1. And now, you rich people, listen to me! Weep and wail over the miseries that are coming upon you!
2. Your riches have rotted away, and your clothes have been eaten by moths.
3. Your gold and silver are covered with rust, and this rust will be a witness against you and will eat up your flesh like fire. You have piled up riches in these last days.
4. You have not paid any wages to those who work in your fields. Listen to their complaints! The cries of those who gather in your crops have reached the ears of God, the Lord Almighty.
5. Your life here on earth has been full of luxury and pleasure. You have made yourselves fat for the day of slaughter.
6. You have condemned and murdered innocent people, and they do not resist you.
7. Be patient, then, my brothers and sisters, until the Lord comes. See how patient a farmer is as he waits for his land to produce precious crops. He waits patiently for the autumn and spring rains.
8. You also must be patient. Keep your hopes high, for the day of the Lord's coming is near.
9. Do not complain against one another, my brothers and sisters, so that God will not judge you. The Judge is near, ready to appear.