James 3:1-12

Taming the Tongue

1 1Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.
2 For 2we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, 3he is a perfect man, 4able also to bridle his whole body.
3 If we put 5bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well.
4 Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs.
5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet 6it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!
6 And 7the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, 8staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life,[a] and set on fire by hell.[b]
7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind,
8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, 9full of deadly poison.
9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people 10who are made in the likeness of God.
10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers,[c] these things ought not to be so.
11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water?
12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.

James 3:1-12 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JAMES 3

In this chapter the apostle cautions against censoriousness, and reproving others with a magisterial air; advises to bridle the tongue, and guard against the vices of it; and shows what true wisdom is, and from whence it comes. He advises the saints not to arrogate too much to themselves, and take upon them to be the censorious reprovers of others; which he dissuades from, by the consideration of the greater damnation such shall receive, and by the frailty of all men, and a common proneness to offend by words; for he must be a very singular man indeed that does not offend by words, Jas 3:1,2 wherefore he exhorts them to watch over their words, and bridle their tongues; which he illustrates by the methods used with horses to keep them in subjection, and with ships, to turn them as occasion serves, and the master pleases, Jas 3:3,4 and though the tongue is a little member, and not comparable to a horse, or ship, for its bulk; yet it boasts of great things, has a world of iniquity in it, and much mischief is done by it, being influenced by the powers of hell; therefore care, and all possible means, should be used to restrain it, Jas 3:5,6 though it is not tameable by man, only by the Lord, when all sorts of creatures are, even the most fierce and savage, and therefore are worse than they, being an unruly evil, and full of deadly poison, Jas 3:7,8. And what is the most monstrous and shocking, blessing and cursing come out of the same mouth, are pronounced by the same tongue, which is used in blessing God, and cursing men made after his image, which by no means ought to be done, Jas 3:9,10 and which is not to be paralleled in nature; no instance like it can be given, no fountain sending forth, in the same place, water sweet and bitter, salt and fresh, or any fig tree bearing olives, or vine figs, Jas 3:11,12. And because all this evil springs from a vain opinion men have of their own wisdom, the apostle proceeds to give an account of true wisdom; and observes, that that shows itself in good works, in a holy conversation, attended with meekness and humility, and not in envying, strife, and lies, Jas 3:13,14. Such sort of wisdom is not from heaven, but of the earth; it is not rational; it is no better than that of brutes; yea, no other than that of devils, since where the above sins prevail, it is a hell on earth, there is nothing but confusion, and everything that is vile and wicked, Jas 3:15,16 but, on the other hand, true wisdom is of an heavenly original, of a pure, peaceable, gentle, and tractable nature, and is full of good fruits or works in its effects, particularly mercy, and is clear of partiality and hypocrisy, Jas 3:17 and as one of its fruits is righteousness, that is sown in peace by the peacemaker, and produces it, Jas 3:18.

Cross References 10

  • 1. Matthew 23:8; [Romans 2:20, 21; 1 Timothy 1:7]
  • 2. 1 Kings 8:46; Proverbs 20:9; Ecclesiastes 7:20; 1 John 1:8
  • 3. [Matthew 12:37]
  • 4. See James 1:26
  • 5. Psalms 32:9
  • 6. [Psalms 12:3, 4; Psalms 73:8, 9]
  • 7. Psalms 120:2-4; Proverbs 16:27
  • 8. Matthew 15:18
  • 9. Psalms 140:3; Ecclesiastes 10:11; Romans 3:13
  • 10. See Genesis 1:26

Footnotes 3

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.