Ministry of Grace Church

But no man is able to tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

Truth to Learn

Although men have managed to tame every kind of wild animal, no man can tame the tongue.

Behind the Words

“No man” is translated from oudeis anthrōpōn, which literally means “not one of men.” There is not one human being who can tame the tongue, his own or anyone else’s.

The word translated “unruly” is akataschetos, which means “unrestrainable.” There is a variant reading on this word with some texts using the word akatastatos, meaning “unsettled” or “unstable.” Whichever is the proper reading, it is nonetheless clear that the tongue cannot be completely controlled.

The word “evil” is from kakos, which literally means “worthless.” It refers to that which is intrinsically or inherently worthless, bad, or evil.

“Full” is from the Greek word mestos, which means “stuffed completely full.” It is the picture of a vessel that is filled to the brim without any room for anything more.

The word translated “deadly” is thanatēphoros, which is a compound word made up of thanatos, meaning “death” and a form of pherō, meaning “to bring” or “to bear.” Hence, it refers to something which brings death.

Though it may appear in our English translation that evil is full of deadly poison, the Greek construction makes it clear that James is referring to the tongue as being full of deadly poison.

Meaning Explained

In spite of mankind’s ability to tame all the wild animals, no one can completely tame the tongue, according to James. This is not to say that it is never brought under control for a time, but eventually our tongue gets us all in trouble. The way it bites is like a poisonous snake.

The Apostle Paul, quoting from Psalms 5:9 said a similar thing in his letter to the Romans:

“their throat is an open tomb; with their tongues they used deceit”; “the poison of asps is under their lips” (Romans 3:13)

And the Psalmist, in Psalms 140:3 said:

They sharpen their tongues like a serpent; the poison of asps is under their lips.

How many times has someone said something to you that hurt deeply, whether they intended it that way or not? And which one of us has not experienced a time when we said something out of the emotion of the moment, only to regret it as soon as the words were out of our mouth. “Oh, I wish I hadn’t said that,” we tell ourselves, wishing we could control our tongue.

Keep in mind that James is not saying that we can’t control our tongue, therefore we shouldn’t try. He is saying that with God’s help we need to work especially hard at controlling the tongue because it is such an unruly thing!

Application

Let us all take a few minutes in prayer right now and ask God to help us control our tongue. May our words be a blessing to God and to others, and may we give the praise to God!