YAC 3:8 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT But no one of men is able to tame the tongue, an unsettled evil, full of deadly poison.

UST But no one can control the things he says. The things people say are like a dangerous creature that never stops killing people with its venom.

BLB but no one of men is able to subdue the tongue; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

AICNT but no one can tame the tongue; it is a {unstable}[fn] evil, full of deadly poison.

3:8, unstable: Other manuscripts read “uncontrollable.” C(04) BYZ TR

OEB no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless plague! It is charged with deadly poison!

WEBBE but nobody can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET But no human being can subdue the tongue; it is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

LSV but no one of men is able to subdue the tongue—[it is] an unruly evil, full of deadly poison;

FBV but no one can tame the tongue—it's an evil thing, hard to control, full of deadly poison.

TCNT but no man can tame the tongue. It is [fn]an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

3:8 an unruly 97.4% ¦ a restless CT 2.6%

T4T no person ◄on his own/by himself► is able to control what he says [MTY]. And when people say evil things, it shows that they are unstable/uncontrolled and wicked [MTY]. As the poison of a snake kills people [MTY], we harm others [MET] by what we say.

LEB but no human being is able to tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

BBE But the tongue may not be controlled by man; it is an unresting evil, it is full of the poison of death.

Moff no man can tame the tongue--plague of disorder that it is, full of deadly venom!

Wymth But the tongue no man or woman is able to tame. It is an ever-busy mischief, and is full of deadly poison.

ASV but the tongue can no man tame; it is a restless evil, it is full of deadly poison.

DRA But the tongue no man can tame, an unquiet evil, full of deadly poison.

YLT and the tongue no one of men is able to subdue, [it is] an unruly evil, full of deadly poison,

Drby but the tongue can no one among men tame; [it is] an unsettled evil, full of death-bringing poison.

RV but the tongue can no man tame; it is a restless evil, it is full of deadly poison.

SLT And the tongue none of men can tame; an ungovernable evil, full of deadly poison.

Wbstr But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

KJB-1769 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

KJB-1611 But the tongue can no man tame, it is an vnruly euill, ful of deadly poyson.
(But the tongue can no man tame, it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poyson.)

Bshps But the tongue can no man tame, it is an vnruly euyll, full of deadly poyson.
(But the tongue can no man tame, it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poyson.)

Gnva But the tongue can no man tame. It is an vnruly euill, full of deadly poyson.
(But the tongue can no man tame. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poyson. )

Cvdl But the toge can no man tame. Yt is an vnruely euell full of deedly poysou.
(But the tongue can no man tame. It is an unruely evil full of deadly poysou.)

TNT But the tonge can no man tame. That is an vntuely evyll full of deedly poyson.
(But the tongue can no man tame. That is an untuely evil full of deadly poyson. )

Wycl for it is an vnpesible yuel, and ful of deedli venym.
(for it is an unpesible evil, and full of deedli venom.)

Luth aber die Zunge kann kein Mensch zähmen, das unruhige Übel voll tödlichen Giftes.
(but the tongue can no/not person tame(v), the restlesse evil full/whole fatalen Giftes.)

ClVg linguam autem nullus hominum domare potest: inquietum malum, plena veneno mortifero.
(tongue/language however none of_men to_tame can: inquietum evil, full veneno mortifero. )

UGNT τὴν δὲ γλῶσσαν οὐδεὶς δαμάσαι δύναται ἀνθρώπων, ἀκατάστατον κακόν, μεστὴ ἰοῦ θανατηφόρου.
(taʸn de glōssan oudeis damasai dunatai anthrōpōn, akatastaton kakon, mestaʸ iou thanataʸforou.)

SBL-GNT τὴν δὲ γλῶσσαν οὐδεὶς ⸂δαμάσαι δύναται ἀνθρώπων⸃· ⸀ἀκατάστατον κακόν, μεστὴ ἰοῦ θανατηφόρου.
(taʸn de glōssan oudeis ⸂damasai dunatai anthrōpōn⸃; ⸀akatastaton kakon, mestaʸ iou thanataʸforou.)

RP-GNT τὴν δὲ γλῶσσαν οὐδεὶς δύναται ἀνθρώπων δαμάσαι· ἀκατάσχετον κακόν, μεστὴ ἰοῦ θανατηφόρου.
(taʸn de glōssan oudeis dunatai anthrōpōn damasai; akatasⱪeton kakon, mestaʸ iou thanataʸforou.)

TC-GNT τὴν δὲ γλῶσσαν οὐδεὶς [fn]δύναται ἀνθρώπων δαμάσαι· [fn]ἀκατάσχετον κακόν, μεστὴ ἰοῦ θανατηφόρου.
(taʸn de glōssan oudeis dunatai anthrōpōn damasai; akatasⱪeton kakon, mestaʸ iou thanataʸforou. )

3:8 δυναται ανθρωπων δαμασαι 84.2% ¦ δυναται δαμασαι ανθρωπων MSS 11.9% ¦ δαμασαι δυναται ανθρωπων CT 1%

3:8 ακατασχετον 97.4% ¦ ακαταστατον CT 2.6%

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translation Notes:

Section 3:1–12: Believers must be careful what they say

In this section, James warned believers to be careful with their speech. When believers do not control what they say, it can have a devastating, evil impact. This was an especially serious danger for those who taught others in the church. James reinforced his warning with a series of comparisons or illustrations to show how important it is that Christians control their speech.

