James

3:1-12

6. Instructions on the tongue, 3:1-12

Taming the tongue

James now addresses "the evil that can be caused by an ill-controlled tongue", Mitton.

This set of sayings can be classed as a third sermon, so Dibelius, but it is not as unified as the sermon on partiality, nor the sermon on faith and works, and does not begin with a general proposition as do these two sermons. So, it is likely that we have again a collection of independent sayings stitched together under a unifying theme, namely, the "danger of committing verbal offence", Dibelius. The sayings/instructions from v3 onward use highly descriptive metaphors.

Instruction #1, v1. "Don't be in any rush to become a teacher", Peterson. Believers are encouraged to consider the responsibilities that are associated with a ministry of the Word before rushing to the pulpit. Some commentators feel a need to tie this specific instruction with the more general negative instructions that follow, as if the whole passage was a word to Christian teachers. Some even tie the passage to James' sermon on faith and works. As already noted, inspiration is not in any way devalued just because James' treatise is a collection of stitched sayings in the tradition of Proverbs. There is also a tendency to identify some specific life-situation lying behind the instructions, see eg. Martin. Such is unnecessary speculation.

mh "not" - This negation takes an emphatic position in the Gk.

ginesqe (ginomai) pres. imp. "should presume to be" - be [not]. Often used instead of the verb to-be. "You ought not try to become teachers", Barclay, carries the sense although the actual sense is "not many of you are to be teachers", Dibelius.

didaskaloi (oV) "teachers" - Surely "Christian teachers", teachers of the Word.

adelfoi mou "my brothers" - In James, often used to introduce a new section.

eidoteV (oida) perf. part. "because you know" - knowing. The participle is adverbial, probably causal, as NIV, although possibly imperatival, "remember, we teachers will be judged with special strictness", Moffatt.

oJti "that" - Introducing a dependent statement, what we should know.

lhmyomeqa (lambanw) fut. "we who teach will be" - we will receive [greater judgment]. The teaching office brings with it responsibilities and accountability.

krima (a atoV) "judged" - judgment. "Those who teach come under greater scrutiny and are liable to greater judgment", Martin, presumably in the day of judgment. Possibly "we will receive the greater condemnation", AV, ie. the judicial verdict rather than the process of judging, although "it seems unlikely that James would hold out to all teachers, and indeed himself, only the prospect of greater or lesser punishment", Laws. The context certainly supports the case that the tongue can get us into no amount of trouble, whether it be just a foolish word, or a major heresy, and therefore opens the teacher to greater scrutiny, cf. Moo. "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded", Lk.12:48.

Instruction #2, v2. "All men stumble, and of all faults, those of the tongue are the hardest to avoid", Ropes. We will make mistakes, particularly when it comes to the things we say; "who is he who has never sinned with his tongue?", Ecclus.19:16. To never put our foot wrong implies perfection. James clearly stitches this saying to v1, but it really serves as a transitional saying leading to the more general issue of Christian conversation.

gar "-" - for. Expressing cause/reason, explaining why we should think twice before embarking on a teaching ministry, "because we all make many a slip", Berkeley.

ptaiomen (ptaiw) pres. "we [all] stumble" - we stumble, trip, fall / offend. The present tense may be iterative, expressing repeated action.

polla acc. adj. "in many ways" - many. Possibly accusative of reference, "with reference to many things." Either "many" in the sense of "often", "many" in the sense of "all kinds of ways", Phillips.

ei + ind. "if" - Forming a conditional sentence 1st. class, where the condition is assumed true, "if, as is the case, .... then .." Surely hypothetical, given that James has already stated that "we all make mistakes." Yet, is James setting an ideal, or is he being facetious?

ou ptaiei (ptaiw) pres. "is never at fault" - does not stumble, trip, fall.

en logw/ "in what he says" - in word, speech.

teleioV (oV) "perfect" - a perfect, complete, mature [man]. "Blameless", Ropes.

calinagwghsai (calinagwgew) aor. inf. "[able] to keep" - [able] to bridle, restrain. The infinitive is complementary, completing the sense of "is able". "Hold in check", Ropes.

oJlon adj. "[his] whole [body]" - [also] whole [the body]. "The man who is master of his speech is ipso facto in total control of himself", Laws.

