James 4:13-5:8

English Standard Version

Boasting About Tomorrow

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

Warning to the Rich

5 Come now, ^(F)you rich, weep and howl for the ^(G)miseries that are coming upon you. ^2 (H)Your riches have rotted and ^(I)your garments are moth-eaten. ³ Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. ^(J)You have laid up treasure ^(K)in the last days. ⁴ Behold, ^(L)the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and ^(M)the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of ^(N)the Lord of hosts. ^5 (O)You have lived on the earth in luxury and ^(P)in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in ^(Q)a day of slaughter. ⁶ You have condemned and ^(R)murdered ^(S)the righteous person. He does not resist you.

Patience in Suffering

⁷ Be patient, therefore, brothers,^[a] 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 ^(T)the early and the late rains. ⁸ You also, be patient. ^(U)Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord ^(V)is at hand.