Introduction

3:1–2a: Becoming a teacher in the church is a serious thing to do

The tongue is compared to small things which have large effects

3:2b–3	A small bit can turn a horse
3:4–5c	A small rudder can turn a sailing ship
3:5d–6	A small fire can destroy much
3:7–8	Animals can be tamed but not our tongues

Each of us should be consistent in using our tongue for good

3:9–10	The tongue should not be used for both blessing and cursing
3:11	Springs produce one kind of water
3:12	Trees produce one kind of fruit

Some other possible headings for this section are:

We must control our speechTranslator’s Handbook on James, page 100.

Controlling the things we say (NCV)

Paragraph 3:7–8

In this paragraph, James contrasted taming wild animals with taming the tongue.

3:8a

but no man can tame the tongue.

But nobody can tame/subdue his own tongue.
However, no human being is able to control what he says with his tongue/mouth.

but: There is a contrast between 3:7 and 3:8a. People are able to tame all of the creatures mentioned in 3:7, but no one can tame the tongue.

Some other ways to translate this contrast are:

However

Yet (GW)

In contrast

no man can tame the tongue: James was referring to people being unable to control their own tongues. In some languages, it may be best to supply that implicit information by using a pronoun. For example:

no man can tame his own tongue.

no man: The Greek word that the BSB translates as man is the same word that James used in 3:7b. Here the focus is on each individual human. So it refers to women as well as to men.

Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

no human being (RSV)

no one (REB)

no person

tame: The Greek word that the BSB translates as tame is the same word as in 3:7b. If it is unnatural to use the same word here, you may be able to use a word meaning “control.” For example:

But our tongues get out of control. (CEV)

the tongue: As in 3:5a, the tongue represents the words that we speak with our tongues. In some languages, “the lips” or “the mouth” represent the words that a person says. Use the same expression here as in 3:5a.

3:8b

It is a restless evil,

It is wild/uncontrollable and evil.
It is an evil thing that does not stay under control.

It is a restless evil: The Greek word that the BSB translates as restless primarily means “unstable.” The sense of “unstable” in this context includes:

The tongue is restless. It does not rest but is always busy doing evil. For example:
It is restless and evil (NLT)
it is a pest that will not keep still (NJB)
The tongue is uncontrollable.There is also a textual variant, ἀκατάσχετον, that means “uncontrollable.” It is not clear whether versions that translate “uncontrollable” are following this textual variant or whether they are simply interpreting the sense of ἀκατάστατον (“unstable”) to mean “uncontrollable” in this context. The KJV is clearly following the variant reading as found in the Textus Receptus. Most other English versions that translate “uncontrollable” are probably interpreting ἀκατάστατον in that way. It cannot be controlled. No one can stop it from doing evil. For example:
It is evil and uncontrollable (GNT)

The two meanings are close. Something that is restless and determined to do evil is probably also uncontrollable. If you have a word that is close in meaning to both “restless” and “uncontrollable,” it would be good to use it here.

Some other ways to translate this word are:

always busy doing evil

constantly doing wrong

3:8c

full of deadly poison.

It is full of poison that causes death.
It is harmful/painful like the poison/venom of a deadly snake.
It does terrible harm to others.

full of deadly poison: The phrase full of deadly poison is a metaphor. In this metaphor, James compared the human tongue to the mouth of a poisonous snake. (Compare Psalm 58:3–4 and Psalm 140:3 for the thought.) One way that they are similar is that both can do great harm.

There are at least three ways to translate this phrase:

Keep the metaphor. If it is not difficult to understand the metaphor in your language, then you should keep the metaphor. For example:
always spreading deadly poison (CEV)
Use a simile and add the meaning. For example:
very harmful like the venom from a poisonous snake
Translate the meaning without the metaphor. For example:
a source of terrible harm/pain

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations

οὐδεὶς & ἀνθρώπων

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: τήν δέ γλῶσσαν οὐδείς δαμάσαι δύναται ἀνθρώπων ἀκατάστατον κακόν μεστή ἰοῦ θανατηφόρου)

James is using the term men in a generic sense that includes all people. Alternate translation: [no human being]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

δαμάσαι

˓to˒_tame

By analogy with the animals he discussed in the previous verse, James is using the word tame to mean “control.” Alternate translation: [to control]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

τὴν & γλῶσσαν

James is using the tongue to represent what people say, by association with the way the tongue is used for speech. Alternate translation: [what he says]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / nominaladj

ἀκατάστατον κακόν

˓an˒_unstable evil

James is using the adjective evil as a noun. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you could translate this word with an equivalent phrase. Alternate translation: [an unsettled evil thing]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / personification

ἀκατάστατον κακόν

˓an˒_unstable evil

In this context, the word unsettled means “restless.” James is speaking of the tongue as if it were a living thing that could never rest because it always had to be saying bad things. It may be helpful to begin a new sentence here. Alternate translation: [We are constantly saying evil things]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

μεστὴ ἰοῦ θανατηφόρου

James is using deadly poison as an analogy for the destructive effects of what people say. Alternate translation: [and having very destructive effects]

Parallel YAC 3:8

Section 3:1–12: Believers must be careful what they say

Paragraph 3:7–8

3:8a

3:8b

3:8c