Darby Bible
James 3:6
6and the tongue [is] fire, the world of unrighteousness; the tongue is set in our members, the defiler of the whole body, and which sets fire to the course of nature, and is set on fire of hell.
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
4Behold also the ships, which are so great, and driven by violent winds, are turned about by a very small rudder, wherever the pleasure of the helmsman will. 5Thus also the tongue is a little member, and boasts great things. See how little a fire, how large a wood it kindles! and the tongue [is] fire, the world of unrighteousness; the tongue is set in our members, the defiler of the whole body, and which sets fire to the course of nature, and is set on fire of hell. 7For every species both of beasts and of birds, both of creeping things and of sea animals, is tamed and has been tamed by the human species; 8but the tongue can no one among men tame; [it is] an unsettled evil, full of death-bringing poison.
Read all of James 3James 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
Cross-references for James 3:6
- Judges 12:4And Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim; and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said, Ye, Gilead, ye are fugitives of Ephraim in the midst of Ephraim, [and] in the midst of Manasseh.
- 2 Samuel 19:43And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah and said, I have ten parts in the king and I have also more right in David than thou; and why didst thou slight me? and was not my advice the first, to bring back my king? And the words of the men of Judah were harsher than the words of the men of Israel.
- 2 Samuel 20:1And there happened to be there a man of Belial, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjaminite; and he blew a trumpet, and said, We have no portion in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to his tents, Israel.
- 2 Chronicles 10:13And the king answered them roughly; and king Rehoboam forsook the advice of the old men,
- 2 Chronicles 13:17And Abijah and his people slew them with a great slaughter; and there fell down slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men.
- Psalms 64:3Who have sharpened their tongue like a sword, [and] have aimed their arrow, a bitter word;
- Psalms 140:3They sharpen their tongues like a serpent; adders' poison is under their lips. Selah.
- Proverbs 15:1A soft answer turneth away fury; but a grievous word stirreth up anger.
- Proverbs 16:27A man of Belial diggeth up evil, and on his lips there is as a scorching fire.
- Proverbs 26:20Where no wood is, the fire goeth out; and where there is no talebearer, the contention ceaseth.
- Isaiah 30:27Behold, the name of Jehovah cometh from far, burning [with] his anger — a grievous conflagration; his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a consuming fire;
- James 2:7And [do not] they blaspheme the excellent name which has been called upon you?
- Genesis 3:4And the serpent said to the woman, Ye will not certainly die;
- Leviticus 24:11and the Israelitish woman's son blasphemed the Name, and cursed; and they brought him to Moses. And his mother's name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.
- Numbers 25:2And they invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods; and the people ate, and bowed down to their gods.
- Numbers 31:16Lo, these, through the counsel of Balaam, caused the children of Israel to commit sin against Jehovah in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague on the assembly of Jehovah.
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
In the dictionaries
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
Darby Bible — 1889 — Public Domain
Commentaries