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.

¹⁵ And He said to them, ^(A)“Take heed and beware of ^[a]covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”

¹⁴ “You shall not ^(A)oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether one of your brethren or one of the aliens who is in your land within your gates. ¹⁵ Each day ^(B)you shall give him his wages, and not let the sun go down on it, for he is poor and has set his heart on it; ^(C)lest he cry out against you to the Lord, and it be sin to you.

Honor the Elders

¹⁷ Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine. ¹⁸ For the Scripture says, ^(A)“You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain,” and, ^(B)“The laborer is worthy of his wages.”

Instructions to the Rich

¹⁷ Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain ^(A)riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things ^(B)to enjoy. ¹⁸ Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share,