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James 5

Troubles for rich people

5 Now, listen to me, you rich people. Weep and cry aloud, because many troubles will soon happen to you. ² Your money no longer has any value. Insects have eaten your beautiful clothes and they have spoiled them. ³ You have stored silver and gold coins to spend for yourselves. But dirt has spoiled those coins. That dirt will show that you are guilty. It will become like fire that is burning your bodies. In the last days of this world you have stored all this money for yourselves. ⁴ But you have not paid the workers in your fields the money that you should have paid them. You have cheated them. Now they are shouting against you. The Lord of great power has heard them when they cry to him for help. ⁵ During your life here on this earth, you have had all that you wanted. You have lived like kings. You have eaten as much food as you want. So now you are like fat animals that are ready for men to kill. ⁶ You say that a righteous person is guilty. You have even killed him and he could not stop you.

Be patient until the Lord comes again

⁷ So, my Christian friends, be patient until the Lord Jesus returns. Think about how a farmer is patient. He waits for the ground to give him valuable food to eat. He waits patiently for the rain to come in the autumn and in the spring. ⁸ You also must be patient, because the Lord will return soon. Be strong as you continue to trust him.

⁹ My Christian friends, do not complain against each other. If you do, God will punish you. So be careful! He is the Judge and he is ready now to judge people.

¹⁰ Think about how God's prophets were also patient. They spoke messages on behalf of the Lord. Many troubles happened to them but they were patient. So, my Christian friends, you should copy their example. ¹¹ We know that God blessed people who were like that. They continued to trust God when trouble happened to them. You have heard about Job. He waited patiently for God to help him in his troubles. You know how the Lord helped him in the end. Because of that, we see that the Lord God is very kind and he helps us.

¹² Here is another important thing to remember, my Christian friends. When you want to make a strong promise, never use extra words. Do not say, ‘I promise by heaven,’ or ‘I promise by the earth.’ Do not use any extra words like that. When you say ‘yes,’ that should be enough. When you say ‘no,’ that should also be enough. If you say more than that, God will say that you are guilty.

Prayer

¹³ Is anyone among you in trouble? Then they should pray to God about it. Or, is anyone feeling happy? They should praise God with songs. ¹⁴ Is anyone ill? They should ask the leaders of the church to come and to pray for them. The leaders should put some olive oil on the sick person. They should pray for him with the authority of the Lord Jesus. ¹⁵ If they pray in that way and they trust that God will answer them, the sick person will become well again. The Lord will cause him to become well. And God will forgive him if he has done any wrong things.

¹⁶ So you should tell each other about any wrong things that you have done. Then you will be able to pray for each other, so that God makes you well again. When a good person prays to God, God does powerful things. ¹⁷ For example, God's prophet Elijah was an ordinary person, as we are. He prayed to God that it would not rain. He continued to pray and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. ¹⁸ After that time, he prayed to God to send rain again. After that, rain came down from the sky. The seeds that were in the ground began to grow and give food for people to eat.

¹⁹ My Christian friends, if anyone among you turns away from God's true message, you should help him. Try to bring him back to God. ²⁰ Understand this: if you turn a person back from their bad ways, you will save them from death. And God will forgive that person for his many sins.

A Warning to Rich and Selfish People

5 You rich people, listen! Cry and be very sad because much trouble will come to you. ² Your riches will rot and be worth nothing. Your clothes will be eaten by moths. ³ Your gold and silver will rust, and that rust will be a proof that you were wrong. That rust will eat your bodies like fire. You saved your treasure in the last days. ⁴ People worked in your fields, but you did not pay them. They are crying out against you. They harvested your crops. Now the Lord All-Powerful has heard their cries.

⁵ Your life on earth was full of rich living. You pleased yourselves with everything you wanted. You made yourselves fat, like an animal ready for the day of slaughter. ^{[ a ]} ⁶ You showed no mercy to good people. They were not against you, but you killed them.

Be Patient

⁷ Brothers and sisters, be patient; the Lord will come. So be patient until that time. Look at the farmers. They have to be patient. They have to wait for their valuable crop to grow and produce a harvest. They wait patiently for the first rain and the last rain. ^{[ b ]} ⁸ You must be patient too. Never stop hoping. The Lord is coming soon. ⁹ Brothers and sisters, don’t complain against each other. If you don’t stop complaining, you will be judged guilty. And the Judge is ready to come!

¹⁰ Brothers and sisters, follow the example of the prophets who spoke for the Lord. They suffered many bad things, but they were patient. ¹¹ And we say that those who accepted their troubles with patience now have God’s blessing. You have heard about Job’s patience. ^{[ c ]} You know that after all his troubles, the Lord helped him. This shows that the Lord is full of mercy and is kind.

Be Careful What You Say

¹² My brothers and sisters, it is very important that you not use an oath when you make a promise. Don’t use the name of heaven, earth, or anything else to prove what you say. When you mean yes, say only “yes.” When you mean no, say only “no.” Do this so that you will not be judged guilty.

The Power of Prayer

¹³ Are you having troubles? You should pray. Are you happy? You should sing. ¹⁴ Are you sick? Ask the elders of the church to come and rub oil on you ^{[ d ]} in the name of the Lord and pray for you. ¹⁵ If such a prayer is offered in faith, it will heal anyone who is sick. The Lord will heal them. And if they have sinned, he will forgive them.

¹⁶ So always tell each other the wrong things you have done. Then pray for each other. Do this so that God can heal you. Anyone who lives the way God wants can pray, and great things will happen. ¹⁷ Elijah was a person just like us. He prayed that it would not rain. And it did not rain on the land for three and a half years! ¹⁸ Then Elijah prayed that it would rain. And the rain came down from the sky, and the land grew crops again.

Helping People When They Sin

¹⁹ My brothers and sisters, if anyone wanders away from the truth and someone helps that person come back, ²⁰ remember this: Anyone who brings a sinner back from the wrong way will save that person from eternal death and cause many sins to be forgiven.

Footnotes

James 5:5 You made yourselves fat … slaughter Literally, “You fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter.”
James 5:7 first rain … last rain The “first rain” came in the fall, and the “last rain” came in the spring.
James 5:11 Job’s patience See the book of Job in the Old Testament.
James 5:14 rub oil on you Oil was used like medicine.

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.

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

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Table of Contents

James 5

Troubles for rich people

Be patient until the Lord comes again

Prayer

A Warning to Rich and Selfish People

Be Patient

Be Careful What You Say

The Power of Prayer

Helping People When They Sin

Footnotes

Misuse of Riches

Exhortation

Footnotes

Cross references

Warning to Rich Oppressors

Patience in Suffering

The Prayer of Faith

Footnotes

Cross references

BibleStudyIt James 5

James 5's Chapter Tabs Scroll past these tabs to continue or click on one of them to navigate out of this webpage.

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Read Chapter

Your Private Notes

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James 5

Troubles for rich people

Be patient until the Lord comes again

Prayer

A Warning to Rich and Selfish People

Be Patient

Be Careful What You Say

The Power of Prayer

Helping People When They Sin

Footnotes

Misuse of Riches

Exhortation

Footnotes

Cross references

Warning to Rich Oppressors

Patience in Suffering

The Prayer of Faith

Footnotes

Cross references

James 5's Chapter Tabs
Scroll past these tabs to continue or click on one of them to navigate out of this webpage.