James 3
1 Not many of you should become teachers, my friends, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly than others.
Do not be eager, my brethren, for many among you to become teachers; for you know that we teachers shall undergo severer judgement.
2 We often make mistakes, every one of us. Anyone who does not make mistakes when speaking is indeed a perfect person, able to bridle their whole body as well.
For we often stumble and fall, all of us. If there is any one who never stumbles in speech, that man has reached maturity of character and is able to curb his whole nature.
3 When we put bits into horses’ mouths to make them obey us, we change their course the rest of their bodies.
Remember that we put the horses' bit into their mouths to make them obey us, and so we turn their whole bodies round.
4 Again, think of ships. Large as they are, and even when driven by fierce winds, they are guided by a very small rudder and steered in whatever direction the man at the helm may determine.
So too with ships, great as they are, and often driven along by strong gales, yet they can be steered with a very small rudder in whichever direction the caprice of the man at the helm chooses.
5 So is it with the tongue. Small as it is, it is a great boaster. Think how a tiny spark may set the largest forest ablaze!
In the same way the tongue is an insignificant part of the body, but it is immensely boastful. Remember how a mere spark may set a vast forest in flames.
6 And the tongue is like a spark. It is a world of unrighteousness among the parts of our body. It contaminates the whole body; it sets the whole course of our existence on fire, and is itself set on fire by the flames of Gehenna. (Geenna g1067)
And the tongue is a fire. That world of iniquity, the tongue, is placed within us spotting and soiling our whole nature, and setting the whole round of our lives on fire, being itself set on fire by Gehenna. (Geenna g1067)
7 For while all kinds of animals, birds and reptiles and sea creatures can be tamed and have been tamed by humans,
For brute nature under all its forms--beasts and birds, reptiles and fishes--can be subjected and kept in subjection by human nature.
8 no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless plague! It is charged with deadly poison!
But the tongue no man or woman is able to tame. It is an ever-busy mischief, and is full of deadly poison.
9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made ‘in God’s likeness.’
With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who are made in God's likeness.
10 From the very same mouth come blessings and curses! My friends, it is not right that this should be so.
Out of the same mouth there proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, this ought not to be.
11 Does a spring give both good and bad water from the same source?
In a fountain, are fresh water and bitter sent forth from the same opening?
12 Can a fig tree, my friends, bear olives? Or a vine bear figs? No, nor can a brackish well give good water.
Can a fig-tree, my brethren, yield olives, or a vine yield figs? No; and neither can salt water yield sweet.
13 Who among you claims to be wise and intelligent? They should show that their actions are the outcome of a good life lived in the humility of true wisdom.
Which of you is a wise and well-instructed man? Let him prove it by a right life with conduct guided by a wisely teachable spirit.
14 But if you harbor bitter envy and a spirit of rivalry in your hearts, do not boast or deny the truth.
But if in your hearts you have bitter feelings of envy and rivalry, do not speak boastfully and falsely, in defiance of the truth.
15 That is not the wisdom which comes from above; no, it is earthly, animalistic, demonic.
That is not the wisdom which comes down from above: it belongs to earth, to the unspiritual nature, and to evil spirits.
16 For where envy and rivalry exist, there you will also find disorder and all kinds of bad, worthless actions.
For where envy and rivalry are, there also are unrest and every vile deed.
17 But the wisdom from above is, before everything else, pure; then peace-loving, gentle, open to conviction, rich in compassion and good deeds, and free from partiality and insincerity.
The wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceful, courteous, not self-willed, full of compassion and kind actions, free from favouritism and from all insincerity.
18 Justice is the harvest peacemakers will reap from seeds sown in a spirit of peace.
And peace, for those who strive for peace, is the seed of which the harvest is righteousness.
