Chapter 5
Warning to the Rich. 1 Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries.(A) 2 Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become moth-eaten,(B) 3 your gold and silver have corroded, and that corrosion will be a testimony against you; it will devour your flesh like a fire. You have stored up treasure for the last days.(C) 4 Behold, the wages you withheld from the workers who harvested your fields are crying aloud, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.(D) 5 You have lived on earth in luxury and pleasure; you have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter.(E) 6 You have condemned; you have murdered the righteous one;(F) he offers you no resistance.
Patience and Oaths. 7 Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You too must be patient. Make your hearts firm, because the coming of the Lord is at hand.(G) 9 Do not complain, brothers, about one another, that you may not be judged. Behold, the Judge is standing before the gates. 10 Take as an example of hardship and patience, brothers, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Indeed we call blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of the perseverance of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, because “the Lord is compassionate and merciful.”(H)
12 (I)But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath, but let your “Yes” mean “Yes” and your “No” mean “No,” that you may not incur condemnation.
IV. The Power of Prayer
Anointing of the Sick. 13 Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone in good spirits? He should sing praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the presbyters of the church, and they should pray over him and anoint [him] with oil in the name of the Lord,(J) 15 and the prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven.
Confession and Intercession. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful. 17 Elijah was a human being like us; yet he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain upon the land.(K) 18 Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the earth produced its fruit.(L)
Conversion of Sinners. 19 (M)My brothers, if anyone among you should stray from the truth and someone bring him back, 20 (N)he should know that whoever brings back a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
Footnotes
- 5:1–6
- 5:6
- 5:7–11
- 5:7
- 5:12
- 5:14
- 5:15
- 5:20
Cross references
- 5:1 : Lk 6:24.
- 5:2 : Mt 6:19.
- 5:3 : Ps 21:10; Prv 11:4; Jdt 16:17.
- 5:4 : Lv 19:13; Dt 24:14–15; Mal 3:5.
- 5:5 : Jer 12:3; Lk 16:19–25.
- 5:6 : Wis 2:10–20.
- 5:8 : Lk 21:19; Hb 10:36 / Hb 10:25; 1 Pt 4:7.
- 5:11 : Ex 34:6; Ps 103:8.
- 5:12 : Mt 5:34–37.
- 5:14 : Mk 6:13.
- 5:17 : 1 Kgs 17:1; Lk 4:25.
- 5:18 : 1 Kgs 18:45.
- 5:19 : Mt 18:15; Gal 6:1.
- 5:20 : Prv 10:12; 1 Pt 4:8.
