Charles Ellicott Commentary James 3:8

"But the tongue can no man tame; [it is] a restless evil, [it is] full of deadly poison." — James 3:8 (ASV)

But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly (or, restless) evil, full of deadly poison.—This poison is death-bringing, like a poisoned dart or arrow, and therefore highly suggestive of venomous attacks on the reputation of others.

St. James does not mean that no one can tame his own tongue, for then he would hardly be responsible for its unpredictable behavior; and further on it is expressly written, these things ought not so to be.

The hopeless savagery of the tongue, surpassing the fury of wild beasts, must be that of the liar, the slanderer, and the blasphemer.