James 4:13–5:6

Our Will and His Will

¹³Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” ^r14You don’t even know what tomorrow will bring—what your life will be! For you are like smoke that appears for a little while, then vanishes. ^s

¹⁵Instead, you should say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” ¹⁶But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. ^t17So it is a sin for the person who knows to do what is good and doesn’t do it. ^u

Warning to the Rich

5Come now, you rich ^vpeople! Weep and wail over the miseries that are coming on you. ²Your wealth is ruined and your clothes are moth-eaten. ^w3Your 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! ^x4Look! The pay that you withheld from the workers ^ywho reaped your fields cries out, and the outcry of the harvesters has reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts. ^za5You have lived luxuriously on the land and have indulged yourselves. You have fattened your hearts ^bfor ^cthe day of slaughter. ^d6You have condemned—you have murdered—the righteous man; he does not resist you. ^e