James 3:5

James 3:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!
• New International Version (NIV)Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.
• English Standard Version (ESV)So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!
• New King James Version (NKJV)Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles!

Context of James 3:5

3When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can guide the whole animal. 4Consider ships as well. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot is inclined. In the same way, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it boasts of great things. Consider how small a spark sets a great forest ablaze. 6The tongue also is a fire, a world of wickedness among the parts of the body. It pollutes the whole person, sets the course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. 7All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man,

James 3:5 word by word

Οὕτως καὶ ἡ γλῶσσα μικρὸν μέλος ἐστὶν καὶ μεγάλα αὐχεῖ. ἰδοὺ ἡλίκον πῦρ ἡλίκην ὕλην ἀνάπτει·Read the interlinear

• In the same wayοὕτωςhoutō · thus(-ly)G3779
• In the same wayκαίkai · andG2532
• theὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• tongueγλῶσσαglōssa · tongueG1100
• isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• a smallμικρόςmikros mikroteros · smallG3398
• part of the bodyμέλοςmelos · memberG3196
• it boasts ofμεγαλαυχέωmegalaucheō · to boastG3166
• great thingsμέγαςmegas · greatG3173
• Considerἰδούidou · look!G2400
• how smallἡλίκοςhēlikos · how great?G2245
• a sparkπῦρpur · fireG4442
• setsἀνάπτωanaptō · to set fireG381
• forest ablazeὕληhulē · forestG5208

Cross-references for James 3:5

• Exodus 5:2But Pharaoh replied, “Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and I will not let Israel go.”
• Exodus 15:9The enemy declared, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake. I will divide the spoils; I will gorge myself on them. I will draw my sword; my hand will destroy them.’
• 2 Kings 19:22Whom have you taunted and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel!
• Job 21:14Yet they say to God: ‘Leave us alone! For we have no desire to know Your ways.
• Job 22:17They said to God, ‘Depart from us. What can the Almighty do to us?’
• Psalms 10:3For the wicked man boasts in the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD.
• Psalms 12:2They lie to one another; they speak with flattering lips and a double heart.
• Psalms 17:10They have closed their callous hearts; their mouths speak with arrogance.
• Psalms 52:1Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man? The loving devotion of God endures all day long.
• Psalms 73:8They mock and speak with malice; with arrogance they threaten oppression.
• Proverbs 12:18Speaking rashly is like a piercing sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
• Proverbs 15:2The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool spouts folly.
• Proverbs 18:21Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
• Jeremiah 9:3“They bend their tongues like bows; lies prevail over truth in the land. For they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not take Me into account,” declares the LORD.
• Jeremiah 18:18Then some said, “Come, let us make plans against Jeremiah, for the law will never be lost to the priest, nor counsel to the wise, nor an oracle to the prophet. Come, let us denounce him and pay no heed to any of his words.”
• Ezekiel 28:2“Son of man, tell the ruler of Tyre that this is what the Lord GOD says: Your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a god; I sit in the seat of gods in the heart of the sea.’ Yet you are a man and not a god, though you have regarded your heart as that of a god.

Commentaries on James 3:5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5Boasteth great things - That is, can do great things, whether of a good or evil kind. He seems to refer here to the powerful and all commanding eloquence of the Greek orators: they could carry the great mob whithersoever they wished; calm them to peaceableness and submission, or excite them to furious sedition. Behold, how great a matter - See what a flame of discord and insubordination one man, merely by his persuasive tongue, may kindle among the common…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5Even so the tongue is a little member - Little compared with the body, as the bit or the rudder is, compared with the horse or the ship. And boasteth great things - The design of the apostle is to illustrate the power and influence of the tongue. This may be done in a great many respects: and the apostle does it by referring to its boasting; to the effects which it produces, resembling that of fire, James 3:6; to its untameableness, James 3:8-9; and to…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. boasteth great things--There is great moment in what the careless think "little" things [Bengel]. Compare "a world," "the course of nature," "hell," Jas 3:6, which illustrate how the little tongue's great words produce great mischief. how great a matter a little fire kindleth--The best manuscripts read, "how little a fire kindleth how great a," &c. Alford, for "matter," translates, "forest." But Grotius translates as English Version, "material for…Read the comment

Topics related to James 3:5

• Boasting
• Speaking

In the dictionaries

• Course
• Governor
• Obey
• Offend
• Ought
• Tame
• Busybody
• Fire
• Great; Greatness
• Matter

Commentaries on James 3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings