Misuse of Riches
1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries coming to 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 a testimony against you, eating your flesh like fire. You have laid up your treasure in the last days.
4 The wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you have fraudulently withheld, cry out, and the cries of those who reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Hosts. 5 You have lived in luxury on the earth and enjoyed your pleasures. You have nourished your hearts in the day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous, though he does not resist you.
Patience in Suffering
7 Be patient therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer patiently waits for the precious fruit of the earth, until it receives the early and late rain. 8 You also be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
9 Do not complain about one another, brothers, so that you will not be judged. For the judge is standing at the door.
10 Let the suffering and perseverance of the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord be your example. 11 We call them blessed, those 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, do not 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 do not fall into hypocrisy.
The Prayer of Faith
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 offenses 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 did not 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.
Restoring a Sinner
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 his errant way will save a soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.