Instruction #3, v3-5a. "The tongue has influence out of all proportion to its size", Moo. James now sets out to establish the power of the tongue, "a small part ... but it makes great claims", v5a. This fact is illustrated in two metaphors/similes ("so also" = like? v5): of the bit that controls the horse, v3; of the rudder that steers the ship. There is no agreement as to the extent of this unit, eg. Davids has v2b-5a, Moo includes the spark that ignites a forest fire, v5b.

ei de + ind. "-" - but/and if. Probably correlative leading into a conditional clause, 1st class, although there are numerous variant readings, eg. ide, "behold", Ropes.

eiV to peiqesqai (peiqw) pres. inf. + dat. "to make [them] obey [us]" - to persuade. This preposition with the articular infinitive usually forms a purpose clause, "in order to persuade them to us".

metagomen (metagw) "we can turn [the whole animal]" - we direct, guide, change direction of [the whole body of them]. "We are in a position to turn their entire body this way or that", Cassirer.

This second illustration makes the same point as the first, "very small things can direct very large things", Moo.

kai "or" - and. "And also", ie. like horses, cf. Ropes.

idou "take [ships] as an example" - behold. Serving to direct attention.

onta (eimi) pres. part. "although they are" - being. The participle is probably adverbial, concessive, as NIV, "behold the ships, although they are so great." Yet, note the variant ta ploia ta thlikouta onta which would make the participle adjectival, "behold the ships which are so great."

elaunomena (elaunw) pres. pas. part. "are driven" - being driven [by hard winds]. The participle is similarly concessive as above.

elacistou adj. "a very small [rudder]" - [is guided by] a littlest [rudder wherever the impulse/desire]. Superlative adjective, referring to the rudder as the smallest of mechanisms. "The tiniest rudder", Johnson.

tou euqunontoV (euqunw) "the pilot" - the one making straight, directing, steering. The participle functions as a substantive; "the man at the helm", Zerwick.

"So also the tongue; although a small part of the body it has great power [for good or evil]." Davids observes a shift in thought from the power of the tongue to the tongue being an implement out of control, ie. the helmsman is often not in control. It is more likely that James remains on message, but does go on to develop this idea in the next saying. Note alliteration mikron meloV ... megala, cf. Laws.

ouJtwV "likewise" - thus, so, in the same way [the tongue is a small member/part].

megala aucei (aucew) pres. "[but] it makes great boasts" - [and] great things boasts. Ropes notes that the two words are used for balance and that together are equivalent to megalaucei "be haughty", not in the sense of an "empty boast", but a "haughty sense of importance", so "it can make huge claims", NEB; "its pretensions are great", REB. This is certainly the sense in 4:16-17, but here a neutral sense, rather than negative, seems more likely. James is referring to the power of the tongue, a power which, like the bit and the rudder, can change things (for good or evil). "The human tongue is physically small, but what tremendous effects it can boast of!" Phillips.

Instruction #4, v5b-6. The tongue has "destructive power", Laws.

idou "Consider" - behold. "Take the case of a forest fire", Barclay.

anaptei (anaptw) pres. "is set on fire" - sets fire to, lights up, burns [how great/large a forest]. "A tiny match can start a raging forest fire."

In a complicated metaphor James describes the tongue as a fire. The first clause is made up of one verb and five words in the nominative case and is therefore difficult to punctuate, and this made even more difficult by numerous variants, see Martin. The whole verse is best treated as one sentence with two main clauses (1) (2) supported by appositional clauses (1a) (2a) and followed up by two adjectival participial clauses (3) (4): "(1) And the tongue [is] a fire; (1a) the world/sum-total of wickedness, (2) it (hJ glwssa, "the tongue", emphatic) is set among (????) our members; (2a) corrupting the whole body, (3) and setting on fire the course of life, (4) and being set on fire by Gehenna".

kai "also" - and. "And yes, the tongue really is a fire", Moo.

oJ kosmoV "a world" - the world. Here in a figurative sense, the tongue as the "universe / sum-total of wickedness", possibly "the adornment of wickedness", possibly even the "power / authority of wickedness", although most translations opt for something like "a world of iniquity", NRSV, as NIV. So, probably something like "the representation of all that is wicked in this world", cf. Barclay.

thV adikiaV (a) gen. "[a world] of evil" - of unrighteousness, wickedness, injustice. The genitive is probably adjectival, limiting "world", as above.

kaqistatai (kaqisthmi) pres. pas/mid. "-" - [it] is set among, bought about, set, designated / brought down / put in charge of [our members]. The meaning of this verb in the context, and whether it is middle or passive, is open to some debate. Possibly something like "placed among our members", NRSV, giving a passive sense, but then God would be the agent. In 4:4 kaqistatai is obviously middle, and if middle the tongue is the agent. So, the tongue places itself in our members, setting itself up, placing itself in charge, making itself the "conduit by which all the evil of the world around us comes to expression in us", Moo.

