Veritable King James Version
1Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.
2For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what they say, they are a perfect person, able to bridle their whole body.
3If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well.
4Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs.
5So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!
6And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.
7For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by humankind,
8but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
9With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.
10From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.
11Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water?
12Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
13Who is wise and understanding among you? By their good conduct let them show their works in the meekness of wisdom.
14But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth.
15This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.
16For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.
17But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.
18And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
Translation notes
“Brothers” translates “ἀδελφοί,” gender-neutral for believers, per the NA28. “Teachers” renders “διδάσκαλοι,” gender-neutral, echoing the KJV’s “masters” but modernized for clarity. “Judged with greater strictness” translates “μεῖζον κρίμα,” per the NA28, preserving the KJV’s warning to leaders. “Perfect person” renders “τέλειος ἀνήρ,” gender-neutral for “ἀνήρ” in context, echoing James 1:4. “Bridle their whole body” translates “χαλιναγωγῆσαι,” echoing James 1:26 and the KJV’s metaphor.
“We” and “they” translate “ἡμεῖς” and “αὐτά,” gender-neutral, referring to horses and ships, per the NA28. “Bits” and “rudder” render “χαλινούς” and “πηδαλίου,” echoing the KJV’s illustrative metaphors. “Tongue” translates “γλῶσσα,” continuing the speech theme from verse 2, per James 1:26. “Small fire” renders “ὀλίγον πῦρ,” preserving the KJV’s vivid imagery of destruction, per the NA28.
“Humankind” and “human being” translate “ἀνθρωπίνη φύσις” and “ἄνθρωπος,” gender-neutral, per the NA28. “Tongue is a fire” renders “πῦρ ἡ γλῶσσα,” echoing the KJV’s metaphor. “Set on fire by hell” translates “φλογιζομένη ὑπὸ τῆς γεέννης,” per the NA28, preserving the KJV’s “hell” (Gehenna). “Restless evil” and “deadly poison” maintain the KJV’s intense language, emphasizing the tongue’s danger.
“We,” “people,” and “brothers” translate “ἡμεῖς,” “ἀνθρώπους,” and “ἀδελφοί,” gender-neutral, per the NA28. Capitalized “Lord and Father” and “God” follow instructions. “Made in the likeness of God” renders “καθ’ ὁμοίωσιν Θεοῦ,” echoing Genesis 1:26–27 and the KJV. “Blessing and cursing” translates “εὐλογία καὶ κατάρα,” preserving the KJV’s moral contradiction. The spring metaphor echoes the KJV’s rhetorical question, per the NA28.
“Brothers” and “them” translate “ἀδελφοί” and “αὐτός,” gender-neutral, per the NA28. “Fig tree” and “grapevine” metaphors render “συκῆ” and “ἄμπελος,” echoing the KJV’s natural imagery, per Matthew 7:16–20. “Wise and understanding” translates “σοφὸς καὶ ἐπιστήμων,” per the NA28, echoing the KJV. “Meekness of wisdom” renders “πραΰτητι σοφίας,” aligning with James 1:21 and the KJV’s ethical emphasis.
“You” translates “ὑμεῖς,” gender-neutral, per the NA28. “Wisdom from above” renders “ἄνωθεν σοφία,” echoing James 1:17 and the KJV’s divine source. “Earthly, unspiritual, demonic” translates “ἐπίγειος, ψυχική, δαιμονιώδης,” per the NA28, preserving the KJV’s escalating critique. “Disorder and every vile practice” renders “ἀκαταστασία καὶ πᾶν φαῦλον πρᾶγμα,” echoing the KJV’s moral consequences.
“Those” translates “τοῖς,” gender-neutral, per the NA28. “Wisdom from above” repeats verse 15’s “ἄνωθεν σοφία,” echoing the KJV’s divine contrast. “Pure, peaceable, gentle” renders “ἁγνή, εἰρηνική, ἐπιεικής,” per the NA28, preserving the KJV’s virtues. “Harvest of righteousness” translates “καρπὸς δικαιοσύνης,” echoing James 1:20 and the KJV’s agricultural metaphor for peaceable conduct.
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