Taming the Tongue

3 ^(A)Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. ² For ^(B)we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, ^(C)he is a perfect man, ^(D)able also to bridle his whole body. ³ If we put ^(E)bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. ⁴ Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. ⁵ So also the tongue is a small member, yet ^(F)it boasts of great things.

How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! ⁶ And ^(G)the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, ^(H)staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life,^[a] and set on fire by hell.^{[b] 7} For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, ⁸ but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, ^(I)full of deadly poison. ⁹ With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people ^(J)who are made in the likeness of God. ¹⁰ From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers,^[c] these things ought not to be so. ¹¹ Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? ¹² Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.

Woes to the Pharisees and Lawyers

³⁷ While Jesus^[a] was speaking, ^(A)a Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table. ³⁸ The Pharisee was astonished to see ^(B)that he did not first wash before dinner. ³⁹ And the Lord said to him, ^(C)“Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of ^(D)greed and wickedness. ^40 (E)You fools! ^(F)Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? ⁴¹ But ^(G)give as alms those things that are within, and behold, ^(H)everything is clean for you.

^42 (I)“But woe to you Pharisees! For ^(J)you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect ^(K)justice and ^(L)the love of God. ^(M)These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. ⁴³ Woe to you Pharisees! For ^(N)you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. ⁴⁴ Woe to you! ^(O)For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.”

⁴⁵ One of ^(P)the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.” ⁴⁶ And he said, “Woe to you ^(Q)lawyers also! For ^(R)you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. ^47 (S)Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. ^48 (T)So you are witnesses and you ^(U)consent to the deeds of ^(V)your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. ⁴⁹ Therefore also ^(W)the Wisdom of God said, ^(X)‘I will send them ^(Y)prophets and apostles, ^(Z)some of whom they will ^(AA)kill and persecute,’ ⁵⁰ so that ^(AB)the blood of all the prophets, shed ^(AC)from the foundation of the world, may be ^(AD)charged against this generation, ⁵¹ from the blood of ^(AE)Abel to the blood of ^(AF)Zechariah, who perished between ^(AG)the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be ^(AH)required of this generation. ⁵² Woe to you ^(AI)lawyers! ^(AJ)For you have taken away the key of ^(AK)knowledge. You ^(AL)did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.”

⁵³ As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, ^54 (AM)lying in wait for him, ^(AN)to catch him in something he might say.