Weep & Howl
1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. 4 Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.
James 5:1-6 ESV
These verses are a warning to rich unbelievers, and declares judgment for their hoarding of wealth, not paying laborers, luxury and self-indulgence, and murdering the righteous. They had more than they could possibly use, much of which went to waste; while at the same time refused to pay their workers. James even points out that God heard the cries of the harvesters, and that the rich had fattened themselves like cattle unaware of the coming slaughter. And the last charge against them was not only murder of the innocent, but also of those that didn't fight back.
James's audience must have seen these things going on around them, and he wanted to assure them that God would repay the evil doers for their atrocities. It will be like the story of Lazarus, "“The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.’ “But Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish" (Luke 16:24-25 NLT).