Warning to the Rich Oppressors
Study note
James pronounces woe upon the rich who have hoarded wealth, defrauded workers of their wages, lived in self-indulgent luxury, and condemned the righteous. Their corroded gold and silver will testify against them, and the cries of the unpaid laborers have reached the ears of the Lord of Heaven's Armies. This is some of the most forceful prophetic social critique in the New Testament.
1 Now pay attention, you rich people. You should cry and wail because terrible trouble is heading your way. Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your wealth is rotting away, and bugs have eaten holes in your fancy clothes. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver are covered in rust. That rust will stand as proof against you and will eat away at you like fire. You have piled up riches even though the end is near. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
4 Listen! The workers who harvested your fields never got paid, and their unpaid wages are screaming out against you. The Lord of Heaven's Armies has heard their cries. Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.
5 You have lived on earth in luxury, giving yourselves everything you wanted. You have fattened yourselves up like animals headed for slaughter. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.
6 You sentenced innocent people to death, and they could not fight back. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.
Patience Until the Lord's Coming
Study note
Turning to the faithful, James encourages patience by comparing the believer's wait to a farmer watching for the early and late rains. He urges them to strengthen their hearts because the Lord's coming is near and the Judge stands at the door. The prophets and Job are held up as examples of endurance, and God is described as full of compassion and mercy. James also commands straightforward honesty in speech: let your yes mean yes and your no mean no.
7 So be patient, brothers and sisters, until the Lord comes back. Think about the farmer who waits for his precious crops to grow. He has to be patient for the early rains and the late rains to come. Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
8 You need to be patient too. Stay strong in your hearts, because the Lord's return is getting close. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
9 Do not blame each other, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. Look -- the Judge is standing right at the door! Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.
10 Brothers and sisters, think about the prophets who spoke for God. They are great examples of how to be patient when you are suffering. Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.
11 We look up to people who stayed strong through hard times. Remember how Job kept going? And you know what God did for him in the end. The Lord is full of tender care and kindness. Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.
12 Most importantly, my brothers and sisters, do not make promises by swearing on heaven or earth or anything else. Say yes when you mean yes, and no when you mean no. That way you will not get yourself in trouble. But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.
The Power of Prayer and Restoration
Study note
James gives practical guidance for every circumstance: those suffering should pray, those cheerful should sing psalms, and those who are sick should call the elders to pray over them with anointing oil. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and if sins have been committed, they will be forgiven. Believers should confess sins to one another and pray for each other, because the earnest prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Elijah is cited as proof that ordinary human beings can pray with extraordinary results. The epistle closes with a call to bring back anyone who wanders from truth, saving a soul from death and covering a multitude of sins.
13 Is anyone going through a hard time? Pray about it. Is anyone feeling happy? Sing praises to God. Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
14 Is anyone sick? Ask the leaders of the church to come. They should pray over that person and put oil on them in the name of the Lord. Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
15 When someone prays with real faith, the sick person will get well. The Lord will raise them up. And if they have sinned, they will be forgiven. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
16 Confess your faults to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person avails much. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
17 Elijah was an ordinary person, just like us. He prayed hard that it would not rain, and it did not rain for three and a half years. Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.
18 Then he prayed again, and rain poured from the sky, and plants started growing again. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
19 Brothers and sisters, if one of you wanders away from the truth and someone brings them back, Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;
20 Remember this: the person who brings a sinner back from the wrong path will save that person from death. It will cause many sins to be forgiven. Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.