And (A)the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, (B)staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life,[a] and set on fire by hell.[b] For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, (C)full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people (D)who are made in the likeness of God.

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Footnotes

  1. James 3:6 Or wheel of birth
  2. James 3:6 Greek Gehenna

The tongue also is a fire,(A) a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body,(B) sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.(C)

All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.(D)

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness.(E)

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