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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring.

Context of James 3:12

10Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. 11Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. 13Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny 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 dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit.
• Jeremiah 2:21I had planted you like a choice vine of sound and reliable stock. How then did you turn against me into a corrupt, wild vine?
• Matthew 7:16By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
• 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 recognized by its fruit.
• Luke 6:43“No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.
• Romans 11:16If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.
• Exodus 15:23When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.)
• 2 Kings 2:19The people of the city said to Elisha, “Look, our lord, this town is well situated, as you can see, but the water is bad and the land is unproductive.”
• Ezekiel 47:8He said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, where it enters the Dead Sea. When it empties into the sea, the salty water there becomes 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