James 1 1 Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries. 好!你们富有的人啊,现在哭泣哀号罢!因为你们的灾难快来到了。 2 Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become moth-eaten, 你们的财产腐烂了,你们的衣服被蛀虫吃了, 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. 你们的金银生了锈,这锈要作控告你们的证据,也要像火一样吞食你们的肉。你们竟为末日积蓄了财宝! 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. 看,工人们收割了你们的庄田,你们却扣留他们的工资,这工资喊冤,收割工人的呼声,已进入了万军上主的耳中。 5 You have lived on earth in luxury and pleasure; you have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter. 你们在世上奢华宴乐,养肥了你们的心,等候宰杀的日子。 6 You have condemned; you have murdered the righteous one; he offers you no resistance. 2 你们定了义人的罪,杀害了他,他却没有抵抗你们。 7 3 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. 4 弟兄们,直到主的来临,应该忍耐。看,农夫多么忍耐,期待田地里宝贵的出产,直到获得时雨和晚雨。 8 You too must be patient. Make your hearts firm, because the coming of the Lord is at hand. 你们也该忍耐,坚固你们的心,因为主的来临已接近了。 9 Do not complain, brothers, about one another, that you may not be judged. Behold, the Judge is standing before the gates. 弟兄们,不要彼此抱怨,免得你们受审判;看,审判者已站在门前。 10 Take as an example of hardship and patience, brothers, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 弟兄们,应拿那些曾因上主的名,讲话的先知们,作为受苦和忍耐的模范。 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." 看,我们称那些先前坚忍的人,是有福的:约伯的坚忍,你们听见了;上主赐给他的结局,你们也看见了,因为上主是满怀怜悯和慈爱的。 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. 5 可是我的弟兄们,最要紧的是不可起誓:不可指天起誓,不可指地起誓,不论什么誓都不可起;你们说话,是就说是,非就说非,免得你们招致审判。 13 Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone in good spirits? He should sing praise. 你们中间有受苦的吗?他应该祈祷;有心安神乐的吗?他应该歌颂。 14 Is anyone among you sick? 6 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, 你们中间有患病的吗?他该请教会的长老们来;他们该为他祈祷,因主的名给他传油: 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. 7 出于信德的祈祷,必救那病人,主必使他起来;并且如果他犯了罪,也必得蒙赦免。 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. 所以你们要彼此告罪,彼此祈祷,为得痊愈。义人恳切的祈祷,大有功效。 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. 厄里亚与我们是有同样性情的人,他恳切祈求不要下雨,雨就三年零六个月没有下在地上; 18 Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the earth produced its fruit. 他又祈求,天便降下雨来,地上也生出了果实。 19 My brothers, if anyone among you should stray from the truth and someone bring him back, 我的弟兄们,你们中谁若迷失了真理,而有人引他回头, 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. 8 该知道,那引罪人从迷途回头的人,必救自己的灵魂免于死亡,并遮盖许多罪过。 Footnotes(注解) 1 [1-6] Continuing with the theme of the transitory character of life on earth, the author points out the impending ruin of the godless. He denounces the unjust rich, whose victims cry to heaven for judgment on their exploiters (James 5:4-6). The decay and corrosion of the costly garments and metals, which symbolize wealth, prove them worthless and portend the destruction of their possessors (James 5:2-3). 2 [6] The author does not have in mind any specific crime in his readers' communities but rather echoes the Old Testament theme of the harsh oppression of the righteous poor (see Proverb 1:11; Wisdom 2:10, 12, 20). 3 [7-11] Those oppressed by the unjust rich are reminded of the need for patience, both in bearing the sufferings of human life (James 5:9) and in their expectation of the coming of the Lord. It is then that they will receive their reward (James 5:7-8, 10-11; cf Hebrews 10:25; 1 John 2:18). 4 [7] The early and the late rains: an expression related to the agricultural season in ancient 5 [12] This is the threat of condemnation for the abuse of swearing oaths (cf Matthew 5:33-37). By heaven or by earth: these words were substitutes for the original form of an oath, to circumvent its binding force and to avoid pronouncing the holy name of God (see Exodus 22:10). 6 [14] In case of sickness a Christian should ask for the presbyters of the church, i.e., those who have authority in the church (cf Acts 15:2, 22-23; 1 Tim 5:17; Titus 1:5). They are to pray over the person and anoint with oil; oil was used for medicinal purposes in the ancient world (see Isaiah 1:6; Luke 10:34). In Mark 6:13, the Twelve anoint the sick with oil on their missionary journey. In the name of the Lord: by the power of Jesus Christ. 7 [15] The results of the prayer and anointing are physical health and forgiveness of sins. The Roman Catholic Church (Council of Trent, Session 14) declared that this anointing of the sick is a sacrament "instituted by Christ and promulgated by blessed James the apostle." 8 [20] When a Christian is instrumental in the conversion of a sinner, the result is forgiveness of sins and a reinstatement of the sinner to the life of grace. |