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Misuse of Riches

^1 (C1)Come now, ^(C2)you rich people, ^(C3)weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you.^2 (C1)Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten.³ Your gold and your silver have corroded, and their corrosion will ^(F1)serve as a testimony against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is ^(C1)in the last days that you have stored up your treasure!⁴ Behold, ^(C1)the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and ^(C2)the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of ^(C3)the Lord ^(F1)of armies.⁵ You have ^(F1)(C1)lived for pleasure on the earth and lived luxuriously; you have ^(F2)fattened your hearts in ^(C2)a day of slaughter.⁶ You have condemned and ^(F1)(C1)put to death ^(C2)the righteous person; he offers you no resistance.

Exhortation

⁷ Therefore be patient, ^(C1)brothers and sisters, ^(C2)until the coming of the Lord. ^(C3)The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until ^(F1)it gets ^(C4)the early and late rains.^8 (C1)You too be patient; ^(C2)strengthen your hearts, for ^(C3)the coming of the Lord is ^(C4)near.^9 (C1)Do not ^(F1)complain, ^(C2)brothers and sisters, against one another, so that you may not be judged; behold, ^(C3)the Judge is standing ^(F2)(C4)right at the ^(F3)door.¹⁰ As an example, ^(C1)brothers and sisters, of suffering and patience, take ^(C2)the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.¹¹ We count those ^(C1)blessed who endured. You have heard of ^(C2)the ^(F1)endurance of Job and have seen ^(C3)the ^(F2)outcome of the Lord's dealings, that ^(C4)the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.

¹² But above all, ^(C1)my brothers and sisters, ^(C2)do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but ^(F1)your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you do not fall under judgment.

¹³ Is anyone among you ^(C1)suffering? ^(C2)Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to ^(C3)sing praises.¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for ^(C1)the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, ^(F1)(C2)anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord;¹⁵ and the ^(C1)prayer of faith will ^(F1)(C2)restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will ^(C3)raise him up, and if he has committed sins, ^(F2)they will be forgiven him.¹⁶ Therefore, ^(C1)confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be ^(C2)healed. ^(C3)A ^(F1)prayer of a righteous person, when it is ^(F2)brought about, can accomplish much.¹⁷ Elijah was ^(C1)a man with a nature like ours, and ^(C2)he prayed ^(F1)earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for ^(C3)three years and six months.¹⁸ Then he ^(C1)prayed again, and ^(C2)the sky ^(F1)poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.

¹⁹ My brothers and sisters, ^(C1)if anyone among you strays from ^(C2)the truth and someone turns him back,²⁰ let him know that the one who has turned a sinner from the error of his way will ^(C1)save his soul from death and ^(C2)cover a multitude of sins.