James 5
Wycliffe's Bible
1Do now, ye rich men, weep ye, yelling in your wretchednesses that shall come to you. 2Your riches be rotten, and your clothes be eaten of moths. (Your riches have rotted, and your clothes have been eaten by moths.) 3Your gold and silver hath rusted, and the rust of them shall be to you into witnessing, and shall eat your fleshes, as fire. Ye have treasured to you wrath in the last days. (Your gold and silver hath rusted, and their rust shall be the testimony against you, and shall eat your flesh, like fire. Ye have piled up wealth for yourselves in the Last Days.) 4Lo! the hire of your workmen, that reaped your fields, which is defrauded of you, crieth; and the cry of them hath entered into the ears of the Lord of hosts. (Lo! the wages of your workmen, who harvested your fields, and who were defrauded by you, crieth out; and their cry hath entered into the ears of the Lord of hosts.) 5Ye have eaten on the earth, and in your lecheries ye have nourished your hearts. In the day of slaying 6ye brought, and slew the just Man, and he against-stood not you. [ye led to, and slew the just man, and he withstood you not (and he did not withstand you).] (ye condemned, and killed the Just Man, and he did not oppose you/and he did not stand against you.)

7Therefore, brethren, be ye patient, till to the coming of the Lord. Lo! an earth-tiller abideth [the] precious fruit of the earth, patiently suffering, till he receive timeful and lateful fruit. (And so brothers, endure, until the coming of the Lord. Lo! a farmer waiteth for the precious fruit from the earth, yea, patiently waiting, until he receive the fruit in its time, and then even a later harvest.) 8And be ye patient, and confirm ye your hearts, for the coming of the Lord shall nigh. (And so be patient, and make your hearts firm, for the coming of the Lord shall approach, or it is near.) 9Brethren, do not ye be sorrowful [do not ye be scornful], each to (the) other, that ye be not deemed (so that ye be not judged). Lo! the judge standeth nigh before the gate. 10Brethren, take ye (an) ensample of evil going out, and of long abiding, and travail [and of (the) long abiding of travail], and of patience, the prophets, that spake to you in the name of the Lord (yea, the prophets, who spoke to you in the name of the Lord). 11Lo! we bless them that suffered. Ye have heard (of) the patience of Job, and ye saw the end of the Lord (and ye saw his end with the Lord), for the Lord is merciful, and doing mercy.

12Before all things, my brethren, do not ye swear, neither by heaven, neither by earth, neither by whatever other oath. But be your word Yea, yea, Nay, nay, that ye fall not under doom (so that ye do not fall under judgement).

13And if any of you is sorrowful, (or is heavy), pray he with (a) patient soul, and say he a psalm. 14If any of you is sick, lead he in (some) priests of the church (send he for some priests from the church), and pray they for him, and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord; 15and the prayer of faith shall save the sick man, and the Lord shall make him light (and the Lord shall put him at ease); and if he be in sins, they shall be forgiven to him. 16Therefore acknowledge ye each to (the) other your sins, and pray ye each for (the) other, (so) that ye be saved. For the continual prayer of a just man is (of) much worth. 17Elias was a deadly man like us (Elijah was a mortal man like us), and in prayer he prayed, that it should not rain on the earth, and it rained not (for) three years and six months. 18And again he prayed, and heaven gave rain, and the earth gave his fruit (and the land brought forth its fruit).

19And, brethren, if any of you erreth from (the) truth, and any converteth him, 20he oweth to know, that he that maketh a sinner to be turned from the error of his way(s), shall save the soul of him from death, and covereth the multitude of sins. [Amen.] (he ought to know, that he who maketh a sinner to turn from the error of his ways, shall save his soul from death, and covereth a multitude of sins. Amen.)

WYCLIFFE’S BIBLE

Comprising of
Wycliffe’s Old Testament

and

Wycliffe’s New Testament
(Revised Edition)


Translated by

JOHN WYCLIFFE
and JOHN PURVEY


A modern-spelling edition of their
14TH century Middle English translation,
the first complete English vernacular version,
with an Introduction by

TERENCE P. NOBLE

Used by Permission

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