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

3Behold, we put bits in the horses’ mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. 4Behold also the ships, which though they are so great, and are driven by fierce winds, yet they are turned about with a very small helm, wherever the pilot willeth. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! 6And 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 from hell. 7For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of creatures in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed by mankind:

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

• Evenκαίkai · andG2532
• soοὕτωςhoutō · thus(-ly)G3779
• tongueγλῶσσαglōssa · tongueG1100
• isἐστίesti · he isG2076
• littleμικρόςmikros mikroteros · smallG3398
• memberμέλοςmelos · memberG3196
• thingsμεγαλαυχέωmegalaucheō · to boastG3166
• Beholdἰδούidou · look!G2400
• greatἡλίκοςhēlikos · how great?G2245
• matterὕληhulē · forestG5208
• littleὀλίγοςoligos · little/fewG3641
• fireπῦρpur · fireG4442
• kindlethἀνάπτωanaptō · to set fireG381

Cross-references for James 3:5

• Exodus 5:2And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go.
• Exodus 15:9The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.
• 2 Kings 19:22Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thy eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel.
• Job 21:14Therefore they say to God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.
• Job 22:17Who said to God, Depart from us: and what can the Almighty do for them?
• Psalms 10:3For the wicked boasteth of his heart’s desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth.
• Psalms 12:2They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.
• Psalms 17:10They are inclosed in their own fat: with their mouth they speak proudly.
• Psalms 52:1Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth continually.
• Psalms 73:8They are corrupt, and speak wickedly concerning oppression: they speak loftily.
• Proverbs 12:18There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health.
• Proverbs 15:2The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.
• Proverbs 18:21Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit of it.
• Jeremiah 9:3And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the LORD.
• Jeremiah 18:18Then said they, Come, and let us devise devices against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let us smite him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words.
• Ezekiel 28:2Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thy heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou settest thy heart as 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