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Miseries of the Rich

(A)Come now, (B)you rich, (C)cry, howling over your miseries which are coming upon you. (D)Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. 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! 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. 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. You have condemned and (K)murdered (L)the righteous man; [d]he does not resist you.

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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

Advice for Rich People

Now listen, you rich people! Cry and moan over the miseries that are overtaking you. Your riches are rotten, your clothes have been eaten by moths, your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be used as evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have stored up treasures in these last days. Look! The wages that you kept back from the workers who harvested your fields are shouting out against you, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of the Heavenly Armies. You have lived in luxury and pleasure on earth. You have fattened yourselves[a] for the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the one who is righteous, even though he did not rebel against you.

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Footnotes

  1. James 5:5 Lit. fattened your hearts