The Catholic Epistle of St. James the Apostle — Epistola Catholica B. Jacobi Apostoli
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Chapter 5
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1 2 3 4 5
Vulgate><Douay-Rheims><Knox Bible
1
Agite nunc divites, plorate ululantes in miseriis vestris, quæ advenient vobis.
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Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl in your miseries, which shall come upon you.
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Come, you men of riches, bemoan yourselves and cry aloud over the miseries that are to overtake you.
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Divitiæ vestræ putrefactæ sunt, et vestimenta vestra a tineis comesta sunt.
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Your riches are corrupted: and your garments are motheaten.
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Corruption has fallen on your riches; all the fine clothes are left moth-eaten,
3
Aurum et argentum vestrum æruginavit: et ærugo eorum in testimonium vobis erit, et manducabit carnes vestras sicut ignis. Thesaurizastis vobis iram in novissimis diebus.
3
Your gold and silver is cankered: and the rust of them shall be for a testimony against you, and shall eat your flesh like fire. You have stored up to yourselves wrath against the last days.
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and the gold and silver have long lain rusting. That rust will bear witness against you, will bite into your flesh like flame. These are the last days given you, and you have spent them in heaping up a store of retribution.
4
Ecce merces operariorum, qui messuerunt regiones vestras, quæ fraudata est a vobis, clamat: et clamor eorum in aures Domini sabbaoth introivit.
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Behold the hire of the labourers, who have reaped down your fields, which by fraud has been kept back by you, crieth: and the cry of them hath entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.
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You have kept back the pay of the workmen who reaped your lands, and it is there to cry out against you; the Lord of hosts has listened to their complaint.
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Epulati estis super terram, et in luxuriis enutristis corda vestra in die occisionis.
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You have feasted upon earth: and in riotousness you have nourished your hearts, in the day of slaughter.
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You have feasted here on earth, you have comforted your hearts with luxuries on this day that dooms you to slaughter.
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Addixistis, et occidistis justum, et non resistit vobis.
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You have condemned and put to death the Just One, and he resisted you not.
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You have condemned and murdered the innocent man, while he offered no resistance.
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Patientes igitur estote, fratres, usque ad adventum Domini. Ecce agricola exspectat pretiosum fructum terræ, patienter ferens donec accipiat temporaneum et serotinum.
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Be patient therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth: patiently bearing till he receive the early and latter rain.
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Wait, then, brethren, in patience for the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer looks forward to the coveted returns of his land, yet waits patiently for the early and the late rains to fall before they can be brought in.
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Patientes igitur estote et vos, et confirmate corda vestra: quoniam adventus Domini appropinquavit.
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Be you therefore also patient, and strengthen your hearts: for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
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You too must wait patiently, and take courage; the Lord’s coming is close at hand.
9
Nolite ingemiscere, fratres, in alterutrum, ut non judicemini. Ecce judex ante januam assistit.
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Grudge not, brethren, one against another, that you may not be judged. Behold the judge standeth before the door.
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Brethren, do not bring complaints against one another; if you do, you will be judged, and the judge is already standing at your doors.
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Exemplum accipite, fratres, exitus mali, laboris, et patientiæ, prophetas qui locuti sunt in nomine Domini.
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Take, my brethren, for an example of suffering evil, of labour and patience, the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord.
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If you would learn by example, brethren, how to work on and wait patiently in evil times, think of the prophets who spoke in the Lord’s name.
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Ecce beatificamus eos qui sustinuerunt. Sufferentiam Job audistis, et finem Domini vidistis, quoniam misericors Dominus est, et miserator.
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Behold, we account them blessed who have endured. You have heard of the patience of Job, and you have seen the end of the Lord, that the Lord is merciful and compassionate.
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See how we congratulate those who have shewn endurance. You have heard of Job’s endurance; and you have read, in that story, how kind and merciful the Lord is in rewarding us.
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Ante omnia autem, fratres mei, nolite jurare, neque per cælum, neque per terram, neque aliud quodcumque juramentum. Sit autem sermo vester: Est, est: Non, non: ut non sub judicio decidatis.
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But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, nor by the earth, nor by any other oath. But let your speech be, yea, yea: no, no: that you fall not under judgment.
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But above all, my brethren, do not bind yourselves by any oath, by heaven, by earth, or by any oath at all. Let your word be Yes for Yes, and No for No; if not, you will be judged for it.
13
Tristatur aliquis vestrum? oret. Æquo animo est? psallat.
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Is any of you sad? Let him pray. Is he cheerful in mind? Let him sing.
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Is one of you unhappy? Let him fall to prayer. Is one of you cheerful? For him, a psalm.
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Infirmatur quis in vobis? inducat presbyteros ecclesiæ, et orent super eum, ungentes eum oleo in nomine Domini:
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Is any man sick among you? Let him bring in the priests of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
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Is one of you sick? Let him send for the presbyters of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the Lord’s name.
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et oratio fidei salvabit infirmum, et alleviabit eum Dominus: et si in peccatis sit, remittentur ei.
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And the prayer of faith shall save the sick man: and the Lord shall raise him up: and if he be in sins, they shall be forgiven him.
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Prayer offered in faith will restore the sick man, and the Lord will give him relief; if he is guilty of sins, they will be pardoned.
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Confitemini ergo alterutrum peccata vestra, et orate pro invicem ut salvemini: multum enim valet deprecatio justi assidua.
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Confess therefore your sins one to another: and pray one for another, that you may be saved. For the continual prayer of a just man availeth much.
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Confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, for the healing of your souls. When a just man prays fervently, there is great virtue in his prayer.
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Elias homo erat similis nobis passibilis: et oratione oravit ut non plueret super terram, et non pluit annos tres, et menses sex.
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Elias was a man passible like unto us: and with prayer he prayed that it might not rain upon the earth, and it rained not for three years and six months.
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Elias was only a mortal man like ourselves, and when he prayed and prayed that it might not rain on the land, there was no rain for three years and six months;
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Et rursum oravit: et cælum dedit pluviam, et terra dedit fructum suum.
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And he prayed again: and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
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then he prayed anew, and rain fell from heaven, and so the land yielded its harvest.
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Fratres mei, si quis ex vobis erraverit a veritate, et converterit quis eum:
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My brethren, if any of you err from the truth, and one convert him:
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My brethren, if one of you strays from the truth, and a man succeeds in bringing him back,
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scire debet quoniam qui converti fecerit peccatorem ab errore viæ suæ, salvabit animam ejus a morte, et operiet multitudinem peccatorum.
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He must know that he who causeth a sinner to be converted from the error of his way, shall save his soul from death, and shall cover a multitude of sins.
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let him be sure of this; to bring back erring feet into the right path means saving a soul from death, means throwing a veil over a multitude of sins.