Warning to Rich Abusers

James 5

Come now, wealthy ones, y’all should weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon y’all. Y’all’s riches are rotten and y’all’s garments have become moth-eaten. Y’all’s gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be for a testimony against y’all and eat y’all’s flesh like fire. Y’all have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages of the laborers who mowed y’all’s fields, which y’all have kept back by fraud, cry out against y’all. The cries of the harvesters have entered into the ears of the Lord of Armies. Y’all have lived indulgently and luxuriously on the earth. Y’all have fattened y’all’s hearts as in a day of slaughter. Y’all have condemned and murdered the righteous person who was not resisting y’all.

Renewed Call to Patience

Y’all be patient then, siblings, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient over it, until it receives the early and late rain. Y’all too, be patient and strengthen y’all’s hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.

Don’t y’all grumble against one another, my siblings, so that y’all won’t be judged. Look, the judge is standing at the door! Siblings, as an example of suffering and of perseverance, y’all consider the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. We call them blessed who endured. Y’all have heard of the perseverance of Job, and y’all have seen what the Lord brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

But above all things, my siblings, y’all must not swear—not by heaven or by the earth or by any other oath. Instead let y’all’s “yes” mean “yes,” and y’all’s “no” mean “no,” so that y’all won’t fall into judgment.

The Prayer with Elders

Is anyone among y’all suffering? Let them pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let them play an instrument. Is any among y’all sick? Let them call for the elders of the church to pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will heal the sick person, and the Lord will raise them up. If they have committed sins, they will be forgiven. Therefore, y’all acknowledge your sins to one another and y’all pray for one another, so that y’all may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person can accomplish much. Elijah was a human like us. He prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it didn’t rain on the earth for three years and six months. Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.

Siblings, if any among y’all wanders from the truth and someone turns him back, let them know that the one who turns a sinner from the error of their way will save a soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.