James 3:5–6
The Message: The Bible in Contemporary LanguageOther versions
English
- MSG The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language
- DARBY 1890 Darby Bible
- ASV American Standard Version
- AV 1873 The Cambridge Paragraph Bible of the Authorized English Version
- CSB Christian Standard Bible
- D-R Douay-Rheims Bible
- ESV English Standard Version
- GW GOD’S WORD Translation
- GNB Good News Translation
- HCSB The Holman Christian Standard Bible
- KJV 1900 King James Version
- LSB Legacy Standard Bible
- LEB The Lexham English Bible
- NET The NET Bible
- NASB95 New American Standard Bible (1995)
- NCV New Century Version
- NIrV New International Reader’s Version (1998)
- NIV New International Version (2011)
- NKJV The New King James Version
- NLT New Living Translation
- NRSVue New Revised Standard Version: Updated Edition
- RSV The Revised Standard Version
- RSVCE The Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition
- TNIV Today’s New International Version
- YLT Young’s Literal Translation
Arabic
Czech
French
German
Greek
Hungarian
Italian
Korean
Latin
Portuguese
Russian
Simplified Chinese
Spanish
Traditional Chinese
A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it!
5–6It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.
Copyright 2005 Eugene H. Peterson.
In other versions
ESVEnglish Standard Version
So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.
How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.
Copyright 2001 Crossway Bibles
NIVNew International Version (2011)
Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica, Inc.
CSBChristian Standard Bible
So too, though the tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts great things. Consider how a small fire sets ablaze a large forest. And the tongue is a fire. The tongue, a world of unrighteousness, is placed among our members. It stains the whole body, sets the course of life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
Copyright 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
NLTNew Living Translation
In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches.
But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
LEBThe Lexham English Bible
So also the tongue is a small member of the body and boasts great things. Behold how small a fire sets ablaze how great a forest! And the tongue is a fire! The world of unrighteousness, the tongue, is set among our members, defiling the whole body and setting on fire the course of human existence, being set on fire by hell.
Copyright 2012 Lexham Press
KJV 1900King James Version
Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! 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.
Public Domain