James 3:1-8 ▼

1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you realize that we will be judged more strictly,

2 for we all fall short in many respects. If anyone does not fall short in speech, he is a perfect man, able to bridle his whole body also.

3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we also guide their whole bodies.

4 It is the same with ships: even though they are so large and driven by fierce winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot’s inclination wishes.

5 In the same way the tongue is a small member and yet has great pretensions. Consider how small a fire can set a huge forest ablaze.

6 The tongue is also a fire. It exists among our members as a world of malice, defiling the whole body and setting the entire course of our lives on fire, itself set on fire by Gehenna.

7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species,

8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.