Albert Barnes Commentary James 3:11

"Doth the fountain send forth from the same opening sweet [water] and bitter?" — James 3:11 (ASV)

Does a fountain send forth at the same place? A marginal note suggests hole. The Greek word means opening, fissure, such as is found in the earth, or in rocks from which a fountain gushes.

Sweet water and bitter. Fresh water and salt (James 3:12). Such things do not occur in the works of nature, and they should not be found in man.