Darby Bible
James 3:8
8but the tongue can no one among men tame; [it is] an unsettled evil, full of death-bringing poison.
James 3:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
- New International Version (NIV)but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
- English Standard Version (ESV)but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
- New King James Version (NKJV)But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
Context of James 3:8
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. 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; but the tongue can no one among men tame; [it is] an unsettled evil, full of death-bringing poison. 9Therewith bless we the Lord and Father, and therewith curse we men made after [the] likeness of God. 10Out of the same mouth goes forth blessing and cursing. It is not right, my brethren, that these things should be thus.
Read all of James 3James 3:8 word by word
τὴν δὲ γλῶσσαν οὐδεὶς δαμάσαι δύναται ἀνθρώπων· ἀκατάστατον κακόν, μεστὴ ἰοῦ θανατηφόρου.Read the interlinear
Cross-references for James 3:8
- James 3:6and 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.
- Psalms 55:21Smooth were the milky [words] of his mouth, but his heart was war; his words were softer than oil, yet are they drawn swords.
- Psalms 57:4My soul is in the midst of lions; I lie down [among] them that breathe out flames, the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.
- Psalms 59:7Behold, they belch out with their mouth; swords are in their lips: for who [say they] doth hear?
- Psalms 64:3Who have sharpened their tongue like a sword, [and] have aimed their arrow, a bitter word;
- Deuteronomy 32:33Their wine is the poison of dragons, And the cruel venom of vipers.
- Psalms 58:4Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: [they are] like the deaf adder which stoppeth her ear;
- Psalms 140:3They sharpen their tongues like a serpent; adders' poison is under their lips. Selah.
- Ecclesiastes 10:11If the serpent bite before enchantment, then the charmer hath no advantage.
- Romans 3:13their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; asps' poison [is] under their lips:
- Revelation 12:9And the great dragon was cast out, the ancient serpent, he who is called Devil and Satan, he who deceives the whole habitable world, he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Commentaries on James 3:8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8But the tongue wan no man tame - No cunning, persuasion, or influence has ever been able to silence it. Nothing but the grace of God, excision, or death, can bring it under subjection. It is an unruly evil - · An evil that cannot be restrained; it cannot be brought under any kind of government; it breaks all bounds. Full of deadly poison - He refers here to the tongues of serpents, supposed to be the means of conveying their poison into wounds made by…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8But the tongue can no man tame - This does not mean that it is never brought under control, but that it is impossible effectually and certainly to subdue it. It would be possible to subdue and domesticate any kind of beasts, but this could not be done with the tongue. It is an unruly evil - An evil without restraint, to which no certain and effectual check can be applied. Of the truth of this no one can have any doubt, who looks at the condition of the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8No man can tame the tongue: The tongue has a remarkable ability to do harm. If hell motivates its evil, humans effort alone cannot control it (3:6). full of deadly poison: This might refer to the serpent in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3:1). The Scriptures identify the serpent with the devil (Revelation 20:2).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. no man--literally, "no one of men": neither can a man control his neighbor's, nor even his own tongue. Hence the truth of Jas 3:2 appears. unruly evil--The Greek, implies that it is at once restless and incapable of restraint. Nay, though nature has hedged it in with a double barrier of the lips and teeth, it bursts from its barriers to assail and ruin men [Estius]. deadly--literally, "death-bearing."Read the comment
Topics related to James 3:8
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
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Commentaries