James 4 - 5
Draw Near to God
41What is the source of quarrels and aconflicts among you? 2Is not the source your pleasures that wage bwar in your members? 2You lust and do not have, so you amurder. You are envious and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. 3You ask and ado not receive, because you ask 1with wrong motives, so that you may spend it 2on your pleasures. 4You aadulteresses, do you not know that friendship with bthe world is cenmity toward God? dTherefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world sets himself as an enemy of God. 5Or do you think that the Scripture aspeaks to no purpose: “1He 2jealously desires bthe Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”? 6But aHe gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “bGod is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 7aBe subject therefore to God. bResist the devil and he will flee from you. 8aDraw near to God and He will draw near to you. bCleanse your hands, you sinners, and cpurify your hearts, you ddouble-minded. 9aBe miserable and mourn and cry. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. 10aHumble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.
11aDo not slander one another, bbrothers. He who slanders a brother or cjudges his brother, slanders dthe law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not ea doer of the law but a judge of it. 12There is only one aLawgiver and Judge, the One who is bable to save and to destroy. But cwho are you who judge your neighbor?
Life Is a Vapor
13aCome now, you who say, “bToday or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” 141Yet you do not know 2what your life will be like tomorrow. aYou are a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. 151Instead, you ought to say, “aIf the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” 16But as it is, you boast in your 1arrogance. aAll such boasting is evil. 17Therefore, ato one who knows to do the 1right thing and does not do it, to him it is sin.
Miseries of the Rich
5aCome now, byou rich, ccry, howling over your miseries which are coming upon you. 2aYour riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. 3Your gold and your silver have rusted, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. You have stored up such treasure ain the last days! 4Behold, athe pay of the laborers who mowed your fields—that which has been withheld by you—cries out against you; and bthe outcries of those who did the harvesting have reached the ears of cthe 1Lord of 2Sabaoth. 5You have alived luxuriously on the earth and lived in self-indulgence. You have 1fattened your hearts in a bday of slaughter. 6You have condemned and amurdered bthe righteous man; 1he does not resist you.
Patience and Perseverance
7Therefore be patient, abrothers, buntil the coming of the Lord. Behold, cthe farmer waits for the precious fruit of the soil, being patient about it, until 1it receives dthe early and late rains. 8aYou too be patient; bstrengthen your hearts, for cthe coming of the Lord is dat hand. 9aDo not groan, bbrothers, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged. Behold, cthe Judge is standing 1,dright at the 2door. 10As an example, abrothers, of suffering and patience, take bthe prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11Behold, we count those ablessed who persevere. You have heard of bthe 1perseverance of Job and have seen cthe 2outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that dthe Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.
12But above all, amy brothers, bdo not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let 1your yes be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment.
13Is anyone among you asuffering? bThen he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to csing praises. 14Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for athe elders of the church and they are to pray over him, 1,banointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15And the aprayer 1offered in faith will bsave the one who is 2sick, and the Lord will craise him up, and if he has committed sins, 3they will be forgiven him. 16Therefore, aconfess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be bhealed. cThe effective 1prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. 17Elijah was aa man with a nature like ours, and bhe prayed 1earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for cthree years and six months. 18Then he aprayed again, and bthe 1sky gave rain and the earth produced its fruit.