5
Warning to the Rich
1 Come now, you who are rich, weep and howl over the miseries that are coming upon you.
2 Your riches have rotted, and your garments are moth-eaten.
3 Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be a testimony against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days.
4 Behold, the wages of the workers who harvested your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.
5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter.
6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous man; he does not resist you.
Patience in Suffering
7 Therefore be patient, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient for it until it receives the early and latter rain.
8 You also must be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord has drawn near.
9 Do not complain against one another, brothers, so that you will not be judged. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door.
10 As an example of suffering and patience, my brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
11 Behold, we regard as blessed those who endure. You have heard of the endurance of Job. Now consider the purpose of the Lord, how he is full of compassion and mercy.
12 Above all, my brothers, do not swear, neither by heaven, nor by earth, nor by any other oath. But let your “Yes” be “Yes” and your “No” be “No,” so that you will not fall into hypocrisy.
The Prayer of Faith
13 Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone of good cheer? He should sing praise.
14 Is anyone among you sick? He should call for the elders of the church, and they should pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
15 The prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
16 Confess your trespasses to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is very powerful and effective.
17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the land.
18 Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain, and the land produced its fruit.
19 Brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back,
20 be assured that whoever turns a sinner back from the error of his way will save a soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.