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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.
Verse Takeaways
1
A Small Spark, A Great Fire
Commentators unanimously emphasize that James compares the tongue to a fire to show its disproportionate power. Just as a tiny spark can ignite a massive forest fire, a few careless or malicious words can cause immense destruction, turning brother against brother and throwing entire communities into chaos.
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James
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7
18th Century
Presbyterian
And the tongue is a fire. In this sense, it produces a "blaze," or a great conflagration. It produces a disturbance and an agitation that …
The tongue is a fire (η γλωσσα πυρ). So necessarily since there is no article with πυρ (apparently same word as German feuer
19th Century
Anglican
And the tongue is a fire.—A better rendering is: The tongue—that world of iniquity—is a fire, to burn and destro…
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So, James says, “The tongue also is a fire.” The inflammatory tongue has turned brother against brother, neighbor against neighbor, nation against …
16th Century
Protestant
He now explains the evils that come from neglecting to restrain the tongue, so that we may know that the tongue can do much good or much evil — tha…
17th Century
Reformed Baptist
And the tongue is a fire It is like to fire, very useful in its place, to warm and comfort; so is the tongue in Christian conv…
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We are taught to dread an unruly tongue as one of the greatest evils. The affairs of humankind are thrown into confusion by the tongues of people. …
