James 3:5

Restraining The Tongue

⁴ And look at the ships. Even though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the impulse of the helmsman determines. ⁵ In the same sense, the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things.

See [by comparison] how great a forest is set on fire by a small spark! ⁶ And the tongue is [in a sense] a fire, the very world of injustice and unrighteousness; the tongue is set among our members as that which contaminates the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life [the cycle of man’s existence], and is itself set on fire by hell (Gehenna).

It is I

Set on Fire

Great Things

Psalm 73:8-9

They mock and wickedly speak of oppression;
They speak loftily [with malice].

Psalm 10:3

For the wicked boasts and sings the praises of his heart’s desire,
And the greedy man curses and spurns [and even despises] the Lord.

Psalm 12:2-4

They speak deceitful and worthless words to one another;
With flattering lips and a double heart they speak.

Psalm 17:10

They have closed their unfeeling heart [to kindness and compassion];
With their mouths they speak proudly and make presumptuous claims.

Psalm 52:1-2

Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man?
The lovingkindness of God endures all day long.

Proverbs 12:18

There is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword,
But the tongue of the wise brings healing.

Proverbs 15:2

The tongue of the wise speaks knowledge that is pleasing and acceptable,
But the [babbling] mouth of fools spouts folly.

Proverbs 18:21

Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
And those who love it and indulge it will eat its fruit and bear the consequences of their words.

Jeremiah 9:3-8

“They bend their tongue like their bow;
[Their] lies and not truth prevail and grow strong in the land;
For they proceed from evil to evil,
And they do not know and understand and acknowledge Me,” says the Lord.

Jeremiah 18:18

Then [my enemies] said, “Come and let us work out schemes against Jeremiah. Surely the law is not going to be lost to the priest [as Jeremiah predicts], nor the counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come and let us strike him with our tongue [by making charges against him before the king], and let us ignore anything he says.”

Ezekiel 28:2

“Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, ‘Thus says the Lord God,

“Because your heart is lifted up
And you have said and thought, ‘I am a god,
I sit in the seat of the gods
In the heart of the seas’;
Yet you are [only] a man [weak, feeble, made of earth] and not God,
Though you [imagine yourself to be more than mortal and] think your mind is as [wise as] the mind of God—

Revelation 13:5-6

And the beast was given a mouth (the power of speech), uttering great things and arrogant and blasphemous words, and he was given freedom and authority to act and to do as he pleased for forty-two months (three and a half years).

Exodus 5:2

But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go.”

Exodus 15:9

“The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil;
My desire shall be satisfied against them;
I will draw my sword, my hand shall dispossess them and drive them out.’

2 Kings 19:22-24

‘Whom have you taunted and blasphemed?
Against whom have you raised your voice,
And haughtily lifted up your eyes?
Against the Holy One of Israel!

Job 21:14-15

“Yet they say to God, ‘Depart from us,
For we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways.

Job 22:17

“They said to God, ‘Depart from us!
What can the Almighty do for us or to us?’

Ezekiel 29:3

Speak and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God,

“Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt,
The great monster that lies in the midst of his rivers,
[Boastfully] declaring, ‘My Nile is my own, and I have made it for myself.’

Daniel 3:15

Now if you are ready, when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, to fall down and worship the image which I have made, very good. But if you do not worship, you shall be thrown at once into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire; and what god is there who can rescue you out of my hands?”

Daniel 4:30

The king said thoughtfully, ‘Is not this the great Babylon which I myself have built as the royal residence and seat of government by the might of my power and for the honor and glory of my majesty?’

2 Peter 2:18

For uttering arrogant words of vanity [pompous words disguised to sound scholarly or profound, but meaning nothing and containing no spiritual truth], they beguile and lure using lustful desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error.

Jude 1:16

These people are [habitual] murmurers, griping and complaining, following after their own desires [controlled by passion]; they speak arrogantly, [pretending admiration and] flattering people to gain an advantage.