) 9 Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters,(R) or you will be judged. The Judge(S) is standing at the door!(T)
10 Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets(U) who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 As you know, we count as blessed(V) those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance(W) and have seen what the Lord finally brought about.(X) The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.(Y)
12 Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple “Yes” or “No.” Otherwise you will be condemned.(Z)
The Prayer of Faith
13 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray.(AA) Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.(AB) 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders(AC) of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil(AD) in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith(AE) will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins(AF) to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.(AG) The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.(AH)
17 Elijah was a human being, even as we are.(AI) He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.(AJ) 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.(AK)
19 My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth(AL) and someone should bring that person back,(AM) 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save(AN) them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.(AO)
Footnotes
- James 5:5 Or yourselves as in a day of feasting
James 5
The Message
James 5
The Message
Destroying Your Life from Within
5 1-3 And a final word to you arrogant rich: Take some lessons in lament. You’ll need buckets for the tears when the crash comes upon you. Your money is corrupt and your fine clothes stink. Your greedy luxuries are a cancer in your gut, destroying your life from within. You thought you were piling up wealth. What you’ve piled up is judgment.
4-6 All the workers you’ve exploited and cheated cry out for judgment. The groans of the workers you used and abused are a roar in the ears of the Master Avenger. You’ve looted the earth and lived it up. But all you’ll have to show for it is a fatter than usual corpse. In fact, what you’ve done is condemn and murder perfectly good persons, who stand there and take it.
* * *
7-8 Meanwhile, friends, wait patiently for the Master’s Arrival. You see farmers do this all the time, waiting for their valuable crops to mature, patiently letting the rain do its slow but sure work. Be patient like that. Stay steady and strong. The Master could arrive at any time.
9 Friends, don’t complain about each other. A far greater complaint could be lodged against you, you know. The Judge is standing just around the corner.
10-11 Take the old prophets as your mentors. They put up with anything, went through everything, and never once quit, all the time honoring God. What a gift life is to those who stay the course! You’ve heard, of course, of Job’s staying power, and you know how God brought it all together for him at the end. That’s because God cares, cares right down to the last detail.
12 And since you know that he cares, let your language show it. Don’t add words like “I swear to God” to your own words. Don’t show your impatience by concocting oaths to hurry up God. Just say yes or no. Just say what is true. That way, your language can’t be used against you.
Prayer to Be Reckoned With
13-15 Are you hurting? Pray. Do you feel great? Sing. Are you sick? Call the church leaders together to pray and anoint you with oil in the name of the Master. Believing-prayer will heal you, and Jesus will put you on your feet. And if you’ve sinned, you’ll be forgiven—healed inside and out.
16-18 Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with. Elijah, for instance, human just like us, prayed hard that it wouldn’t rain, and it didn’t—not a drop for three and a half years. Then he prayed that it would rain, and it did. The showers came and everything started growing again.
19-20 My dear friends, if you know people who have wandered off from God’s truth, don’t write them off. Go after them. Get them back and you will have rescued precious lives from destruction and prevented an epidemic of wandering away from God.
James 5
Holman Christian Standard Bible
James 5
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Warning to the Rich
5 Come now, you rich(A) people! Weep and wail over the miseries that are coming on you. 2 Your wealth is ruined and your clothes are moth-eaten.(B) 3 Your silver and gold are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You stored up treasure in the last days!(C) 4 Look! The pay that you withheld from the workers(D) who reaped your fields cries out, and the outcry of the harvesters has reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.[a](E) 5 You have lived luxuriously on the land and have indulged yourselves. You have fattened your hearts(F) for[b] the day of slaughter.(G) 6 You have condemned—you have murdered—the righteous man; he does not resist you.(H)
Waiting for the Lord
7 Therefore, brothers, be patient until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth and is patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains.(I) 8 You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, because the Lord’s coming is near.(J)
9 Brothers, do not complain about one another, so that you will not be judged. Look, the judge stands at the door!(K)
10 Brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the Lord’s name as an example of suffering and patience. 11 See, we count as blessed those who have endured.[c] You have heard of Job’s endurance(L) and have seen the outcome from the Lord. The Lord is very compassionate and merciful.(M)
Truthful Speech
12 Now above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath.(N) Your “yes” must be “yes,” and your “no” must be “no,” so that you won’t fall under judgment.[d]
Effective Prayer
13 Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone cheerful? He should sing praises.(O) 14 Is anyone among you sick? He should call for the elders of the church, and they should pray over him after anointing him with olive oil in the name of the Lord.(P) 15 The prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will restore him to health; if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.(Q) 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The urgent request of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect.(R) 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours; yet he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the land.(S) 18 Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the land produced its fruit.(T)
19 My brothers, if any among you strays from the truth,(U) and someone turns him back,(V) 20 let him know that whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his life from death and cover a multitude of sins.(W)
Footnotes
- James 5:4 Gk Sabaoth; this word is a transliteration of the Hb word for Hosts, or Armies.
- James 5:5 Or hearts in
- James 5:11 Or have persevered
- James 5:12 Other mss read fall into hypocrisy
James 5
King James Version
James 5
King James Version
5 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.
5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.
6 Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.
7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.
10 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.
11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.
12 But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.
13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.
18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
19 Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;
20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.
James 5
Amplified Bible
James 5
Amplified Bible
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].
Footnotes
- James 5:4 The Lord of Hosts; Sovereign God; Lord of the armies of heaven and earth.
- James 5:9 Lit before.
- James 5:14 The oil symbolizes the presence of God.
- James 5:17 Lit with prayer, an idiom of emphasis derived from Hebrew.
New International Version (NIV) 
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The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
Amplified Bible (AMP) 
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.