James 3:5

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

In the same way, the tongue is a small part of the body, yet it boasts of great things. Consider how a small fire sets a great forest ablaze.

Additional Resources

Other Translations

  • King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

    Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!

  • KJV1611 – Modern English

    Even so, the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. Behold, how great a forest a little fire kindles!

  • King James Version 1611 (Original)

    Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!

  • American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

    None So{G3779} the tongue{G1100} also{G2532} is{G2076} a little{G3398} member,{G3196} and{G2532} boasteth great things.{G3166} Behold,{G2400} how much{G2245} wood{G5208} is kindled{G381} by how small{G3641} a fire!{G4442}

  • King James Version with Strong's Numbers

    Even{G2532} so{G3779} the tongue{G1100} is{G2076}{(G5748)} a little{G3398} member{G3196}, and{G2532} boasteth great things{G3166}{(G5719)}. Behold{G2400}{(G5628)}, how great{G2245} a matter{G5208} a little{G3641} fire{G4442} kindleth{G381}{(G5719)}!

  • Tyndale Bible (1526/1534)

    Even so the tonge is a lyttell member and bosteth great thinges. Beholde how gret a thinge a lyttell fyre kyndleth

  • Coverdale Bible (1535)

    Euen so the toge is a lyttell member, and bosteth great thinges. Beholde how gret a thinge a lyttell fyre kyndleth,

  • Geneva Bible (1560)

    Euen so the tongue is a litle member, and boasteth of great things: beholde, howe great a thing a litle fire kindleth.

  • Bishops' Bible (1568)

    Euen so the tongue is a litle member also, & boasteth great thynges. Beholde how great a matter a litle fire kindleth.

  • Authorized King James Version (1611)

    Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!

  • Webster's Bible (1833)

    So the tongue is also a little member, and boasts great things. See how a small fire can spread to a large forest!

  • Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

    so also the tongue is a little member, and doth boast greatly; lo, a little fire how much wood it doth kindle!

  • American Standard Version (1901)

    So the tongue also is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how much wood is kindled by how small a fire!

  • American Standard Version (1901)

    So the tongue also is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how much wood is kindled by how small a fire!

  • Bible in Basic English (1941)

    Even so the tongue is a small part of the body, but it takes credit for great things. How much wood may be lighted by a very little fire!

  • World English Bible (2000)

    So the tongue is also a little member, and boasts great things. See how a small fire can spread to a large forest!

  • NET Bible® (New English Translation)

    So too the tongue is a small part of the body, yet it has great pretensions. Think how small a flame sets a huge forest ablaze.

Referenced Verses

  • Jer 9:3-8 : 3 Beware of your neighbor; do not trust even a brother. Every brother utterly deceives, and every friend spreads slander. 4 Each one deceives his neighbor, and they do not speak the truth. They have trained their tongues to speak lies and exhaust themselves with wrongdoing. 5 You live in the midst of deceit, and because of deceit, they refuse to know me, declares the Lord. 6 Therefore, this is what the Lord of Hosts says: Behold, I will refine them and test them, for what else can I do because of the sin of my people? 7 Their tongues are a sharpened arrow; deceit pours from their mouths. They speak peace to their neighbor, but in their hearts, they set up an ambush. 8 Should I not punish them for these things? declares the Lord. Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this?
  • Ps 17:10 : 10 They close up their hearts to compassion; they speak with arrogance.
  • Ps 52:1-2 : 1 For the director of music, a contemplative psalm of David. 2 When Doeg the Edomite came and reported to Saul, saying, 'David has gone to the house of Ahimelech.'
  • Ps 73:8-9 : 8 They scoff and speak with malice; with arrogance, they threaten oppression. 9 They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongues strut through the earth.
  • Prov 12:18 : 18 There is one whose rash words are like the thrusts of a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
  • Prov 15:2 : 2 The tongue of the wise adorns knowledge, but the mouth of fools gushes folly.
  • Prov 18:21 : 21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
  • Jer 18:18 : 18 Then they said, 'Come, let's devise plans against Jeremiah, for instruction won't vanish from the priest, counsel from the wise, or a word from the prophet. Come, let's attack him with our words, and let's not pay attention to anything he says.'
  • Ezek 28:2 : 2 Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre, 'This is what the Lord GOD says: Because your heart has grown proud, and you have said, “I am a god; I sit in the seat of gods, in the heart of the seas,” but you are a man and not a god, though you have set your heart as if it were the heart of a god—
  • Ps 10:3 : 3 For the wicked boasts of the desires of his heart, and the greedy man curses and spurns the Lord.
  • Ps 12:2-4 : 2 Help, LORD, for the godly have vanished; the faithful have disappeared from among humanity. 3 Everyone speaks falsehood to their neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak. 4 May the LORD cut off all flattering lips and the tongue that speaks with arrogance.
  • Rev 13:5-6 : 5 The beast was given a mouth to speak arrogant words and blasphemies, and it was given authority to act for forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to blaspheme against God, to slander His name, His dwelling, and those who dwell in heaven.
  • Jude 1:16 : 16 These people are grumblers and complainers, living according to their own desires. Their mouths speak arrogant words, flattering others for their own advantage.
  • Dan 3:15 : 15 Now, if you are ready, when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, to fall down and worship the statue I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will immediately be thrown into the blazing fiery furnace. And who is the god who can rescue you from my hands?'
  • Dan 4:30 : 30 Immediately, what was spoken about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people, ate grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird.
  • 2 Pet 2:18 : 18 For they utter arrogant, empty words and entice those who are barely escaping from others living in error, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh and by debauchery.
  • Exod 15:9 : 9 The enemy said, 'I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoils; my desire will be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword; my hand will destroy them.'
  • 2 Kgs 19:22-24 : 22 Whom have you mocked and insulted? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in arrogance? It is against the Holy One of Israel! 23 By your messengers you have mocked the Lord, saying, 'With my many chariots I have ascended the heights of the mountains, the utmost heights of Lebanon. I will cut down its tallest cedars and its choicest junipers. I will go to its farthest heights, its most fruitful forest.' 24 I have dug wells in foreign lands and drunk water there. With the soles of my feet, I have dried up all the streams of Egypt.
  • Job 21:14-15 : 14 Yet they say to God, 'Depart from us! We have no desire to know your ways.' 15 What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? What would we profit if we entreat him?
  • Job 22:17 : 17 They said to God, 'Depart from us! What can the Almighty do to us?'

