James 3:5

James 3:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!
• New International Version (NIV)Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles!
• New Living Translation (NLT)In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire.

Context of James 3:5

3If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. 4Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 6And 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. 7For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind,

James 3:5 word by word

Οὕτως καὶ ἡ γλῶσσα μικρὸν μέλος ἐστὶν καὶ μεγάλα αὐχεῖ. ἰδοὺ ἡλίκον πῦρ ἡλίκην ὕλην ἀνάπτει·Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Evenκαίkai · andG2532
• soοὕτωςhoutō · thus(-ly)G3779
• the tongueὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the tongueγλῶσσαglōssa · tongueG1100
• isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• a littleμικρόςmikros mikroteros · smallG3398
• memberμέλοςmelos · memberG3196
• boasteth great thingsμεγαλαυχέωmegalaucheō · to boastG3166
• Beholdὁράωhoraō · to see: seeG3708
• how greatἡλίκοςhēlikos · how great?G2245
• a matterὕληhulē · forestG5208
• a littleὀλίγοςoligos · little/fewG3641
• fireπῦρpur · fireG4442
• kindlethἀνάπτωanaptō · to set fireG381

Cross-references for James 3:5

• Exodus 5:2But Pharaoh said, "Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go."
• Exodus 15:9The enemy said, 'I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them. I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.'
• 2 Kings 19:22"Whom have you mocked and reviled? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes to the heights? Against the Holy One of Israel!
• Job 21:14They say to God, 'Depart from us! We do not desire the knowledge of your ways.
• Job 22:17They said to God, 'Depart from us,' and 'What can the Almighty do to us?'
• Psalms 10:3For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul, and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the Lord.
• Psalms 12:2Everyone utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
• Psalms 17:10They close their hearts to pity; with their mouths they speak arrogantly.
• Psalms 52:1Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man? The steadfast love of God endures all the day.
• Psalms 73:8They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression.
• Proverbs 12:18There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
• Proverbs 15:2The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly.
• Proverbs 18:21Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.
• Jeremiah 9:3They bend their tongue like a bow; falsehood and not truth has grown strong in the land; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know me, declares the Lord.
• Jeremiah 18:18Then they said, "Come, let us make plots against Jeremiah, for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, let us strike him with the tongue, and let us not pay attention to any of his words."
• Ezekiel 28:2"Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus says the Lord God: "Because your heart is proud, and you have said, 'I am a god, I sit in the seat of the gods, in the heart of the seas,' yet you are but a man, and no god, though you make your heart like the heart of a god—

Commentaries on James 3:5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5Boasteth great things - That is, can do great things, whether of a good or evil kind. He seems to refer here to the powerful and all commanding eloquence of the Greek orators: they could carry the great mob whithersoever they wished; calm them to peaceableness and submission, or excite them to furious sedition. Behold, how great a matter - See what a flame of discord and insubordination one man, merely by his persuasive tongue, may kindle among the common…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5Even so the tongue is a little member - Little compared with the body, as the bit or the rudder is, compared with the horse or the ship. And boasteth great things - The design of the apostle is to illustrate the power and influence of the tongue. This may be done in a great many respects: and the apostle does it by referring to its boasting; to the effects which it produces, resembling that of fire, James 3:6; to its untameableness, James 3:8-9; and to…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. boasteth great things--There is great moment in what the careless think "little" things [Bengel]. Compare "a world," "the course of nature," "hell," Jas 3:6, which illustrate how the little tongue's great words produce great mischief. how great a matter a little fire kindleth--The best manuscripts read, "how little a fire kindleth how great a," &c. Alford, for "matter," translates, "forest." But Grotius translates as English Version, "material for…Read the comment

Topics related to James 3:5

• Boasting
• Speaking

In the dictionaries

• Course
• Governor
• Obey
• Offend
• Ought
• Tame
• Busybody
• Fire
• Great; Greatness
• Matter

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