James 3

3 Now if we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us,  * 3:3 Ps 32:9; 39:1 we direct their whole bodies. 4 And consider ships: Though very large and driven by fierce winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So too, though the tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts great things.  * 3:5 Ps 12:3–4; 73:8–9 Consider how a small fire sets ablaze a large forest. 6 And the tongue is a fire. The tongue, a world of unrighteousness, is placed  * 3:6 Or places itself, or appoints itself among our members. It stains the whole body,  * 3:6 Ps 120:2–3; Pr 16:27; Mt 15:11,18 sets the course of life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. 7 Every kind of animal, bird, reptile, and fish is tamed and has been tamed by humankind, 8 but no one can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.  * 3:8 Ps 140:3; Ec 10:11; Rm 3:13