James 3
1 Do not be eager, my brethren, for many among you to become teachers; for you know that we teachers shall undergo severer judgement.
Nolite plures magistri fieri fratres mei, scientes quoniam majus judicium sumitis.
2 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.
In multis enim offendimus omnes. Si quis in verbo non offendit, hic perfectus est vir: potest etiam freno circumducere totum corpus.
3 Remember that we put the horses' bit into their mouths to make them obey us, and so we turn their whole bodies round.
Si autem equis frena in ora mittimus ad consentiendum nobis, et omne corpus illorum circumferimus.
4 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.
Ecce et naves, cum magnæ sint, et a ventis validis minentur, circumferuntur a modico gubernaculo ubi impetus dirigentis voluerit.
5 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.
Ita et lingua modicum quidem membrum est, et magna exaltat. Ecce quantus ignis quam magnam silvam incendit!
6 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)
Et lingua ignis est, universitas iniquitatis. Lingua constituitur in membris nostris, quæ maculat totum corpus, et inflammat rotam nativitatis nostræ inflammata a gehenna. (Geenna g1067)
7 For brute nature under all its forms--beasts and birds, reptiles and fishes--can be subjected and kept in subjection by human nature.
Omnis enim natura bestiarum, et volucrum, et serpentium, et ceterorum domantur, et domita sunt a natura humana:
8 But the tongue no man or woman is able to tame. It is an ever-busy mischief, and is full of deadly poison.
linguam autem nullus hominum domare potest: inquietum malum, plena veneno mortifero.
9 With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who are made in God's likeness.
In ipsa benedicimus Deum et Patrem: et in ipsa maledicimus homines, qui ad similitudinem Dei facti sunt.
10 Out of the same mouth there proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, this ought not to be.
Ex ipso ore procedit benedictio et maledictio. Non oportet, fratres mei, hæc ita fieri.
11 In a fountain, are fresh water and bitter sent forth from the same opening?
Numquid fons de eodem foramine emanat dulcem et amaram aquam?
12 Can a fig-tree, my brethren, yield olives, or a vine yield figs? No; and neither can salt water yield sweet.
Numquid potest, fratres mei, ficus uvas facere, aut vitis ficus? Sic neque salsa dulcem potest facere aquam.
13 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.
Quis sapiens et disciplinatus inter vos? Ostendat ex bona conversatione operationem suam in mansuetudine sapientiæ.
14 But if in your hearts you have bitter feelings of envy and rivalry, do not speak boastfully and falsely, in defiance of the truth.
Quod si zelum amarum habetis, et contentiones sint in cordibus vestris: nolite gloriari, et mendaces esse adversus veritatem:
15 That is not the wisdom which comes down from above: it belongs to earth, to the unspiritual nature, and to evil spirits.
non est enim ista sapientia desursum descendens: sed terrena, animalis, diabolica.
16 For where envy and rivalry are, there also are unrest and every vile deed.
Ubi enim zelus et contentio, ibi inconstantia et omne opus pravum.
17 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.
Quæ autem desursum est sapientia, primum quidem pudica est, deinde pacifica, modesta, suadibilis, bonus consentiens, plena misericordia et fructibus bonis, non judicans, sine simulatione.
18 And peace, for those who strive for peace, is the seed of which the harvest is righteousness.
Fructus autem justitiæ, in pace seminatur, facientibus pacem.