en "among" - in. Local.

melesin (oV) dat. "the parts of the body" - [in] our parts, members.

hJ spilousa (spilow) pres. part. "it corrupts [the whole body]" - staining. The participle is adjectival, "which defileth", Ropes.

to swma (a atoV) "the [whole] person" - the body. "It pollutes our whole being", REB.

flogizousa (flogizw) pres. act. part. "sets .... on fire" - setting on fire. Descriptive of destruction; "it causes the greatest damage to ourselves and to others", Junkins.

ton trocon thV genesewV "the whole course of his life" - the turning (cycle, course) of existence. Most likely a technical phrase describing the cycle of life in the image of a wheel ("what goes round comes round", or is it "what comes round goes round"? = a stoic view of life), "the ups and downs of life", see Dibelius.

flogizomehn (flogizw) pres. pas. part. "is itself set on fire" - being set on fire. The destructive power of the tongue is such that it brings upon itself, and its owner, ultimate destruction - the fires of hell.

thV geennhV (a hV) "[by] hell" - Gehenna. The name for the ever-burning rubbish tip outside Jerusalem = "Hell", the place of punishment for the dead.

Instruction #5, v7-8b. The tongue possesses a "treacherous inconsistency - an evil irreducible to order, to a consistent character of disciplined obedience and to righteousness", Adamson.

gar "-" - for. An explanatory "for" again used to link saying units, but lacking any explanatory functions so best left untranslated as NIV.

fusiV (iV ewV) "kinds" - nature = species.

damazetai kai dedamastai (damazw) pres./perf. pas. "are being tamed and have been tamed" - is subdued and has been subdued. In the sense of "domesticated".

de "but" - but, and. Here obviously adversative. "But no human being is able to tame the tongue", Berkeley.

akatastaton kakon "it is a restless evil" - a restless evil. This ejaculative nominative (a nominative absolute, although most agree we have a solecism here, ie. irregular grammar) is possibly functioning in apposition to "tongue", " ..... tongue - a restless evil", NRSV, although usually treated as a predicate nominative translated as the subject of a new sentence where the verb to-be is assumed, as NIV. Note the variant akatasceton, "an uncontrollable evil." Probably "restless" in the sense of "always liable to break out", Phillips. "But no human being is capable of subduing the tongue, never-resting evil that it is", Cassirer.

Instruction #6, v8c-12. For a believer, the tongue can be duplicitous, "on the one hand, it is very religious, but, on the other, it can be most profane in daily life", Davids. Grammatically the ejaculative nominative in v8c seems to stand with "restless evil" in apposition to "tongue" in the first part of v8, "..... tongue - a restless evil, full of deadly poison", NRSV. Yet, in subject matter it seems to introduce James' final saying on the tongue. As such it would function as a predicate nominative, "tongue" understood; "The tongue is filled with death-bringing poison."

qanathforou adj. "deadly" - death-bearing. "Death-dealing", Johnson.

iou (oV) gen. "poison" - rust / poison / arrow. Genitive of content. Obviously here "poison", esp. of seductiveness, so "full of a poison on the lips which is death-dealing".

"The tongue is full of deadly poison (v8c). With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men made in the likeness of God", Barclay.

en "with" - in. Here instrumental, as NIV.

auth/ "the tongue" - it.

touV ...... gegonotaV (ginomai) perf. part. "who have been made" - having been made [according to the likeness of God]. The participle is adjectival, as NIV.

"Out of the same mouth we curse some and speak of others with praise", Junkins.

ou crh pres. "[my brothers, this] should not" - it ought not. Hapax legomenon, from cran "to give what is needful", BDF, here negated.

ginesqai (ginomai) pres. inf. "be" - to be. The infinitive is complementary, completing the sense of "ought". "This is just not right, brothers and sisters".

"A spring doesn't gush fresh water one day and brackish the next, does it?" Peterson.

mhti "-" - neither, nor. A softened negation; in a question expecting a negative answer.

bruei (bruw) pres. "can ........ flow ...?" - bursting forth = pour forth, pour out, gush forth. Hapax legomenon.

mh dunatai (dunamai) pres. pas. "can [a fig tree]" - is not able. The negation in this question expects a negative answer.

poihsai (poiew) "bear [olives]" - to do. The infinitive is complementary, completing the sense of "is able".

oute "neither" - neither [salt water to do sweet]. "In the same way, no salt (salty) spring has the power to bring forth fresh water", Cassirer.

James Introduction

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