Taming the Tongue
1My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. 2For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. 3Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. 4Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. 5Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! 6And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. 7For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: 8But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 9Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. 10Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. 11Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? 12Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.
True Wisdom from Above
13Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. 14But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. 15This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. 16For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. 17But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. 18And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.
King James Bible
Text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.
Taming the Tongue
(Psalm 64:1–10)
1 Let not many of you be teachers, my brothers, knowing that we will receive heavier judgment. 2 For in many things we all stumble. If anyone doesn’t stumble in word, the same is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body also. 3 Indeed, we put bits into the horses’ mouths so that they may obey us, and we guide their whole body. 4 Behold, the ships also, though they are so big and are driven by fierce winds, are yet guided by a very small rudder, wherever the pilot desires. 5 So the tongue is also a little member, and boasts great things. See how a small fire can spread to a large forest! 6 And the tongue is a fire. The world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature, and is set on fire by Gehenna. 7 For every kind of animal, bird, creeping thing, and thing in the sea, is tamed, and has been tamed by mankind. 8 But nobody can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who are made in the image of God. 10 Out of the same mouth comes forth blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring send out from the same opening fresh and bitter water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, yield olives, or a vine figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh water.
The Wisdom from Above
13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by his good conduct that his deeds are done in gentleness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, don’t boast and don’t lie against the truth. 15 This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, sensual, and demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition are, there is confusion and every evil deed. 17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceful, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. 18 Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
Taming the Tongue
(Psalm 64:1–10)
1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2 We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to control his whole body.
3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can guide the whole animal. 4 Consider ships as well. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot is inclined.
5 In the same way, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it boasts of great things. Consider how small a spark sets a great forest ablaze. 6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of wickedness among the parts of the body. It pollutes the whole person, sets the course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. a
7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, 8 but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
9 With the tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, this should not be! 11 Can both fresh water and salt water b flow from the same spring? 12 My brothers, can a fig tree grow olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring c produce fresh water.
The Wisdom from Above
13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good conduct, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you harbor bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast in it or deny the truth. 15 Such wisdom does not come from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every evil practice.
17 But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap the fruit of righteousness. d
Footnotes:
6 a Greek Gehenna
11 b Literally Can both fresh and bitter
12 c Literally Neither can salt
18 d Literally But the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those making peace.
Taming the Tongue
1Many teachers become not, my brethren, having known that greater judgment we shall receive, 2for we all make many stumbles; if any one in word doth not stumble, this one is a perfect man, able to bridle also the whole body; 3lo, the bits we put into the mouths of the horses for their obeying us, and their whole body we turn about; 4lo, also the ships, being so great, and by fierce winds being driven, are led about by a very small helm, whithersoever the impulse of the helmsman doth counsel, 5so also the tongue is a little member, and doth boast greatly; lo, a little fire how much wood it doth kindle! 6and the tongue is a fire, the world of the unrighteousness, so the tongue is set in our members, which is spotting our whole body, and is setting on fire the course of nature, and is set on fire by the gehenna. 7For every nature, both of beasts and of fowls, both of creeping things and things of the sea, is subdued, and hath been subdued, by the human nature, 8and the tongue no one of men is able to subdue, it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison, 9with it we do bless the God and Father, and with it we do curse the men made according to the similitude of God; 10out of the same mouth doth come forth blessing and cursing; it doth not need, my brethren, these things so to happen; 11doth the fountain out of the same opening pour forth the sweet and the bitter? 12is a fig-tree able, my brethren, olives to make? or a vine figs? so no fountain salt and sweet water is able to make.
True Wisdom from Above
13Who is wise and intelligent among you? let him shew out of the good behaviour his works in meekness of wisdom, 14and if bitter zeal ye have, and rivalry in your heart, glory not, nor lie against the truth; 15this wisdom is not descending from above, but earthly, physical, demon-like, 16for where zeal and rivalry are, there is insurrection and every evil matter; 17and the wisdom from above, first, indeed, is pure, then peaceable, gentle, easily entreated, full of kindness and good fruits, uncontentious, and unhypocritical: -- 18and the fruit of the righteousness in peace is sown to those making peace.
The Favor of God Paraphrase
Taming the Tongue
¹ Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly! ² We all stumble in many ways. If anyone never stumbles in what they say, they are perfect, able to control their whole body as well. ³ We put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, and we can turn the whole animal. ⁴ Or take ships as an example: although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the captain wants to go. ⁵ Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts! Consider how a small spark can set a great forest on fire. ⁶ The tongue is also a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
⁷ All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, ⁸ but no one can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison! ⁹ With the tongue, we praise our Lord and Father, and with it, we curse human beings, who are made in God’s likeness. ¹⁰ Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be! ¹¹ Can both fresh water and saltwater flow from the same spring? ¹² My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
Wisdom from Above
¹³ Who among you is wise and understanding? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. ¹⁴ But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. ¹⁵ Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. ¹⁶ For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
¹⁷ But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. ¹⁸ Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.
Footnotes
1.Judged more strictly: Teachers of God’s Word are held to a higher standard because they influence others’ faith and lives.
2.Stumbling in what we say: This phrase refers to the difficulty of controlling our words and the moral imperfection everyone experiences.
3.Set on fire by hell: The Greek word for “hell” here is Gehenna, a term symbolizing the ultimate destructive power of sin.
4.Restless evil: The tongue is described as unstable and dangerous, echoing ancient ideas about speech being unpredictable and harmful.
5.Made in God’s likeness: This emphasizes the divine image present in every human, making it especially wrong to curse others.
6.Fresh water and saltwater: This is an ancient metaphor showing how contradictory and damaging it is for good and evil to flow from the same source—our speech.
7.Peacemakers who sow in peace: The analogy of sowing and reaping reflects an ancient understanding of how actions, like seeds, produce results over time, especially in terms of righteousness and peace.
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