Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - James 3:1-18
James 3:2 She gossiped, like all the rest of Old Chester; but by some mysterious method, Susan Carr's gossip gave the listener a gentler feeling towards his kind. When she spoke of her neighbour's faults, one knew that somehow they were simply virtues gone to seed; and what was more remarkable, her praise had no sting of insinuation in it, no suggestion that she could speak differently if she chose. Margaret Deland, Philip and His Wife, p. 44. References. III. 2. J. Keble, Sermons for... read more
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - James 3:3
(3) Behold.—A more clumsy reading is insisted upon here: but if, instead of “behold.” The supporters of such curious corrections argue that the least likely is the most so; and thus every slip of a copyist, either in grammar or spelling, becomes more sacred in their eyes than is the Received text with believers in verbal inspiration.Three comparisons of the tongue are now introduced; the bit (James 3:3), the rudder (James 3:4), and a fire (James 3:6): the two former to show what mastery may be... read more