James 3:5-9

Holman Christian Standard Bible

⁵ So too, though the tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts great things.^(A) Consider how large a forest a small fire ignites. ⁶ And the tongue is a fire. The tongue, a world of unrighteousness, is placed among the parts of our bodies. It pollutes the whole body,^(B) sets the course of life on fire, and is set on fire by hell.

⁷ Every sea creature, reptile, bird, or animal is tamed and has been tamed by man, ⁸ but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.^{(C) 9} We praise our^[a] Lord and Father with it, and we curse men who are made in God’s likeness with it.^(D)