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

4And consider ships: Though very large and driven by fierce winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5So too, though the tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts great things. Consider how a small fire sets ablaze a large forest. And the tongue is a fire. The tongue, a world of unrighteousness, is placed among our members. It stains the whole body, sets the course of life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. 7Every kind of animal, bird, reptile, and fish is tamed and has been tamed by humankind, 8but no one 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

Words taken from the KJV.

• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• the tongueὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the tongueγλῶσσαglōssa · tongueG1100
• a fireπῦρpur · fireG4442
• a worldκόσμοςkosmos · worldG2889
• of iniquityἀδικίαadikia · unrighteousnessG93
• soοὕτωςhoutō · thus(-ly)G3779
• isκαθίστημιkathistēmi · to appoint/conductG2525
• amongἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• ourἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• membersμέλοςmelos · memberG3196
• that it defilethσπιλόωspiloō · to stainG4695
• the wholeὅλοςholos · allG3650
• bodyσῶμαsōma · bodyG4983
• setteth on fireφλογίζωphlogizō · to kindleG5394
• the courseτροχόςtrochos · course/wheelG5164
• of natureγένεσιςgenesis · originG1078
• ofὑπόhupo · by/under: byG5259
• hellγέενναgeenna · hell: GehennaG1067

Cross-references for James 3:6

• Judges 12:4Then Jephthah gathered all of the men of Gilead. They fought and defeated Ephraim, because Ephraim had said, “You Gileadites are Ephraimite fugitives in the territories of Ephraim and Manasseh.”
• 2 Samuel 19:43The men of Israel answered the men of Judah, “We have ten shares in the king, so we have a greater claim to David than you. Why then do you despise us? Weren’t we the first to speak of restoring our king?” But the words of the men of Judah were harsher than those of the men of Israel.
• 2 Samuel 20:1Now a wicked man, a Benjaminite named Sheba son of Bichri, happened to be there. He blew the ram’s horn and shouted: We have no portion in David, no inheritance in Jesse’s son. Each man to his tent, Israel!
• 2 Chronicles 10:13Then the king answered them harshly. King Rehoboam rejected the elders’ advice
• 2 Chronicles 13:17Then Abijah and his people struck them with a mighty blow, and five hundred thousand fit young men of Israel were killed.
• Psalms 64:3who sharpen their tongues like swords and aim bitter words like arrows,
• Psalms 140:3They make their tongues as sharp as a snake’s bite; viper’s venom is under their lips.Selah
• Proverbs 15:1A gentle answer turns away anger, but a harsh word stirs up wrath.
• Proverbs 16:27A worthless person digs up evil, and his speech is like a scorching fire.
• Proverbs 26:20Without wood, fire goes out; without a gossip, conflict dies down.
• Isaiah 30:27Look! The name of the Lord is coming from far away, his anger burning and heavy with smoke. His lips are full of fury, and his tongue is like a consuming fire.
• James 2:7Don’t they blaspheme the good name that was invoked over you?
• Genesis 3:4“No! You will certainly not die,” the serpent said to the woman.
• Leviticus 24:11Her son cursed and blasphemed the Name, and they brought him to Moses. (His mother’s name was Shelomith, a daughter of Dibri of the tribe of Dan.)
• Numbers 25:2The women invited them to the sacrifices for their gods, and the people ate and bowed in worship to their gods.
• Numbers 31:16“Yet they are the ones who, at Balaam’s advice, incited the Israelites to unfaithfulness against the Lord in the Peor incident, so that the plague came against the Lord’s community.

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