WARNING TO THE RICH

1 GO to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 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 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 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.
6 Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.

PATIENCE EXHORTED
7 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 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.
10 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.
11 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 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.
13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
14 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 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 one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
17 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 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
19 Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;
20 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.

1Goe to now, yee rich men, weepe and howle for your miseries that shall come vpon you.

2Your riches are corrupted, and your garments motheaten:

3Your gold and siluer is cankered, and the rust of them shall bee a witnesse against you, and shall eate your flesh as it were fire: ye haue heaped treasure together for the last dayes.

4Beholde, the hire of the labourers which haue reaped downe your fieldes, which is of you kept backe by fraud, cryeth: and the cryes of them which haue reaped, are entred into the eares of the Lord of Sabaoth.

5Yee haue liued in pleasure on the earth, and bene wanton: ye haue nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter:

6Yee haue condemned, and killed the iust, and he doth not resist you.

7Be patient therefore, brethren, vnto the comming of the Lord: behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, vntill hee receiue the early and latter raine.

8Be yee also patient; stablish your hearts: for the comming of the Lorde draweth nigh.

9Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the Iudge standeth before the doore.

10Take, my brethren, the Prophets, who haue spoken in the Name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.

11Beholde, wee count them happie which endure. Ye haue heard of the patience of Iob, and haue seene the end of the Lord: that the Lord is very pitifull and of tender mercie.

12But aboue all things, my brethren, sweare not, neither by heauen, neither by the earth, neither by any other othe: but let your yea, be yea, and your nay, nay: lest yee fall into condemnation.

13Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing Psalmes.

14Is any sicke among you? let him call for the Elders of the Church, and let them pray ouer him, anointing him with oyle in the Name of the Lord:

15And the prayer of Faith shall saue the sicke, and the Lord shall raise him vp: and if hee haue committed sinnes, they shall be forgiuen him.

16Confesse your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that yee may bee healed: the effectuall feruent prayer of a righteous man auaileth much.

17Elias was a man subiect to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not raine: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three yeeres and sixe monethes.

18And hee prayed againe, and the heauen gaue raine, and the earth brought foorth her fruit.

19Brethren, if any of you doe erre from the trueth, and one conuert him,

20Let him know, that hee which conuerteth the sinner from the errour of his way, shall saue a soule from death, and shall hide a multitude of sinnes.

I == Prov 11:28 ; Luke 6:24 ; 1st Tim 6:9

II == Job 13:28 ; Matt 6:20

IV == Lev 19:13 ; Deut 24:15 ; Jer 22:13

V == Job 21:13 ; Amos 6:1 , 4 ; Luke 16:19 , 25

VII == Deut 11:14 ; Jer 5:24 ; Hos 6:3 ; Joel 2:23 ; Zech 10:1

VIII == Matt 24:33 ; 1st Peter 4:7

X == Matt 5:12

XI == Job 1:21-22 ; 2:10 ; 42:10 ; Ps 94:12 ; 103:8

XII == Matt 5:34

XIV == Mark 6:13 ; 16:18

XVI == Josh 10:12 ; Ps 34:15 ; 145:18

XVII == 1st Kings 17:1

XVIII == 1st Kings 18:42 , 45

XIX == Matt 18:15

XX == Prov 10:12

1 Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries. 2 Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become moth-eaten, 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. 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. 5 You have lived on earth in luxury and pleasure; you have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned; you have murdered the righteous one; he offers you no resistance. 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. 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." 12 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. 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, 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. 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. 18 Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the earth produced its fruit. 19 My brothers, if anyone among you should stray from the truth and someone bring him back, 20 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.

v 1. The Bible records several wealthy men who were not condemned for their wealth. Men in this verse are probably openly unsaved or mere professors who were reveling in their luxury and pleasure without regard to eternity. 
v 2,3. Grains and clothing were their means of storing wealth, and over time, they deteriorated. Gold and silver also lost some quality or were lost or stolen. In the last days they had stored  up wealth, but had also “stored up wrath”, Rom. 2:5, for the day of judgment, by how they had gained or used their wealth.
v 4. Laborers were victims of their corrupt labor payment practices and the Lord heard  the laborers’ complaint. Point out to students with KJV that this is not Sabbath but Sabaoth, or Lord of Armies - Lord of Hosts, referring to all angelic beings.
v 5,6. While this is to the wealthy, every Christian should ask himself how much luxury he should allow himself. The rich can dominate over others not only in daily living, but in the courts and in government.
v 7,8. Christianity has slowly led social reform, apart from some questionable present day quick fixes. It requires the patience of waiting for a crop to grow, but these things will all be corrected at the coming of the Lord. (Believers will experience this at that time, those saved later at the end of the Tribulation.)
v 9-11. Don’t murmur against other believers in impatience and frustration. Job and the prophets had sufferings with patience, but God proves  faithful in the end.
v 12. Paul called upon God as witness in Gal. 1:20 and 2 Cor. 1:23, and this is not forbidding oath of office or in court. It is against using oath to prove your point in daily contacts. It also is against taking the Lord’s name in vain or profanity of any type.
v 13. Instead of profanity a believer in trouble should pray. To express emotion he can joyously sing spiritual songs.
v 14. The Greek usually means a physical weakness, but the different word used here may imply spiritual weakness. The oil may mean either medication with prayer, or a ceremonial act. Some even feel it has to do with the gift of healing in the early church. It is definitely not extreme unction before death as practiced in the Roman Catholic church, because this has to do with healing, not death.
v 15,16a. Prayer must be in faith, and God does not promise to always heal. Paul had to accept his own problem and he left Trophimus in Miletum sick, 2 Tim. 4:20. Sin must be dealt with before healing can be expected. Some faults must be confessed together privately, some before the church or community, and some only to God. A chalkboard idea is a wall “Sin” between the petitioner, and health and effective prayer. Actually, the context here perhaps has a greater emphasis on spiritual weakness rather than physical weakness. This emphasis also connects better with verses 19 & 20. 
v 16b-18. Elijah is given as an example of effectual fervent prayer. He had to have felt positively, perhaps revealed by the Holy Spirit, that this was God’s will.
v 19,20. The social aspects of James 5 are important, but spiritual truth and salvation of souls is even more important. It is not just our pastors who are to reach out for erring Christians of v19  or the unsaved of v20, it is the duty and privilege of every believer.