James 3:6

James 3:6 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
• New International Version (NIV)The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And 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.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.

Context of James 3:6

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. 5So 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. And 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. 8But no human being can subdue the tongue; it is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

James 3:6 word by word

καὶ ἡ γλῶσσα πῦρ, ὁ κόσμος τῆς ἀδικίας ἡ γλῶσσα καθίσταται ἐν τοῖς μέλεσιν ἡμῶν ἡ σπιλοῦσα ὅλον τὸ σῶμα καὶ φλογίζουσα τὸν τροχὸν τῆς γενέσεως καὶ φλογιζομένη ὑπὸ τῆς γεέννης.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• the tongueὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the tongueγλῶσσαglōssa · tongueG1100
• a fireπῦρpur · fireG4442
• a worldκόσμοςkosmos · worldG2889
• of iniquityἀδικίαadikia · unrighteousnessG93
• soοὕτωςhoutō · thus(-ly)G3779
• isκαθίστημιkathistēmi · to appoint/conductG2525
• amongἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• ourἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• membersμέλοςmelos · memberG3196
• that it defilethσπιλόωspiloō · to stainG4695
• the wholeὅλοςholos · allG3650
• bodyσῶμαsōma · bodyG4983
• setteth on fireφλογίζωphlogizō · to kindleG5394
• the courseτροχόςtrochos · course/wheelG5164
• of natureγένεσιςgenesis · originG1078
• ofὑπόhupo · by/under: byG5259
• hellγέενναgeenna · hell: GehennaG1067

Cross-references for James 3:6

• Judges 12:4Jephthah assembled all the men of Gilead and they fought with Ephraim. The men of Gilead defeated Ephraim, because the Ephraimites insulted them, saying, “You Gileadites are refugees in Ephraim, living within Ephraim’s and Manasseh’s territory.”
• 2 Samuel 19:43The men of Israel replied to the men of Judah, “We have ten shares in the king, and we have a greater claim on David than you do! Why do you want to curse us? Weren’t we the first to suggest bringing back our king?” But the comments of the men of Judah were more severe than those of the men of Israel.
• 2 Samuel 20:1Now a wicked man named Sheba son of Bicri, a Benjaminite, happened to be there. He blew the trumpet and said, “We have no share in David; we have no inheritance in this son of Jesse! Every man go home, O Israel!”
• 2 Chronicles 10:13The king responded to the people harshly. He rejected the advice of the older men
• 2 Chronicles 13:17Abijah and his army thoroughly defeated them; 500,000 well-trained Israelite men fell dead.
• Psalms 64:3They sharpen their tongues like a sword; they aim their arrow, a slanderous charge,
• Psalms 140:3Their tongues wound like a serpent; a viper’s venom is behind their lips. (Selah)
• Proverbs 15:1A gentle response turns away anger, but a harsh word stirs up wrath.
• Proverbs 16:27A wicked scoundrel digs up evil, and his slander is like a scorching fire.
• Proverbs 26:20Where there is no wood, a fire goes out, and where there is no gossip, contention ceases.
• Isaiah 30:27Look, the name of the Lord comes from a distant place in raging anger and awesome splendor. He speaks angrily and his word is like destructive fire.
• James 2:7Do they not blaspheme the good name of the one you belong to?
• Genesis 3:4The serpent said to the woman, “Surely you will not die,
• Leviticus 24:11The Israelite woman’s son misused the Name and cursed, so they brought him to Moses. (Now his mother’s name was Shelomith daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.)
• Numbers 25:2These women invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods; then the people ate and bowed down to their gods.
• Numbers 31:16Look, these people through the counsel of Balaam caused the Israelites to act treacherously against the Lord in the matter of Peor – which resulted in the plague among the community of the Lord!

Commentaries on James 3:6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6The tongue is a fire - It is often the instrument of producing the most desperate contentions and insurrections. A world of iniquity - This is an unusual form of speech, but the meaning is plain enough; World signifies here a mass, a great collection, an abundance. We use the term in the same sense - a world of troubles, a world of toil, a world of anxiety; for great troubles, oppressive toil, most distressing anxiety. And one of our lexicographers calls…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6And the tongue is a fire - In this sense, that it produces a “blaze,” or a great conflagration. It produces a disturbance and an agitation that may be compared with the conflagration often produced by a spark. A world of iniquity - A little world of evil in itself. This is a very expressive phrase, and is similar to one which we often employ, as when we speak of a town as being a world in miniature. We mean by it that it is an epitome of the world; that…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6a world of wickedness: The tongue (our speech) acts as an agent of the whole unrighteous world that opposes God (1:27; 4:4). by hell: The Greek word Gehenna refers to the place of eternal punishment (Matthew 5:22, 30; 23:15). Hades is the place of the dead (Luke 16:23; Acts 2:31). Mentioning hell points to the devil as the ultimate source of evil speech (James 4:7; Matt 5:22; John 8:44).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. Translate, "The tongue, that world of iniquity, is a fire." As man's little world is an image of the greater world, the universe, so the tongue is an image of the former [Bengel]. so--omitted in the oldest authorities. is--literally, "is constituted." "The tongue is (constituted), among the members, the one which defileth," &c. (namely, as fire defiles with its smoke). course of nature--"the orb (cycle) of creation." setteth on fire ... is set on…Read the comment

Topics related to James 3:6

• Hell
• Speaking

In the dictionaries

• Coal
• Course
• Gehenna
• Governor
• Obey
• Offend
• Ought
• Tame
• Busybody
• Defile; Defilement

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