Rich Oppressors Will Be Judged
1 Come now,yourich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming uponyou!
2 Yourriches are corrupted, andyour garments are moth-eaten.
3 Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire.You have heaped up treasure in the last days.
4 Indeedthe wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; andthe cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.
5 You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter.
6 You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you.
Be Patient and Persevering
7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Seehowthe farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.
8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
9 Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door!
10 My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering andpatience.
11 Indeedwe count them blessed whoendure. You have heard ofthe perseverance of Job and seenthe endintendedbythe Lord—thatthe Lord is very compassionate and merciful.
12 But above all, my brethren,do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “Yes” be “Yes,” andyour“No,” “No,” lest you fall into judgment.
Meeting Specific Needs
13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let himpray. Is anyone cheerful?Let him sing psalms.
14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him,anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up.And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
16 Confessyourtrespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed.The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
17 Elijah was a manwith a nature like ours, andhe prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.
18 And he prayedagain, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
Bring Back the Erring One
19 Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someoneturns him back,
20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his waywill save a soul from death andcover a multitude of sins.