JAMES
Chapter 3
| Jame | Twenty | 3:1 | I do not want many of you, my Brothers, to become teachers, knowing, as you do, that we who teach shall be judged by a more severe standard than others. | |
| Jame | Twenty | 3:2 | We often make mistakes, every one of us. Any one who does not make mistakes when speaking is indeed a perfect man, able to bridle his whole body as well. | |
| Jame | Twenty | 3:3 | When we put bits into horses' mouths, to make them obey us, we control the rest of their bodies so. | |
| Jame | Twenty | 3:4 | Again, think of ships. Large as they are, and even when driven by fierce winds, they are controlled by a very small rudder and steered in whatever direction the man at the helm may determine. | |
| Jame | Twenty | 3:5 | So is it with the tongue. Small as it is, it is a great boaster. Think how tiny a spark may set the largest forest ablaze! | |
| Jame | Twenty | 3:6 | And the tongue is like a spark. Among the members of our body it proves itself a very world of mischief; it contaminates the whole body; it sets the wheels of life on fire, and is itself set on fire by the flames of the Pit. | |
| Jame | Twenty | 3:7 | For while all sorts of beasts and birds, and of reptiles and creatures in the sea, are tameable, and actually have been tamed by man, | |
| Jame | Twenty | 3:8 | No human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless plague! It is charged with deadly poison! | |
| Jame | Twenty | 3:9 | With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men who are made 'in God's likeness.' | |
| Jame | Twenty | 3:10 | From the very same mouth come blessings and curses! My Brothers, it is not right that this should be so. | |
| Jame | Twenty | 3:12 | Can a fig tree, my Brothers, bear olives? or a vine bear figs? No, nor can a brackish well give good water. | |
| Jame | Twenty | 3:13 | Who among you claims to be wise and intelligent? Let him show that his actions are the outcome of a good life lived in the humility of true wisdom. | |
| Jame | Twenty | 3:14 | But, while you harbor envy and bitterness and a spirit of rivalry in your hearts, do not boast or lie to the detriment of the Truth. | |
| Jame | Twenty | 3:15 | That is not the wisdom which comes from above; no, it is earthly, animal, devilish. | |
| Jame | Twenty | 3:16 | For, where envy and rivalry exist, there you will also find disorder and all kinds of base actions. | |
| Jame | Twenty | 3:17 | But the wisdom from above is, before every thing else, pure; then peace-loving, gentle, open to conviction, rich in compassion and good deeds, and free from partiality and insincerity. | |