James 3:5 BSB — MannaFest

James 3:5

In the same way, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it boasts of great things. Consider how small a spark sets a great forest ablaze.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

So the tongue also is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how much wood is kindled by how small a fire!

KJV

Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!

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Commentary

3 voices

Jerome

SERMONS 41 (420)

The sword kills the body, but the tongue kills the soul. The tongue knows no moderation—either it is a great good or it is a great evil. It is a great good when it acknowledges that Christ is God, and a great evil when it denies that. Let no one deceive himself into thinking that he has never sinned, for if I have sinned, it is with my tongue. What more monstrous sin is there than blasphemy against God? The devil did not fall because he committed theft, murder or adultery; he fell because of his tongue.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

Observe hence, There is a great pollution and defilement in sins of the tongue. Defiling passions are kindled, vented, and cherished by this unruly member. And the whole body is often drawn into sin and guilt by the tongue.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Albert Barnes

1798–1870

Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)

Even 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, Jas 3:6; to its untameableness, Jas 3:8-9; and to its giving utterance to the most inconsistent and incongruous thoughts, Jas 3:9-

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

16 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
Οὕτως	Houtōs	Thus	G3779 →
καὶ	kai	also	G2532 →
ἡ	hē	the	G3588 →
γλῶσσα	glōssa	tongue	G1100 →
μικρὸν	mikron	a small	G3398 →
μέλος	melos	member	G3196 →
ἐστὶν	estin	is	G1510 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
μεγάλα	megala	exceeding things	G3173 →
αὐχεῖ.	auchei	it boasts.
ἰδοὺ	idou	Behold	G2400 →
ἡλίκον	hēlikon	a great	G2245 →
πῦρ	pur	fire	G4442 →
ἡλίκην	hēlikēn	how great	G2245 →
ὕλην	hulēn	a forest	G5208 →
ἀνάπτει·	anaptei	it kindles;	G381 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Proverbs 18:21
Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
leads to
- Ephesians 4:29
  Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen.
- Matthew 12:35–37
  The good man brings good things out of his good store of treasure, and the evil man brings evil things out of his evil store of treasure.
- Colossians 4:6
  Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
- Proverbs 10:19–21
  When words are many, sin is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is wise.
- James 3:6–9
  The tongue also is a fire, a world of wickedness among the parts of the body. It pollutes the whole person, sets the course of his life on fire, and is itself set on…
Through
Proverbs 12:18
Speaking rashly is like a piercing sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
leads to
- Proverbs 16:24
  Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.
- Proverbs 15:4
  A soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.
- Proverbs 10:20–21
  The tongue of the righteous is choice silver, but the heart of the wicked has little worth.

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The Feeding of the Multitude — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)

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Continue: James 3 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About James

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About James