James 3:6

James 3:6 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
• New International Version (NIV)The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.

Context of James 3:6

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. 5In 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. The 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, 8but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

James 3:6 word by word

καὶ ἡ γλῶσσα πῦρ, ὁ κόσμος τῆς ἀδικίας ἡ γλῶσσα καθίσταται ἐν τοῖς μέλεσιν ἡμῶν ἡ σπιλοῦσα ὅλον τὸ σῶμα καὶ φλογίζουσα τὸν τροχὸν τῆς γενέσεως καὶ φλογιζομένη ὑπὸ τῆς γεέννης.¶Read the interlinear

• Theὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• tongueγλῶσσαglōssa · tongueG1100
• alsoκαίkai · andG2532
• a fireπῦρpur · fireG4442
• worldκόσμοςkosmos · worldG2889
• of wickednessἀδικίαadikia · unrighteousnessG93
• amongκαθίστημιkathistēmi · to appoint/conductG2525
• amongἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• partsμέλοςmelos · memberG3196
• of theἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• It pollutesσπιλόωspiloō · to stainG4695
• wholeὅλοςholos · allG3650
• personσῶμαsōma · bodyG4983
• setsφλογίζωphlogizō · to kindleG5394
• courseτροχόςtrochos · course/wheelG5164
• of his life on fireγένεσιςgenesis · originG1078
• byὑπόhupo · by/under: byG5259
• hellγέενναgeenna · hell: GehennaG1067

Cross-references for James 3:6

• Judges 12:4Jephthah then gathered all the men of Gilead and fought against Ephraim. And the men of Gilead struck them down because the Ephraimites had said, “You Gileadites are fugitives in Ephraim, living in the territories of Ephraim and Manasseh.”
• 2 Samuel 19:43“We have ten shares in the king,” answered the men of Israel, “so we have more claim to David than you. Why then do you despise us? Were we not the first to speak of restoring our king?” But the men of Judah spoke more fiercely than the men of Israel.
• 2 Samuel 20:1Now a worthless man named Sheba son of Bichri, a Benjamite, happened to be there, and he blew the ram’s horn and shouted: “We have no share in David, no inheritance in Jesse’s son. Every man to his tent, O Israel!”
• 2 Chronicles 10:13And the king answered them harshly. King Rehoboam rejected the advice of the elders
• 2 Chronicles 13:17Then Abijah and his people struck them with a mighty blow, and 500,000 chosen men of Israel fell slain.
• Psalms 64:3who sharpen their tongues like swords and aim their bitter words like arrows,
• Psalms 140:3They sharpen their tongues like snakes; the venom of vipers is on their lips. Selah
• Proverbs 15:1A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
• Proverbs 16:27A worthless man digs up evil, and his speech is like a scorching fire.
• Proverbs 26:20Without wood, a fire goes out; without gossip, a conflict ceases.
• Isaiah 30:27Behold, the Name of the LORD comes from afar, with burning anger and dense smoke. His lips are full of fury, and His tongue is like a consuming fire.
• James 2:7Are they not the ones who blaspheme the noble name by which you have been called?
• Genesis 3:4“You will not surely die,” the serpent told the woman.
• Leviticus 24:11The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the Name with a curse. So they brought him to Moses. (His mother’s name was Shelomith daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.)
• Numbers 25:2who also invited them to the sacrifices for their gods. And the people ate and bowed down to these gods.
• Numbers 31:16“Look, these women caused the sons of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to turn unfaithfully against the LORD at Peor, so that the plague struck the congregation of the LORD.

Commentaries on James 3:6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6The tongue is a fire - It is often the instrument of producing the most desperate contentions and insurrections. A world of iniquity - This is an unusual form of speech, but the meaning is plain enough; World signifies here a mass, a great collection, an abundance. We use the term in the same sense - a world of troubles, a world of toil, a world of anxiety; for great troubles, oppressive toil, most distressing anxiety. And one of our lexicographers calls…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6And the tongue is a fire - In this sense, that it produces a “blaze,” or a great conflagration. It produces a disturbance and an agitation that may be compared with the conflagration often produced by a spark. A world of iniquity - A little world of evil in itself. This is a very expressive phrase, and is similar to one which we often employ, as when we speak of a town as being a world in miniature. We mean by it that it is an epitome of the world; that…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6a world of wickedness: The tongue (our speech) acts as an agent of the whole unrighteous world that opposes God (1:27; 4:4). by hell: The Greek word Gehenna refers to the place of eternal punishment (Matthew 5:22, 30; 23:15). Hades is the place of the dead (Luke 16:23; Acts 2:31). Mentioning hell points to the devil as the ultimate source of evil speech (James 4:7; Matt 5:22; John 8:44).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. Translate, "The tongue, that world of iniquity, is a fire." As man's little world is an image of the greater world, the universe, so the tongue is an image of the former [Bengel]. so--omitted in the oldest authorities. is--literally, "is constituted." "The tongue is (constituted), among the members, the one which defileth," &c. (namely, as fire defiles with its smoke). course of nature--"the orb (cycle) of creation." setteth on fire ... is set on…Read the comment

Topics related to James 3:6

• Hell
• Speaking

In the dictionaries

• Coal
• Course
• Gehenna
• Governor
• Obey
• Offend
• Ought
• Tame
• Busybody
• Defile; Defilement

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