Miseries of the Rich

1Come now, you rich, cry, howling over your miseries which are coming upon you. 2Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. 3Your gold and your silver have rusted, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. You have stored up such treasure in the last days! 4Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields—that which has been withheld by you—cries out against you; and the outcries of those who did the harvesting have reached the ears of the [†]Lord of [†]Sabaoth. 5You have lived luxuriously on the earth and lived in self-indulgence. You have [†]fattened your hearts in a DAY OF SLAUGHTER. 6You have condemned and murdered the righteous man; [†]he does not resist you.

Patience and Perseverance

7Therefore be patient, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the soil, being patient about it, until [†]it receives the early and late rains. 8You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. 9Do not groan, brothers, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged. Behold, the Judge is standing [†]right at the [†]door. 10As an example, brothers, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11Behold, we count those blessed who persevere. You have heard of the [†]perseverance of Job and have seen the [†]outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.

12But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let [†]your yes be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment.

13Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. 14Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, [†]anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15And the prayer [†]offered in faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, [†]they will be forgiven him. 16Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective [†]prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. 17Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed [†]earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. 18Then he prayed again, and the [†]sky gave rain and the earth produced its fruit.

19My brothers, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, 20let him know that [†]he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will COVER A MULTITUDE OF SINS.