Warning to the Rich

1Come now, you rich! Weep and cry aloud over the miseries that are coming on you. 2Your riches have rotted and your clothing has become moth-eaten. 3Your gold and silver have rusted and their rust will be a witness against you. It will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have hoarded treasure! 4Look, the pay you have held back from the workers who mowed your fields cries out against you, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5You have lived indulgently and luxuriously on the earth. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6You have condemned and murdered the righteous person, although he does not resist you.

Patience in Suffering

7So be patient, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s return. Think of how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the ground and is patient for it until it receives the early and late rains. 8You also be patient and strengthen your hearts, for the Lord’s return is near. 9Do not grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be judged. See, the judge stands before the gates! 10As an example of suffering and patience, brothers and sisters, take the prophets who spoke in the Lord’s name. 11Think of how we regard as blessed those who have endured. You have heard of Job’s endurance and you have seen the Lord’s purpose, that the Lord is full of compassion and mercy. 12And above all, my brothers and sisters, 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 fall into judgment.

Prayer for the Sick

13Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone in good spirits? He should sing praises. 14Is anyone among you ill? He should summon the elders of the church, and they should pray for him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up – and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16So confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great effectiveness. 17Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain and there was no rain on the land for three years and six months! 18Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the land sprouted with a harvest.

19My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back, 20he should know that the one who turns a sinner back from his wandering path will save that person’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.