DB1 | The Tongue Jas.3.1-12 | NEB Contents | notes| 3 | New English Bible (New Testament) | Passage | New Testament in Greek (UBS.Ed.26) |
| 3 1 | MY BROTHERS, not many of you should become teachers, for you may be certain that we who teach shall ourselves be judged with greater strictness. | The Tongue Jas.3.1-12 | Μὴ πολλοὶ διδάσκαλοι γίνεσθε, ἀδελφοί μου, εἰδότες ὅτι μεῖζον κρίμα λημψόμεθα. |
| 2 | All of us often go wrong; the man who never says a wrong thing is a perfect character, able to bridle his whole being. | πολλὰ γὰρ πταίομεν ἀπαντες. εἰ τις ἐν λόγῳ οὐ πταίει, οὗτος τέλειος ἀνήρ, δυνατὸς χαλιναγωγῆσαι καὶ ὁλον τὸ σῶμα. | |
| 3 | If we put bits into horses' mouths to make them obey our will, we can direct their whole body. | εἰ δὲ τῶν ἱππων τοὺς χαλινοὺς εἰς τὰ στόματα βάλλομεν εἰς τὸ πείθεσθαι αὐτοὺς ἡμῖν, καὶ ὁλον τὸ σῶμα αὐτῶν μετάγομεν. | |
| 4 | Or think of ships: large they may be, yet even when driven by strong gales they can be directed by a tiny rudder on whatever course the helmsman chooses. | ἰδοὺ καὶ τὰ πλοῖα, τηλικαῦτα ὀντα καὶ ὑπὸ ἀνέμων σκληρῶν ἐλαυνόμενα, μετάγεται ὑπὸ ἐλαχίστου πηδαλίου ὁπου ἡ ὁρμὴ τοῦ εὐθύνοντος βούλεται· | |
| 5 | So with the tongue. It is a small member but it can make huge claims. Or: it is a great boaster. What an immense stack of timber Or: What a huge forest ... can be set ablaze by the tiniest spark! | οὑτως καὶ ἡ γλῶσσα μικρὸν μέλος ἐστὶν καὶ μεγάλα αὐχεῖ. Ἰδοὺ ἡλίκον πῦρ ἡλίκην ὑλην ἀνάπτει· | |
| 6 | And the tongue is in effect a fire. It represents among our members the world with all its wickedness; it pollutes our whole being; it keeps the wheel of our existence red-hot, and its flames are fed by hell. | καὶ ἡ γλῶσσα πῦρ, ὁ κόσμος τῆς ἀδικίας, ἡ γλῶσσα καθίσταται ἐν τοῖς μέλεσιν ἡμῶν, ἡ σπιλοῦσα ὁλον τὸ σῶμα καὶ φλογίζουσα τὸν τροχὸν τῆς γενέσεως καὶ φλογιζομένη ὑπὸ τῆς γεέννης. | |
| 7 | Beasts and birds of every kind, creatures that crawl on the ground or swim in the sea, can be subdued and have been subdued by mankind; | πᾶσα γὰρ φύσις θηρίων τε καὶ πετεινῶν ἑρπετῶν τε καὶ ἐναλίων δαμάζεται καὶ δεδάμασται τῇ φύσει τῇ ἄνθρωπίνῃ· | |
| 8 | but no man can subdue the tongue. It is an intractable evil, charged with deadly venom. | τὴν δὲ γλῶσσαν οὐδεὶς δαμάσαι δύναται ἀνθρώπων· ἀκατάστατον κακόν, μεστὴ ἰοῦ θανατηφόρου. | |
| 9 | We use it to sing the praises of our Lord and Father, and we use it to invoke curses upon our fellow-men who are made in God's likeness. | ἐν αὐτῇ εὐλογοῦμεν τὸν κύριον καὶ πατέρα, καὶ ἐν αὐτῇ καταρώμεθα τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τοὺς καθ' ὁμοίωσιν θεοῦ γεγονότας· | |
| 10 | Out of the same mouth come praises and curses. | ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ στόματος ἐξέρχεται εὐλογία καὶ κατάρα. οὐ χρή, ἀδελφοί μου, ταῦτα οὑτως γίνεσθαι. | |
| 11 | My brothers, this should not be so. Does a fountain gush with both fresh and brackish water from the same opening? | μήτι ἡ πηγὴ ἐκ τῆς αὐτῆς ὀπῆς βρύει τὸ γλυκὺ καὶ τὸ πικρόν; | |
| 12 | Can a fig-tree, my brothers, yield olives, or a vine figs? No more does salt water yield fresh. | μὴ δύναται, ἀδελφοί μου, συκῆ ἐλαίας ποιῆσαι ἢ ἀμπελος σῦκὰ οὐτε ἀλυκὸν γλυκὺ ποιῆσαι ὑδωρ. | |