Chapter 5
1 Come now , you rich , weep and howl for your miseries that are coming on you .
2 Your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth-eaten .
3 Your gold and your silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be for a testimony against you and will eat your flesh like fire . You have laid up your treasure in the last days .
4 Behold , the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields , which you have kept back by fraud, cry out ; and the cries of those who reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Armies.
5 You have lived in luxury on the earth , and taken your pleasure . You have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter .
6 You have condemned and you have murdered the righteous one . He doesn’ t resist you .
7 Be patient therefore , brothers, until the coming of the Lord . Behold , the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth , being patient over it , until it receives the early and late rain.
8 You also be patient . Establish your hearts , for the coming of the Lord is at hand .
9 Don’ t grumble , brothers, against one another , so that you won’ t be judged . Behold , the judge stands at the door .
10 Take , brothers, for an example of suffering and of perseverance , the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord .
11 Behold , we call them blessed who endured . You have heard of the perseverance of Job and have seen the Lord in the outcome , and how the Lord is full of compassion and mercy .
12 But above all things , my brothers, don’ t swear — not by heaven , or by the earth , or by any other oath ; but let your " yes " be " yes ", and your " no ", " no ", so that you don’ t fall into hypocrisy.
13 Is any among you suffering ? Let him pray . Is any cheerful ? Let him sing praises .
14 Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the assembly , and let them pray over him , anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord ;
15 and the prayer of faith will heal him who is sick , and the Lord will raise him up . If he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
16 Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another , that you may be healed . The insistent prayer of a righteous person is powerfully effective .
17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours , and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain , and it didn’ t rain on the earth for three years and six months .
18 He prayed again , and the sky gave rain , and the earth produced its fruit .
19 Brothers, if any among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back ,
20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.