James 3:12

James 3:12 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.
• New International Version (NIV)My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.

Context of James 3:12

10From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. These things should not be so, my brothers and sisters. 11A spring does not pour out fresh water and bitter water from the same opening, does it? Can a fig tree produce olives, my brothers and sisters, or a vine produce figs? Neither can a salt water spring produce fresh water. 13Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct he should show his works done in the gentleness that wisdom brings. 14But if you have bitter jealousy and selfishness in your hearts, do not boast and tell lies against the truth.

James 3:12 word by word

μὴ δύναται, ἀδελφοί μου, συκῆ ἐλαίας ποιῆσαι ἢ ἄμπελος σῦκα; οὔτε ἁλυκὸν γλυκὺ ποιῆσαι ὕδωρ.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·μήmē · notG3361
• Canδύναμαιdunamai · be ableG1410
• the fig treeσυκῆsukē · fig treeG4808
• myἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• brethrenἀδελφόςadelphos · brotherG80
• bearποιέωpoieō · to do/make: doG4160
• olive berriesἐλαίαelaia · olive treeG1636
• eitherἤē · orG2228
• a vineἄμπελοςampelos · vineG288
• figsσῦκονsukon · figG4810
• soοὕτωςhoutō · thus(-ly)G3779
• noοὐδείςoudeis · noneG3762
• fountainπηγήpēgē · flowG4077
• saltἁλυκόςhalukos · saltyG252
• waterὕδωρhudōr hudatos · waterG5204
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• freshγλυκύςglukus · sweetG1099

Cross-references for James 3:12

• Isaiah 5:2He built a hedge around it, removed its stones, and planted a vine. He built a tower in the middle of it, and constructed a winepress. He waited for it to produce edible grapes, but it produced sour ones instead.
• Jeremiah 2:21I planted you in the land like a special vine of the very best stock. Why in the world have you turned into something like a wild vine that produces rotten, foul-smelling grapes?
• Matthew 7:16You will recognize them by their fruit. Grapes are not gathered from thorns or figs from thistles, are they?
• Matthew 12:33“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is known by its fruit.
• Luke 6:43“For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit,
• Romans 11:16If the first portion of the dough offered is holy, then the whole batch is holy, and if the root is holy, so too are the branches.
• Exodus 15:23Then they came to Marah, but they were not able to drink the waters of Marah, because they were bitter. (That is why its name was Marah.)
• 2 Kings 2:19The men of the city said to Elisha, “Look, the city has a good location, as our master can see. But the water is bad and the land doesn’t produce crops.”
• Ezekiel 47:8He said to me, “These waters go out toward the eastern region and flow down into the Arabah; when they enter the Dead Sea, where the sea is stagnant, the waters become fresh.

Commentaries on James 3:12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12So can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh - For the reading of the common text, which is ̔ ̔ ̔, so no fountain can produce salt water and sweet, there are various other readings in the MSS. and versions. The word ̔, so, which makes this a continuation of the comparison in James 3:11, is wanting in ABC, one other, with the Armenian and ancient Syriac; the later Syriac has it in the margin with an asterisk. ABC, five others, with the Coptic…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12Can the fig-tree, my brethren, bear olive-berries? - Such a thing is impossible in nature, and equally absurd in morals. A fig-tree bears only figs; and so the tongue ought to give utterance only to one class of sentiments and emotions. These illustrations are very striking, and show the absurdity of that which the apostle reproves. At the same time, they accomplish the main purpose which he had in view, to repress the desire of becoming public teachers…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. Transition from the mouth to the heart. Can the fig tree, &c.--implying that it is an impossibility: as before in Jas 3:10 he had said it "ought not so to be." James does not, as Matthew (Mt 7:16, 17), make the question, "Do men gather figs of thistles?" His argument is, No tree "can" bring forth fruit inconsistent with its nature, as for example, the fig tree, olive berries: so if a man speaks bitterly, and afterwards speaks good words, the latter…Read the comment

Topics related to James 3:12

• Righteousness

In the dictionaries

• Olive Berries
• Course
• Governor
• Obey
• Offend
• Ought
• Tame
• Berries
• Either
• Fresh

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