James 5

Rich Oppressors Will Be Judged

5Come now, you ^arich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! ²Your ^briches ¹are corrupted, and ^cyour garments are moth-eaten. ³Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. ^dYou have heaped up treasure in the last days. ⁴Indeed ^ethe wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and ^fthe cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of ²Sabaoth. ⁵You have lived on the earth in pleasure and ³luxury; you have ⁴fattened your hearts ⁵as in a day of slaughter. ⁶You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you.

Be Patient and Persevering

⁷Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. ⁸You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord ⁶is at hand.

⁹Do not ⁷grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be ⁸condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door! ^10gMy brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and ^hpatience. ¹¹Indeed ⁱwe count them blessed who ^jendure. You have heard of ^kthe perseverance of Job and seen ^lthe end intended by the Lord—that ^mthe Lord is very compassionate and merciful.

¹²But above all, my brethren, ⁿdo not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “Yes” be “Yes,” and your “No,” “No,” lest you fall into ⁹judgment.

Meeting Specific Needs

¹³Is anyone among you suffering? Let him ^opray. Is anyone cheerful? ^pLet him sing psalms. ¹⁴Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, ^qanointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. ^rAnd if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. ¹⁶¹Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. ^sThe effective, ²fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. ¹⁷Elijah was a man ^twith a nature like ours, and ^uhe prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. ¹⁸And he prayed ^vagain, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.

Bring Back the Erring One

¹⁹Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone ^wturns him back, ²⁰let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way ^xwill save ³a soul from death and ^ycover a multitude of sins.