James 5

¹Come now, you who are rich, weep and howl over the miseries that are coming upon you! ²Your wealth has rotted and your clothes have become moth-eaten. ³Your gold and your silver have corroded, and their corrosion will stand as a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded treasure in the final days! ⁴Look! The wages you withheld from the laborers who harvested your fields are crying out, and the shouts of the harvesters have entered the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. ⁵You have lived on the earth in luxury and self-indulgence; you have fattened your hearts for a day of slaughter. ⁶You have condemned, you have murdered the just person. Does he not stand against you?

⁷Therefore, brothers and sisters, be patient until the parousia 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 rains. ⁸You also must be patient; bolster your hearts, because the parousia of the Lord has drawn near. ⁹Do not grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be judged. Look! The Judge is standing at the doors. ¹⁰Brothers and sisters, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord as an example of suffering and of patience. ¹¹See, we call those who endured "blessed." You have heard of the endurance of Job and you have seen the Lord’s final purpose—that the Lord is viscerally compassionate and merciful.

¹²But above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear oaths—not by heaven, nor by the earth, nor by any other oath. Instead, let your "Yes" be a simple "Yes" and your "No" be a simple "No," so that you do not fall under judgment.

¹³Is anyone among you suffering? Let them pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let them sing praises. ¹⁴Is anyone among you sick? Let them call for the elders of the assembly and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵And the prayer of faith will restore the one who is ill, and the Lord will raise them up; and if they have committed sins, they will be forgiven. ¹⁶Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The petition of a just person is very powerful in its operation. ¹⁷Elijah was a man with a nature just like ours; he prayed with intense prayer that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. ¹⁸Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the earth produced its fruit.

¹⁹My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone turns them back, ²⁰let that person know that whoever turns a sinner from a wandering path will save that person’s life from death and will cover a multitude of sins.