James 3:10

James 3:10 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.
• New International Version (NIV)Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.
• English Standard Version (ESV)From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.

Context of James 3:10

8But no person can rule his tongue. It continues to say bad things. It is like a bad poison that can cause death. 9We use our tongue to praise the Lord God who is our Father. But then we use it to curse other people. That is wrong, because God made those people to be like himself. This shows that we use the same mouth to praise and also to curse. My Christian friends, we should not do this. 11Salty water and sweet water never come from the same spring. 12A fig tree cannot give olives, my friends. A vine for grapes cannot give figs. And a salty spring cannot give sweet water.

James 3:10 word by word

ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ στόματος ἐξέρχεται εὐλογία καὶ κατάρα. οὐ χρή, ἀδελφοί μου, ταῦτα οὕτως γίνεσθαι.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Out ofἐκek ex · out fromG1537
• the sameαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• mouthστόμαstoma · mouthG4750
• proceedethἐξέρχομαιexerchomai · to go outG1831
• blessingεὐλογίαeulogia · praiseG2129
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• cursingκατάραkatara · curseG2671
• Myἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• brethrenἀδελφόςadelphos · brotherG80
• these thingsοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
• oughtχρήchrē · to ought/needG5534
• notοὐou · noG3756
• soοὕτωςhoutō · thus(-ly)G3779
• to beγίνομαιginomai · to beG1096

Cross-references for James 3:10

• Psalms 50:16But God says this to the wicked people: ‘It is useless for you to speak about my commands, or about my covenant.
• Jeremiah 7:4People may say, ‘We are safe here! This is the temple of the Lord. It is the temple of the Lord!’ But the people who say that are deceiving you. Do not trust them.
• Micah 3:11You are the city's rulers, but you accept bribes. Then you do not judge people in a fair way. You priests teach people only if they pay you. You prophets speak about what will happen in future times. But you only speak if you receive money. But you still say that you trust the Lord. You say, ‘The Lord is with us, so nothing bad will happen to us.’
• Romans 12:14Ask God to bless people who cause trouble for you. Yes, ask him to be kind to them. Do not ask him to do bad things to them.
• 1 Peter 3:9If people do bad things to you, do not do anything bad to them in return. If people insult you, do not insult them in return. Instead, pray that God will bless those people. That is what God wants you to do. Then you will receive the gift of God's blessing.
• Genesis 20:9Abimelech called Abraham to come to him. He said to Abraham, ‘Why have you done this bad thing against us? I have not done anything wrong against you. Now you have made me and the people in my kingdom guilty of a very bad thing. Nobody should ever do the things that you have done to me.’
• 2 Samuel 13:12Tamar answered him, ‘Do not do this, my brother! Do not make me ashamed. Nobody in Israel would do such a wicked thing. Do not be so foolish!
• 1 Corinthians 3:3You still do what your human nature wants to do. You are jealous of each other, and you quarrel with each other. Yes! This shows that you do what your human nature wants to do. You live like people who do not know God.
• 1 Timothy 5:13Young widows may learn to be lazy. They may go around from house to house. Not only do they become lazy, but they talk too much about silly things. They talk wrongly about other people and what they are doing. They say things that they ought not to say.

Commentaries on James 3:10

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 10Out of the same mouth - This saying is something like that, Proverbs 18:21; : Death and life are in the power of the tongue; and on this, for an illustration of St. James' words, hear Vayikra Rabba, sec. 33: "Rabbi Simeon, the son of Gamaliel, said to his servant Tobias, Go and bring me some good food from the market: the servant went, and he bought tongues. At another time he said to the same servant, Go and buy me some bad food: the servant went, and…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 10Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing - The meaning here may be, either that out of the mouth of man two such opposite things proceed, not referring to the same individual, but to different persons; or, out of the mouth of the same individual. Both of these are true; and both are equally incongruous and wrong. No organ should be devoted to uses so unlike, and the mouth should be employed in giving utterance only to that which is just…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1010. The tongue, says ÆSOP, is at once the best and the worst of things. So in a fable, a man with the same breath blows hot and cold. "Life and death are in the power of the tongue" (compare Psa 62:4). brethren--an appeal to their consciences by their brotherhood in Christ. ought not so to be--a mild appeal, leaving it to themselves to understand that such conduct deserves the most severe reprobation.Read the comment

Topics related to James 3:10

• Blasphemy
• Speaking

In the dictionaries

• Course
• Governor
• Obey
• Offend
• Ought
• Tame
• Blessing
• Busybody
• curse, cursed, cursing
• image of God, image

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