James 3:6-11 NIV

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - James 3:7

Every kind of beasts - That is, every species of wild beasts, πασα φυσις θηριων , is tamed, i.e. brought under man's power and dominion. Beasts, birds, serpents, and some kinds of fishes have been tamed so as to be domesticated; but every kind, particularly των εναλιων , of sea monsters, has not been thus tamed; but all have been subjected to the power of man; both the shark and whale become an easy prey to the skill and influence of the human being. I have had the most credible... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - James 3:8

But the tongue wan no man tame - No cunning, persuasion, or influence has ever been able to silence it. Nothing but the grace of God, excision, or death, can bring it under subjection. It is an unruly evil - Ακατασχετον κακον· An evil that cannot be restrained; it cannot be brought under any kind of government; it breaks all bounds. Full of deadly poison - He refers here to the tongues of serpents, supposed to be the means of conveying their poison into wounds made by their teeth.... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - James 3:9

Therewith bless we God - The tongue is capable of rehearsing the praises, and setting forth the glories, of the eternal King: what a pity that it should ever be employed in a contrary work! It can proclaim and vindicate the truth of God, and publish the Gospel of peace and good will among men: what a pity that it should ever be employed in falsehoods, calumny, or in the cause of infidelity! And therewith curse we men - In the true Satanic spirit, many pray to God, the Father, to destroy... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - James 3:10

Out of the same mouth - This saying is something like that, Proverbs 18:21 ; : Death and life are in the power of the tongue; and on this, for an illustration of St. James' words, hear Vayikra Rabba, sec. 33: "Rabbi Simeon, the son of Gamaliel, said to his servant Tobias, Go and bring me some good food from the market: the servant went, and he bought tongues. At another time he said to the same servant, Go and buy me some bad food: the servant went, and bought tongues. The master said,... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - James 3:11

Doth a fountain send forth - sweet water and bitter? - In many things nature is a sure guide to man; but no such inconsistency is found in the natural world as this blessing and cursing in man. No fountain, at the same opening, sends forth sweet water and bitter; no fig tree can bear olive berries; no vine can bear figs; nor can the sea produce salt water and fresh from the same place. These are all contradictions, and indeed impossibilities, in nature. And it is depraved man alone that can... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - James 3:6

Verse 6 He now explains the evils which proceed from the neglect of restraining the tongue, in order that we may know that the tongue may do much good or much evil, — that if it be modest and well regulated, it becomes a bridle to the whole life, but that if it be petulant and violent, like a fire it destroys all things. He represents it as a small or little fire, to intimate that this smallness of the tongue will not be a hindrance that its power should not extend far and wide to do harm. 6.... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - James 3:7

Verse 7 7For every kind of beasts. This is a confirmation of the last clause; for that Satan by the tongue rules most effectively he proves by this — that it can by no means be brought to due order; and he amplifies this by comparisons. For he says that there is no animal so savage or fierce, which is not tamed by the skill of man, — that fishes, which in a manner inhabit another world, — that birds, which are so quick and roving — and that serpents, which are so inimical to mankind, are... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - James 3:9

Verse 9 9Therewith, or, by it, bless we God. It is a clear instance of its deadly poison, that it can thus through a monstrous levity transform itself; for when it pretends to bless God, it immediately curses him in his own image, even by cursing men. For since God ought to be blessed in all his works, he ought to be so especially as to men, in whom his image and glory peculiarly shine forth. It is then a hypocrisy not to be borne, when man employs the same tongue in blessing God and in cursing... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - James 3:10

Verse 10 This particular truth ought also to be borne in mind, that severe censors discover their own virulence, which they suddenly vomit forth against their brethren whatever curses they can imagine, after having in sweet strains offered praises to God. Were any one to object and say, that the image of God in human nature has been blotted out by the sin of Adam; we must, indeed, confess that it has been miserably deformed, but in such a way that some of its lineaments still appear.... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - James 3:11

Verse 11 11Doth a fountain. He adduces these comparisons in order to shew that a cursing tongue is something monstrous, contrary to all nature, and subverts the order everywhere established by God. For God hath so arranged things which are contrary, that inanimate things ought to deter us from a chaotic mixture, sure as is found in a double tongue. (123) read more

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - James 3:7

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - James 3:8

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - James 3:9

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - James 3:10

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - James 3:11

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - James 3:6

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - James 3:7

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - James 3:9

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - James 3:10

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - James 3:11

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