Jam 3:5-12 | NASB | e4.org | So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things . See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire !

‏ James 3:5-12

5 So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it ^aboasts of great things.

^bSee how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! 6 And ^cthe tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which ^ddefiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our ^{▼▼ Or existence, origin}life, and is set on fire by ^{▼▼ Gr Gehenna
,} ^ghell. 7 For every ^{▼▼ Lit nature}species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human ^{▼▼ Lit nature}race. 8 But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of ^jdeadly poison. 9 With it we bless ^k our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, ^lwho have been made in the likeness of God; 10 from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. 11 Does a fountain send out from the same opening both ^{▼▼ Lit sweet}fresh and bitter water? 12 ⁿCan a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce ^{▼▼ V 11, note 1}fresh.