James Chapter 5

Futility of Wealth

5^:1 Come, come, rich people. Cry out loud over the miseries heading your way. ² Your wealth has decayed; your clothes are moth-eaten; ³ your gold and silver have tarnished. Their tarnish will testify against you and consume you like fire. They’re the ‘wealth’ you’ve laid up for your last days! ⁴ You haven’t paid the workers that mowed your fields. Their complaints have gone up to the Lord of hosts. ⁵ You’ve lived in self-indulgence and luxury. You’ve fattened yourselves up at the expense of people you’ve ruined. ⁶ You’ve condemned, you’ve murdered the Righteous One; he doesn’t resist you.                                                                                                              James 5:1-6

Exhortation to Endurance

⁷ So be patient till the Lord comes. A farmer patiently waits for his valuable crop till it gets its early and late rains. ⁸ You be patient too; strengthen your hearts because the Lord’s coming soon. ⁹ Don’t complain about each other or you’ll be complained about; the judge is standing right outside your doors. ¹⁰ Take the LORD’s prophets as models of suffering and endurance. ¹¹ We consider them blessed that endured. You’ve heard about Job’s patience, and you know the Lord’s compassionate and merciful in the end.         James 5:7-11

Dispensing with Oaths

¹² Above all, don’t swear by the sky, the earth, or anything else. Just say “yes” or “no”; otherwise, you fall under condemnation.            James 5:12

Calling the Elders

¹³ Is anybody suffering among you? He should pray. Is anybody happy? He should sing. ¹⁴ Is anybody sick? He should call the church elders. They should pray over him and anoint him with olive oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ Prayer with faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, God will forgive them. ¹⁶ Admit your sins to each other and pray for each other so you’ll be healed. A good person’s prayer can accomplish a lot. ¹⁷ Elijah was a man like us, and he prayed sincerely that it wouldn’t rain, and it didn’t for three and a half years. ¹⁸ He prayed again and it rained, and the ground grew its crops.                                                        James 5:13-18

Returning the Stray

¹⁹ Fellow believers, if somebody wanders off from the truth and somebody gets him turned around, ²⁰ he can be sure that returning a sinner from error will save him from death and cover a host of sins.                                      James 5:19-20

Translator: Virgil Warren                                                                                                  christir.org