James 3:5
“Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →The small tongue boasts great things, as a little fire sets a great forest ablaze.
What Does James 3:5 Mean?
James applies the images: even so, the tongue is a little member, yet it boasts of great things. Like the bit and the rudder, it is small but mighty. Then he introduces a darker picture: see how great a forest a little fire kindles.
The turn from horse and ship to fire shifts the tone from control to destruction. The first two images showed the tongue steering; the fire shows it consuming. A single spark, carelessly dropped, can burn a forest to the ground. So a few words can set off ruin far beyond their size. James moves the reader from admiration of the tongue's power to fear of its danger, preparing for the full weight of the warning that follows in the next verse.
In the Original Language
mikros (μικρός), 'little' -- small in size, yet here capable of great effect.