James: His Desire for the Churches

¹¹mDo not speak evil against one another, brothers.4 The one who speaks against a brother or njudges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. ¹²There is only oone lawgiver and pjudge, he who is able to save and qto destroy. But rwho are you to judge your neighbor?

Boasting About Tomorrow

¹³Come now, you who say, s“Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— ¹⁴yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For tyou are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. ¹⁵Instead you ought to say, u“If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” ¹⁶As it is, you boast in your arrogance. vAll such boasting is evil. ¹⁷wSo whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

Warning to the Rich

¹Come now, xyou rich, weep and howl for the ymiseries that are coming upon you. ²zYour riches have rotted and zyour garments are moth-eaten. ³Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. aYou have laid up treasure bin the last days. ⁴Behold, cthe wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and dthe cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of ethe Lord of hosts. ⁵fYou have lived on the earth in luxury and gin self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in ha day of slaughter. ⁶You have condemned and imurdered jthe righteous person. He does not resist you.

Patience in Suffering

⁷Be patient, therefore, brothers,1 until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives kthe early and the late rains. ⁸You also, be patient. lEstablish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord mis at hand. ⁹Do not grumble against one another, brothers, nso that you may not be judged; behold, othe Judge is standing pat the door. ¹⁰As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take qthe prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. ¹¹Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of rthe steadfastness of Job, and you have seen sthe purpose of the Lord, how tthe Lord is compassionate and merciful.

¹²But above all, my brothers, udo 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 under condemnation.

The Prayer of Faith

¹³Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him vsing praise. ¹⁴Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, wanointing 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 xif he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. ¹⁶Therefore, yconfess your sins to one another and pray for one another, zthat you may be healed. aThe prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.2 ¹⁷Elijah was a man bwith a nature like ours, and che prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for dthree years and six months it did not rain on the earth. ¹⁸eThen he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

¹⁹My brothers, fif anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone gbrings him back, ²⁰let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering hwill save his soul from death and iwill cover a multitude of sins.