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James 3:4-6
New English Translation
James 3:4-6
New English Translation
4 Look at ships too: Though they are so large and driven by harsh winds, they are steered by a tiny rudder wherever the pilot’s inclination directs. 5 So too the tongue is a small part of the body,[a] yet it has great pretensions.[b] Think[c] how small a flame sets a huge forest ablaze. 6 And the tongue is a fire! The tongue represents[d] the world of wrongdoing among the parts of our bodies. It[e] pollutes the entire body and sets fire to the course of human existence—and is set on fire by hell.[f]
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- James 3:5 tn Grk “a small member.”
- James 3:5 tn Grk “boasts of great things.”
- James 3:5 tn Grk “Behold.”
- James 3:6 tn Grk “makes itself,” “is made.”
- James 3:6 tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
- James 3:6 sn The word translated hell is “Gehenna” (γέεννα, geenna), a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew words ge hinnom (“Valley of Hinnom”). This was the valley along the south side of Jerusalem. In OT times it was used for human sacrifices to the pagan god Molech (cf. Jer 7:31; 19:5-6; 32:35), and it came to be used as a place where human excrement and rubbish were disposed of and burned. In the intertestamental period, it came to be used symbolically as the place of divine punishment (cf. 1 En. 27:2; 90:26; 4 Ezra 7:36).
James 3:4-6
New International Version
James 3:4-6
New International Version
4 Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5 Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts.(A) Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6 The tongue also is a fire,(B) a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body,(C) sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.(D)
New English Translation (NET)
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