James 3:2
“For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →All stumble in many ways, but mastering the tongue marks a mature and self-controlled person.
What Does James 3:2 Mean?
James grounds the warning in shared weakness: in many things we all stumble. He does not exempt himself; the failures of speech and conduct are common to all. Then he singles out the tongue as the great test: whoever does not stumble in word is a mature man, able to bridle the whole body.
Control of the tongue is treated as the height of self-mastery. If a person can govern his speech, the hardest thing to govern, he can rein in the rest of himself as well. The bridle image returns from chapter one, the small rein that turns the whole. James sets a high standard, not to crush, but to show how much the tongue reveals and how much grace is needed to master it.
In the Original Language
ptaio (πταίω), 'offend' -- to stumble or trip, to err or fall into fault.