Passage

James 3.6

Book: James · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"4. Behold, the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by rough winds, are yet turned about by a very small rudder, whither the impulse of the steersman willeth. 5. So the tongue also is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how much wood is kindled by how small a fire!"

"6. And the tongue is a fire: the world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the wheel of nature, and is set on fire by hell."

"7. For every kind of beasts and birds, of creeping things and things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed by mankind. 8. But the tongue can no man tame; it is a restless evil, it is full of deadly poison." (James 3:4-8, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"4. Behold, the ships also, though they are so big and are driven by fierce winds, are yet guided by a very small rudder, wherever the pilot desires. 5. So the tongue is also a little member, and boasts great things. See how a small fire can spread to a large forest!"

"6. 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."

"7. For every kind of animal, bird, creeping thing, and sea creature, is tamed, and has been tamed by mankind; 8. but nobody can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison." (James 3:4-8, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"4. Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. 5. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! ^{a matter: or, wood}"

"6. And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. ^{course: Gr. wheel}"

"7. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: ^{kind: Gr. nature} ^{mankind: Gr. nature of man} 8. But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison." (James 3:4-8, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"4. lo, also the ships, being so great, and by fierce winds being driven, are led about by a very small helm, whithersoever the impulse of the helmsman doth counsel, 5. so also the tongue is a little member, and doth boast greatly; lo, a little fire how much wood it doth kindle!"

"6. and the tongue [is] a fire, the world of the unrighteousness, so the tongue is set in our members, which is spotting our whole body, and is setting on fire the course of nature, and is set on fire by the gehenna."

"7. For every nature, both of beasts and of fowls, both of creeping things and things of the sea, is subdued, and hath been subdued, by the human nature, 8. and the tongue no one of men is able to subdue, [it is] an unruly evil, full of deadly poison," (James 3:4-8, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: James the Just (the brother of Jesus, head of Jerusalem church)
Audience: Jewish Christians in the dispersion
Location: Jerusalem (composition)
Time period: composed c. AD 45-49 (likely the earliest NT book)

Theological reading

Key words

G1067 - geenna, geenna (Strong's G1067). Also appears in: Matthew 5.21-22, Matthew 10.28, Matthew 23.
G2889 - kosmos, kosmos (Strong's G2889). Also appears in: Mark 14, John 1.1-14, John 1.10.
G4983 - soma, soma (Strong's G4983). Also appears in: Matthew 6.25-26, Matthew 10.28, Matthew 27.59-60.

Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.