Послание на Яков 3
Bulgarian Bible
3 Братя мои, не ставайте мнозина учители, като знаете, че ще приемем по-тежко осъждане.
2 Защото всички ние в много неща грешим; а който не греши в говорене, той е съвършен мъж, способен да обуздае и цялото тяло.
3 Ето, ние туряме юздите в устата на конете, за да ни се покоряват, и обръщаме цялото им тяло.
4 Ето, и корабите, ако да са толкова големи, и се тласкат от силни ветрове, пак с твърде малко кормило се обръщат на където желае кормчията.
5 Така и езикът е малка част от тялото, но много се хвали. Ето, съвсем малко огън, колко много вещество запалва!
6 И езикът, тоя цял свят от нечестие, е огън. Между нашите телесни части езикът е, който заразява цялото тяло и запалва колелото на живота, ни, а сам той се запалва от пъкъла.
7 Защото всякакъв вид зверове, птици, гадини, и морски животни се укротяват и укротени са били от човечеството;
8 но езикът никой човек не може да укроти; буйно зло е, пълен е със смъртоносна отрова.
9 С него благославяме Господа и Отца, и с него кълнем човеците създадени по Божие подобие!
10 От същите уста излизат благословения и проклятия! Братя мои, не трябва това така да бъде.
11 Изворът пуща ли от същото отверстие сладка и горчива вода?
12 Възможно ли е, братя мои смоковницата да роди маслини, или лозата смокини? Така също не може солената вода да дава сладка.
13 Кой от вас е мъдър и разумен? Нека показва своите дела чрез добрият си живот, с кротостта на мъдростта.
14 Но ако в сърцето си имате горчива завист и крамолничество, не се хвалете и не лъжете против истината.
15 Това не е мъдрост, която слиза отгоре, но е земна, животинска, бесовска;
16 защото, гдето има завист и крамолничество, там има бъркотия и всякакво лошо нещо.
17 Но мъдростта, която е отгоре, е преди всичко чиста, после миролюбива, кротко умолима, пълна с милост и добри плодове, примирителна, нелицемерна.
18 А плодът на правдата се сее с мир от миротворците.
James 3
New International Reader's Version
Control What You Say
3 My brothers and sisters, most of you shouldn’t become teachers. That’s because you know that those of us who teach will be held more accountable. 2 All of us get tripped up in many ways. Suppose someone is never wrong in what they say. Then they are perfect. They are able to keep their whole body under control.
3 We put a small piece of metal in the mouth of a horse to make it obey us. We can control the whole animal with it. 4 And how about ships? They are very big. They are driven along by strong winds. But they are steered by a very small rudder. It makes them go where the captain wants to go. 5 In the same way, the tongue is a small part of a person’s body. But it talks big. Think about how a small spark can set a big forest on fire. 6 The tongue is also a fire. The tongue is the most evil part of the body. It makes the whole body impure. It sets a person’s whole way of life on fire. And the tongue itself is set on fire by hell.
7 People have tamed all kinds of wild animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures. And they still tame them. 8 But no one can tame the tongue. It is an evil thing that never rests. It is full of deadly poison.
9 With our tongues we praise our Lord and Father. With our tongues we curse people. We do it even though people have been created to be like God. 10 Praise and cursing come out of the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, it shouldn’t be this way. 11 Can fresh water and salt water flow out of the same spring? 12 My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree produce olives? Can a grapevine produce figs? Of course not. And a saltwater spring can’t produce fresh water either.
Two Kinds of Wisdom
13 Is anyone among you wise and understanding? That person should show it by living a good life. A wise person isn’t proud when they do good deeds. 14 But suppose your hearts are jealous and bitter. Suppose you are concerned only about getting ahead. Then don’t brag about it. And don’t say no to the truth. 15 Wisdom like this doesn’t come down from heaven. It belongs to the earth. It doesn’t come from the Holy Spirit. It comes from the devil. 16 Are you jealous? Are you concerned only about getting ahead? Then your life will be a mess. You will be doing all kinds of evil things.
17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is pure. That’s the most important thing about it. And that’s not all. It also loves peace. It thinks about others. It obeys. It is full of mercy and good fruit. It is fair. It doesn’t pretend to be what it is not. 18 Those who make peace plant it like a seed. They will harvest a crop of right living.
James 3
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 3
Power of the Tongue.[a] 1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you realize that we will be judged more strictly, 2 for we all fall short in many respects. If anyone does not fall short in speech, he is a perfect man, able to bridle his whole body also.(A) 3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we also guide their whole bodies. 4 It is the same with ships: even though they are so large and driven by fierce winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot’s inclination wishes. 5 In the same way the tongue is a small member and yet has great pretensions.
Consider how small a fire can set a huge forest ablaze. 6 The tongue is also a fire. It exists among our members as a world of malice, defiling the whole body and setting the entire course of our lives on fire, itself set on fire by Gehenna. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.(B) 9 With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. This need not be so, my brothers. 11 Does a spring gush forth from the same opening both pure and brackish water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, produce olives, or a grapevine figs? Neither can salt water yield fresh.(C)
True Wisdom.[b] 13 Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show his works by a good life in the humility that comes from wisdom.(D) 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 Wisdom of this kind does not come down from above but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every foul practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without inconstancy or insincerity.(E) 18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for those who cultivate peace.(F)
Footnotes
- 3:1–12 The use and abuse of the important role of teaching in the church (Jas 3:1) are here related to the good and bad use of the tongue (Jas 3:9–12), the instrument through which teaching was chiefly conveyed (see Sir 5:11–6:1; 28:12–26).
- 3:13–18 This discussion of true wisdom is related to the previous reflection on the role of the teacher as one who is in control of his speech. The qualities of the wise man endowed from above are detailed (Jas 3:17–18; cf. Gal 5:22–23), in contrast to the qualities of earthbound wisdom (Jas 3:14–16; cf. 2 Cor 12:20).
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