| International Standard Version | New Living Translation |
| 1Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more severely than others. | 1Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly. |
| 2For all of us make many mistakes. If someone does not make any mistakes when he speaks, he is perfect and able to control his whole body. | 2Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way. |
| 3Now if we put bits into horses' mouths to make them obey us, we can guide their whole bodies as well. | 3We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. |
| 4And look at ships! They are so big that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are steered by a tiny rudder wherever the helmsman directs. | 4And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. |
| 5In the same way, the tongue is a small part of the body, yet it can boast of great achievements. A huge forest can be set on fire by a little flame. | 5In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. |
| 6The tongue is a fire, a world of evil. Placed among the parts of our bodies, the tongue contaminates the whole body and sets on fire the course of life, and is itself set on fire by hell. | 6And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself. |
| 7For all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and sea creatures can be or have been tamed by humans, | 7People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, |
| 8but no one can tame the tongue. It is an uncontrollable evil filled with deadly poison. | 8but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. |
| 9With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in God's likeness. | 9Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. |
| 10From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. It should not be like this, my brothers! | 10And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! |
| 11A spring cannot pour both fresh and brackish water from the same opening, can it? | 11Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water? |
| 12My brothers, a fig tree cannot produce olives, nor a grapevine figs, can it? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. | 12Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring. True Wisdom Comes from God |
| 13Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his noble conduct that his actions are done humbly and wisely. | 13If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. |
| 14But if you have bitter jealousy and rivalry in your hearts, stop boasting and slandering the truth. | 14But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying. |
| 15That kind of wisdom does not come from above. No, it is worldly, self-centered, and demonic. | 15For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. |
| 16For wherever jealousy and rivalry exist, there is disorder and every kind of evil. | 16For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind. |
| 17However, the wisdom that comes from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, willing to yield, full of compassion and good deeds, and without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. | 17But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. |
| 18And a harvest of righteousness is grown from the seed of peace planted by peacemakers. | 18And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness. |
The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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