James 3:4
“Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Great ships driven by strong winds are steered by a very small rudder.
What Does James 3:4 Mean?
James adds a second image. Consider ships: though they are large and driven by fierce winds, a very small rudder turns them wherever the pilot wishes. Again something small directs something great, even against the force of the wind.
The ship is more vivid than the horse, for it is steered through storms by a tiny helm in a skilled hand. So the tongue, small as it is, sets the direction of a life buffeted by many pressures. The repeated lesson is that the tongue's size belies its influence; it determines where the whole person goes. James wants the reader to feel the stakes before he names the danger. A small thing in the wrong hands, or untrained, can drive a life onto the rocks.