James 3:6 BSB — MannaFest

James 3:6

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 fire by hell.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

And the tongue is a fire: the world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the wheel of nature, and is set on fire by hell.

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.

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Commentary

5 voices

Basil of Caesarea

CATENA (379)

If you love life, fulfill the commandment of life. "The one who loves me," said Jesus, "keeps my commandments," and the first commandment is this: "Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking guile." For the sin which is caused by the tongue is very active and many-sided, being active in wrath, lust, hypocrisy, judgment and deception. Do we need to recall the many names which are given to sins of the tongue? For from it come slanders, coarse jokes, idiocies, irrelevant accusations, bitterness, swearing, false witness—the tongue is the creator of all these evil things and more.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

The snares into which men are sometimes led by the tongue are insufferable to themselves and destructive of others. It setteth on fire the course of nature. The affairs of mankind and of societies are often thrown into confusion, and all is on a flame, by the tongues of men.

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 Century2 voices

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (1832)

The 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.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

While a man inflames others, he passes out of his own power, being consumed in the flame himself. of hell--that is, of the devil. Greek, "Gehenna"; found here only and in Mt 5:22.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

31 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
καὶ	kai	Also	G2532 →
ἡ	hē	the	G3588 →
γλῶσσα	glōssa	tongue [is]	G1100 →
πῦρ,	pur	a fire,	G4442 →
ὁ	ho	the	G3588 →
κόσμος	kosmos	world	G2889 →
τῆς	tēs	<the>	G3588 →
ἀδικίας	adikias	of iniquity	G93 →
ἡ	hē	The	G3588 →
γλῶσσα	glōssa	tongue	G1100 →
καθίσταται	kathistatai	is set	G2525 →
ἐν	en	among	G1722 →
τοῖς	tois	the	G3588 →
μέλεσιν	melesin	members	G3196 →
ἡμῶν	hēmōn	of us	G3165 →
ἡ	hē	which	G3588 →
σπιλοῦσα	spilousa	is defiling	G4695 →
ὅλον	holon	all	G3650 →
τὸ	to	the	G3588 →
σῶμα	sōma	body	G4983 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
φλογίζουσα	phlogizousa	setting on fire	G5394 →
τὸν	ton	the	G3588 →
τροχὸν	trochon	course	G5164 →
τῆς	tēs	<the>	G3588 →
γενέσεως	geneseōs	of nature	G1078 →
καὶ	kai	and [itself]	G2532 →
φλογιζομένη	phlogizomenē	being set on fire	G5394 →
ὑπὸ	hupo	by	G5259 →
τῆς	tēs	<the>	G3588 →
γεέννης.¶	geennēs	hell.	G1067 →

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 15:1
A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
leads to
- Proverbs 10:12
  Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers all transgressions.
- Proverbs 25:15
  Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone.
- Proverbs 15:18
  A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger calms dispute.
- Proverbs 29:22
  An angry man stirs up dissension, and a hot-tempered man abounds in transgression.
- Proverbs 28:25
  A greedy man stirs up strife, but he who trusts in the LORD will prosper.
Through
Mark 7:15
Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him; but the things that come out of a man, these are what defile him.”
leads to
- Proverbs 4:23
  Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life.
- Leviticus 11:42–47
  Do not eat any creature that moves along the ground, whether it crawls on its belly or walks on four or more feet; for such creatures are detestable.
- Titus 1:15
  To the pure, all things are pure; but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure. Indeed, both their minds and their consciences are defiled.

Featured studies on this passage

On James 3:6

Afterlife Vocabulary

Sheol, Hades, Gehenna, Tartarus, the Abyss, and Paradise — six words English hid inside one, disambiguated and sourced.

Open the study →

On James 3:6

Fire

The image turned upside down. Here is a fire, and James says exactly where this one is kindled from.

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On James 3:6

The Tongue — Death and Life in Proverbs

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About James

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

James: the study guide →Read chapter 3 →The featured study →

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