James 3:1-12

Christian Standard Bible

Controlling the Tongue

3 Not many should become teachers, my brothers,^[a] because you know that we will receive a stricter judgment.^{(A) 2} For we all stumble in many ways.^(B) If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is mature, able also to control the whole body.^{(C) 3} Now if we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us,^(D) we direct their whole bodies. ⁴ And consider ships: Though very large and driven by fierce winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. ⁵ So too, though the tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts great things.^(E) Consider how a small fire sets ablaze a large forest. ⁶ And the tongue is a fire. The tongue, a world of unrighteousness, is placed^[b] among our members. It stains the whole body,^(F) sets the course of life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. ⁷ Every kind of animal, bird, reptile, and fish is tamed and has been tamed by humankind, ⁸ but no one can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.^{(G) 9} With the tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in God’s likeness.^{(H) 10} Blessing and cursing come out of the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, these things should not be this way. ¹¹ Does a spring pour out sweet and bitter water from the same opening? ¹² Can a fig tree produce olives, my brothers and sisters, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a saltwater spring yield fresh water.