James 3:6

The tongue also is a fire, a world of wickedness among the parts of the body. It pollutes the whole person, sets the course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — James addresses the twelve tribes in the diaspora (1:1); this verse sits between the spark-and-forest analogy (3:5) and the taming of animals (3:7), mid-argument on the tongue's disproportionate power.

The words — κόσμος (kosmos) here carries the sense of "an ordered whole," so "a world of iniquity" (κόσμος τῆς ἀδικίας) means a complete, self-sustaining system of evil, not merely a large amount. πῦρ (pur) is the same fire used for the spark in v.5, now applied to the tongue itself.

The thread — Proverbs 16:27 calls worthless speech "a scorching fire"; Mark 7:15 locates defilement in what comes out of a person rather than what enters.

Why it lands — The verse says the tongue pollutes the whole person and sets the course of life on fire, making speech not a peripheral habit but the mechanism by which a life is shaped.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

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.

Cross-references

Psalms 120:2 Deliver my soul, O LORD, from lying lips and a deceitful tongue.
Proverbs 16:27 A worthless man digs up evil, and his speech is like a scorching fire.
Mark 7:15 Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him; but the things that come out of a man, these are what defile him.”
Matthew 15:11 A man is not defiled by what enters his mouth, but by what comes out of it.”
Proverbs 15:1 A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Mark 7:20 He continued: “What comes out of a man, that is what defiles him.
Luke 16:24 So he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. For I am in agony in this fire.’
Colossians 3:8 But now you must put aside all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.
Psalms 64:3 who sharpen their tongues like swords and aim their bitter words like arrows,
Psalms 140:3 They sharpen their tongues like snakes; the venom of vipers is on their lips. Selah