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

  • Jas 3:6-10
    5 verses
    87%

    6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting the entire course of life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

    7 Every kind of animal, bird, reptile, and sea creature is tamed and has been tamed by mankind,

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

    9 With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.

    10 Out of the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things should not be this way.

  • Jas 3:2-4
    3 verses
    77%

    2 For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to also control his whole body.

    3 Now if we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well.

    4 Look also at the ships: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires.

  • Prov 15:4
    73%

    4 A soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.

  • Prov 10:19-20
    2 verses
    71%

    19 When words are many, sin is unavoidable, but the one who restrains his lips is wise.

    20 The tongue of the righteous is like choice silver, but the heart of the wicked is of little value.

  • Prov 15:1-2
    2 verses
    70%

    1 A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

    2 The tongue of the wise adorns knowledge, but the mouth of fools gushes folly.

  • Prov 21:23
    70%

    23 Whoever guards their mouth and tongue keeps themselves from troubles.

  • Job 15:5
    69%

    5 For your iniquity teaches your mouth, and you choose the language of the crafty.

  • Prov 10:31
    69%

    31 The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but a perverse tongue will be cut off.

  • Prov 14:3
    68%

    3 The mouth of a fool brings a rod of pride, but the lips of the wise protect them.

  • Prov 16:27
    68%

    27 A worthless man plots evil, and his words are like a scorching fire.

  • Prov 18:20-21
    2 verses
    68%

    20 From the fruit of a man's mouth, his stomach is filled; he is satisfied with the yield of his lips.

    21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

  • Gal 5:9
    68%

    9 A little yeast leavens the whole lump of dough.

  • Ps 12:3-4
    2 verses
    68%

    3 Everyone speaks falsehood to their neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.

    4 May the LORD cut off all flattering lips and the tongue that speaks with arrogance.

  • Isa 9:18
    68%

    18 By the wrath of the LORD Almighty, the land is scorched, and the people are like fuel for the fire; no one spares his brother.

  • Prov 6:27
    68%

    27 Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned?

  • Ps 83:14
    68%

    14 My God, make them like whirling dust, like chaff before the wind.

  • Jer 5:14
    68%

    14 Therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of Hosts, says: Because you have said these words, I am making My words in your mouth a fire, and this people the wood it consumes.

  • Ezek 15:4-5
    2 verses
    68%

    4 Look, it is put into the fire for fuel. The fire consumes both ends of it, and its middle is charred. Is it useful for anything?

    5 Even when it was whole, it could not be made into anything useful. How much less can it be used after the fire has consumed it and it is charred!

  • Prov 13:3
    67%

    3 Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; one who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.

  • Jas 1:26
    67%

    26 If anyone thinks he is religious but does not bridle his tongue, and deceives his heart, his religion is worthless.

  • Ps 39:3
    67%

    3 I was silent in stillness; I held my peace even from good, but my sorrow was stirred up.

  • Job 41:21
    67%

    21 Clubs are regarded as stubble; he laughs at the rattling of javelins.

  • Prov 26:21
    67%

    21 Charcoal for embers and wood for fire, and a contentious person for kindling strife.

  • 1 Pet 3:10
    67%

    10 For the one who wants to love life and to see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.

  • Prov 12:18
    67%

    18 There is one whose rash words are like the thrusts of a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

  • Ps 120:3
    67%

    3 What will He give you, and what more will He do to you, deceitful tongue?

  • Jas 1:19
    66%

    19 My beloved brothers and sisters, let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger.

  • 1 Cor 5:6
    66%

    6 Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough?

  • Prov 25:23
    66%

    23 As the north wind brings rain, so a sly tongue brings angry looks.

  • Rom 3:14
    66%

    14 Their mouths are full of curses and bitterness.

  • Ps 50:19
    66%

    19 You let your mouth speak evil, and your tongue devises deceit.

  • Prov 25:15
    66%

    15 With patience a ruler may be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone.

  • Prov 26:18
    66%

    18 Like a madman who shoots fiery arrows, arrows, and death,

  • Eccl 10:12
    66%

    12 The words of a wise person's mouth bring favor, but the lips of a fool consume him.

  • Ps 52:2
    66%

    2 When Doeg the Edomite came and reported to Saul, saying, 'David has gone to the house of Ahimelech.'

  • Job 15:13
    66%

    13 That you turn your spirit against God and let words escape from your mouth?

  • Ps 10:7
    66%

    7 His mouth is full of curses and deceit and oppression; under his tongue are trouble and iniquity.

  • Job 22:20
    66%

    20 Surely our enemies are destroyed, and fire has consumed their wealth.

  • Matt 12:36
    66%

    36 I tell you, on the Day of Judgment, people will give an account for every idle word they speak.

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