1 C ome now, you rich, weep aloud and lament over the miseries (the woes) that are surely coming upon you.

Listen, you rich men! Cry about the troubles that will come to you.

2 Y our abundant wealth has rotted and is ruined, and your garments have become moth-eaten.

Your riches are worth nothing. Your fine clothes are full of moth holes.

3 Y our gold and silver are completely rusted through, and their rust will be testimony against you and it will devour your flesh as if it were fire. You have heaped together treasure for the last days.

Your gold and silver have rusted. Their rust will speak against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have saved riches for yourselves for the last days.

4 l ook! the wages that you have withheld by fraud from the laborers who have reaped your fields, crying out; and the cries of the harvesters have come to the ears of the Lord of hosts.

See! The men working in your fields are crying against you because you have kept back part of their pay. Their cries have been heard by the Lord Who hears His people.

5 o n earth you have abandoned yourselves to soft (prodigal) living and to self-indulgence and self-gratification. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.

You have had everything while you lived on the earth and have enjoyed its fun. You have made your hearts fat and are ready to be killed as an animal is killed.

6 Y ou have condemned and have murdered the righteous (innocent man), he offers no resistance to you.

You have killed men who are right with God who were not making it hard for you. The Lord Will Come Again

7 S o be patient, brethren, till the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits expectantly for the precious harvest from the land. he keeps up his patient over it until it receives the early and late rains.

Christian brothers, be willing to wait for the Lord to come again. Learn from the farmer. He waits for the good fruit from the earth until the early and late rains come.

8 S o you also must be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is very near.

You must be willing to wait also. Be strong in your hearts because the Lord is coming again soon.

9 D o not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you may not be judged. Look! The Judge is standing at the very door.

Do not complain about each other, Christian brothers. Then you will not be judged. See! The Judge is standing at the door.

10 a n example of suffering and ill-treatment together with patience, brethren, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

See how the early preachers spoke for the Lord by their suffering and by being willing to wait.

11 Y ou know how we call those blessed (happy) who were steadfast. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the Lord’s end, inasmuch as the Lord is full of pity and compassion and tenderness and mercy.

We think of those who stayed true to Him as happy even though they suffered. You have heard how long Job waited. You have seen what the Lord did for him in the end. The Lord is full of loving-kindness and pity.

12 B ut above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath; but let your yes be yes, and your no be no, so that you may not sin and fall under condemnation.

My Christian brothers, do not swear. Do not use heaven or earth or anything else to swear by. If you mean yes, say yes. If you mean no, say no. You will be guilty for saying anything more. The Power of Prayer in Healing

13 I s anyone among you afflicted (ill-treated, suffering evil)? He should pray. Is anyone glad at heart? He should sing praise.

Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone happy? He should sing songs of thanks to God.

14 I s anyone among you sick? He should call in the church elders (the spiritual guides). And they should pray over him, anointing him with oil in the Lord’s name.

Is anyone among you sick? He should send for the church leaders and they should pray for him. They should pour oil on him in the name of the Lord.

15 A nd the prayer of faith will save him who is sick, and the Lord will restore him; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

The prayer given in faith will heal the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.

16 C onfess to one another therefore your faults (your slips, your false steps, your offenses, your sins) and pray for one another, that you may be healed and restored. The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available.

Tell your sins to each other. And pray for each other so you may be healed. The prayer from the heart of a man right with God has much power.

17 E lijah was a human being with a nature such as we have; and he prayed earnestly for it not to rain, and no rain fell on the earth for three years and six months.

Elijah was a man as we are. He prayed that it might not rain. It did not rain on the earth for three and one-half years.

18 A nd he prayed again and the heavens supplied rain and the land produced its crops.

Then he prayed again that it would rain. It rained much and the fields of the earth gave fruit. Bring Back Those Who Are Lost in Sin

19 b rethren, if anyone among you strays from the Truth and falls into error and another brings him back,

My Christian brothers, if any of you should be led away from the truth, let someone turn him back again.

20 L et the one be sure that whoever turns a sinner from his evil course will save soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins '> procure the pardon of the many sins committed by the convert].

That person should know that if he turns a sinner from the wrong way, he will save the sinner’s soul from death and many sins will be forgiven.