James 5

AUV^{(i) 1} Come on now, you rich people, cry and wail over the miseries that are coming upon you. ² Your wealth has rotted and moths have eaten your clothing. ³ Your gold and silver have tarnished and their tarnish will be a testimony against you [i.e., you have hoarded your wealth instead of using it to benefit others], and they will devour your flesh as fire [i.e., your riches will ultimately consume you]. You have hoarded up your riches in these last days. ⁴ Look, the wages you have fraudulently refused to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out [against you]. And the cries of these harvest hands have reached the ears of the Lord of [heavenly] armies [i.e., Almighty God]. ⁵ You people have basked in luxury [here] on earth and lived lives devoted to pleasure. You have fattened yourselves [as sacrificial oxen] for the day of slaughter. ⁶ You have condemned and murdered the righteous man [i.e., the innocent person, See verse 4] and he does not [even] resist you. ⁷ So, be patient, brothers, until the Lord comes. Look, the farmer waits for his land to produce the valuable crop and is patient with it until it receives the fall and spring rains. ⁸ [So], you people should be patient also; strengthen your hearts because the Lord’s coming is near [Note: This may refer to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, or to Christ’s final coming and judgment]. ⁹ Do not complain against one another, brothers, so that you will not [have to] be judged [and condemned for it]. Look, the Judge [i.e., Christ] is standing at the door! [See verse 8]. ¹⁰ Brothers, take the [Old Testament] prophets, who spoke in the name [i.e., by the authority] of the Lord, as your examples of suffering and patience. ¹¹ Notice that we consider those who endured [suffering with patience] to be blessed [by God]. You people have heard of Job’s patience and have seen what the Lord finally did [for him]. The Lord is very compassionate and merciful. ¹² But above everything else, my brothers, do not take oaths, not “by the heaven,” nor “by the earth,” nor by any other oath. But your “yes” should be [simply] “yes,” and your “no,” [simply] “no,” so you do not fall under condemnation. ¹³ Is there anyone among you who is suffering? [If so], he should pray. Is anyone happy? [Then] he should sing a psalm. ¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? [Then] he should call for the elders of the church and they should pray for him, after pouring [olive] oil on him in the name [i.e., by the authority] of the Lord. ¹⁵ And if their prayer is [offered] by faith, [God] will heal the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up [from his sickbed]. And if he had sinned, he will be forgiven for them [Note: This may imply that the man’s sickness was the result of some sin. In any event, his forgiveness would follow his repentance]. ¹⁶ So, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another to be healed [from sin sickness]. The special request of a righteous person is empowered with [great] effectiveness. ¹⁷ Elijah was a man with a similar nature as ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain [I Kings 17:1; 18:1], and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. ¹⁸ Then he prayed again and the sky poured rain and the ground produced its crop. ¹⁹ My brothers, if anyone among you strays away from the truth [of God’s inspired message], and someone brings him back [to it], ²⁰ that person should know that whoever brings a sinner back from the error of his way will save that soul from [spiritual] death and will cover over a large number of sins [i.e., the many sins of that person will become forgiven].