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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)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!
• 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!

Context of James 3:5

3Now if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their whole body as well. 4Look at the ships too: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are nevertheless directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot determines. So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! 6And the tongue is a fire, the very world of unrighteousness; the tongue is set among our body’s parts as that which defiles the whole body and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. 7For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race.

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

• Soοὕτωςhoutō · thus(-ly)G3779
• alsoκαίkai · andG2532
• the tongueγλῶσσαglōssa · tongueG1100
• is a smallμικρόςmikros mikroteros · smallG3398
• partμέλοςmelos · memberG3196
• of greatμέγαςmegas · greatG3173
• Seeἰδούidou · look!G2400
• howἡλίκοςhēlikos · how great?G2245
• a forestὕληhulē · forestG5208
• is setἀνάπτωanaptō · to set fireG381
• fireπῦρpur · fireG4442

Cross-references for James 3:5

• Exodus 5:2But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and besides, I will not let Israel go.”
• Exodus 15:9The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoils; I shall be satisfied against them; I will draw my sword, my hand will destroy them.’
• 2 Kings 19:22Whom have you taunted and blasphemed? And against whom have you raised your voice, And haughtily raised your eyes? Against the Holy One of Israel!
• Job 21:14Yet they say to God, ‘Go away from us! We do not even desire the knowledge of Your ways.
• Job 22:17They said to God, ‘Go away from us!’ And ‘What can the Almighty do to them?’
• Psalms 10:3For the wicked boasts of his soul’s desire, And the greedy person curses and shows disrespect to the Lord.
• Psalms 12:2They speak lies to one another; They speak with flattering lips and a double heart.
• Psalms 17:10They have closed their unfeeling hearts, With their mouths they speak proudly.
• Psalms 52:1Why do you boast in evil, you mighty man? The faithfulness of God endures all day long.
• Psalms 73:8They mock and wickedly speak of oppression; They speak from on high.
• Proverbs 12:18There is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword, But the tongue of the wise brings healing.
• Proverbs 15:2The tongue of the wise makes knowledge pleasant, But the mouth of fools spouts foolishness.
• Proverbs 18:21Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.
• Jeremiah 9:3“They bend their tongues like their bows; Lies and not truth prevail 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 and let’s devise plans against Jeremiah. Certainly the Law is not going to be lost by the priest, nor advice by the wise, nor the divine word by the prophet! Come, and let’s strike at him with our tongue, and let’s pay no attention to any of his words.”
• Ezekiel 28:2“Son of man, say to the leader of Tyre, ‘The Lord God says this: “Because your heart is haughty And you have said, ‘I am a god, I sit in the seat of gods In the heart of the seas’; Yet you are a mortal and not God, Although you make your heart like the heart of 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