Tuesday, July 19, 2016
James 5 ~ Warning to Rich Oppressors (5:1-6), Miscellaneous Exhortations (5:7-20)
James 5 NLT
1 Look here, you rich people: Weep and
groan with anguish because of all the terrible troubles ahead of you.
2 Your wealth is rotting away, and your
fine clothes are moth-eaten rags.
3 Your gold and silver are corroded.
The very wealth you were counting on will eat away your flesh like fire. This
corroded treasure you have hoarded will testify against you on the day of
judgment.
4 For listen! Hear the cries of the
field workers whom you have cheated of their pay. The cries of those who
harvest your fields have reached the ears of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.
5 You have spent your years on earth in
luxury, satisfying your every desire. You have fattened yourselves for the day
of slaughter.
6 You have condemned and killed
innocent people, who do not resist you.
7 Dear brothers and sisters, be patient
as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for
the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable
harvest to ripen.
8 You, too, must be patient. Take
courage, for the coming of the Lord is near.
9 Don’t grumble about each other,
brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. For look—the Judge is standing at
the door!
10 For examples of patience in
suffering, dear brothers and sisters, look at the prophets who spoke in the
name of the Lord.
11We give great honor to those who endure
under suffering. For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance.
You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, for the Lord is full of
tenderness and mercy.
12 But most of all, my brothers and
sisters, never take an oath, by heaven or earth or anything else. Just say a
simple yes or no, so that you will not sin and be condemned.
13 Are any of you suffering hardships?
You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises.
14 Are any of you sick? You should call
for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil
in the name of the Lord.
15Such a prayer offered in faith will heal
the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins,
you will be forgiven.
16 Confess your sins to each other and
pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a
righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.
17 Elijah was as human as we are, and
yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a
half years!
18 Then, when he prayed again, the sky
sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops.
19 My dear brothers and sisters, if
someone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back,
20you can be sure that
whoever brings the sinner back from wandering will save that person from death
and bring about the forgiveness of many sins.
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