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

3And if we put bits into the mouths of horses to get them to obey us, then we guide their entire bodies. 4Look at ships too: Though they are so large and driven by harsh winds, they are steered by a tiny rudder wherever the pilot’s inclination directs. So too the tongue is a small part of the body, yet it has great pretensions. Think how small a flame sets a huge forest ablaze. 6And the tongue is a fire! The tongue represents the world of wrongdoing among the parts of our bodies. It pollutes the entire body and sets fire to the course of human existence – and is set on fire by hell. 7For every kind of animal, bird, reptile, and sea creature is subdued and has been subdued by humankind.

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 him by releasing Israel? I do not know the Lord, and I will not release Israel!”
• Exodus 15:9The enemy said, ‘I will chase, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my desire will be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword, my hand will destroy them.’
• 2 Kings 19:22Whom have you taunted and hurled insults at? At whom have you shouted, and looked so arrogantly? At the Holy One of Israel!
• Job 21:14So they say to God, ‘Turn away from us! We do not want to know your ways.
• Job 22:17They were saying to God, ‘Turn away from us,’ and ‘What can the Almighty do to us?’
• Psalms 10:3Yes, the wicked man boasts because he gets what he wants; the one who robs others curses and rejects the Lord.
• Psalms 12:2People lie to one another; they flatter and deceive.
• Psalms 17:10They are calloused; they speak arrogantly.
• Psalms 52:1Why do you boast about your evil plans, O powerful man? God’s loyal love protects me all day long!
• Psalms 73:8They mock and say evil things; they proudly threaten violence.
• Proverbs 12:18Speaking recklessly is like the thrusts of a sword, but the words of the wise bring healing.
• Proverbs 15:2The tongue of the wise treats knowledge correctly, but the mouth of the fool spouts out folly.
• Proverbs 18:21Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love its use will eat its fruit.
• Jeremiah 9:3The Lord says, “These people are like soldiers who have readied their bows. Their tongues are always ready to shoot out lies. They have become powerful in the land, but they have not done so by honest means. Indeed, they do one evil thing after another and do not pay attention to me.
• Jeremiah 18:18Then some people said, “Come on! Let us consider how to deal with Jeremiah! There will still be priests to instruct us, wise men to give us advice, and prophets to declare God’s word. Come on! Let’s bring charges against him and get rid of him! Then we will not need to pay attention to anything he says.”
• Ezekiel 28:2“Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: “‘Your heart is proud and you said, “I am a god; I sit in the seat of gods, in the heart of the seas” – yet you are a man and not a god, though you think you are godlike.

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