James 3:12

Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh. Transition from the month to the heart. CAN THE FIG TREE ... - an impossibility: as in James 3:10, it "ought not so to be." James does not, as Matthew 7:16, ask, "Do men gather figs of thistles?" His argument is, No tree "can" bring forth fruit inconsistent with its nature, as, e.g., the fig tree, olive berries: so if a man speaks bitterly, and afterward good words, the latter toilet be so only seemingly, and in hypocrisy: they can not be real. SO CAN NO FOUNTAIN BOTH YIELD SALT WATER AND FRESH. 'Aleph (') A B C read [ oute (G3777...

1-12 We are taught to dread an unruly tongue, as one of the greatest evils. The affairs of mankind are thrown into confusion by the tongues of men. Every age of the world, and every condition of life, private or public, affords examples of this. Hell has more to do in promoting the fire of the tongue than men generally think; and whenever men's tongues are employed in sinful ways, they are set on fire of hell. No man can tame the tongue without Divine grace and assistance. The apostle does not represent it as impossible, but as extremely difficult. Other sins decay with age, this many times gets worse; we grow more froward and fretful, as natural strength decays, and the days come on in which we have no pleasure. When other sins are tamed and subdued by the infirmities of age, the spirit often grows more tart, nature being drawn down to the dregs, and the words used become more passiona...

Verse 12. _SO_ CAN _NO FOUNTAIN BOTH YIELD SALT WATER AND FRESH._] For the reading of the common text, which is οὑτως ουδεμια πηγη ἁλυκον και γλυκυ ποιησαι ὑδωρ, _so no fountain can produce salt_ _water and sweet_, there are various other readings in the MSS. and versions. The word ουτως, _so_, which makes this a continuation of the comparison in James 3:11, is wanting in ABC, one other, with the _Armenian_ and ancient _Syriac_; the later _Syriac_ has it in the margin with an asterisk. ABC, five others, with the _Coptic,_ _Vulgate_, one copy of the _Itala_, and _Cyril_, have ουτε ἁλυκον γλυκυ ποιησαι ὑδωρ, _neither can salt water produce sweet_. In the _Syriac_ and the _Arabic_ of Erpen, it is, _So, likewise, sweet water_ _cannot become bitter; and bitter water cannot become sweet_. The tr...

CAN THE FIG-TREE, MY BRETHREN, BEAR OLIVE-BERRIES? - Such a thing is impossible in nature, and equally absurd in morals. A fig-tree bears only figs; and so the tongue ought to give utterance only to one class of sentiments and emotions. These illustrations are very striking, and show the absurdity of that which the apostle reproves. At the same time, they accomplish the main purpose which he had in view, to repress the desire of becoming public teachers without suitable qualifications. They show the power of the tongue; they show what a dangerous power it is for a man to wield who has not the proper qualifications; they show that no one should put himself in the position where he may wield this power without such a degree of tried prudence, wisdom, discretion, and piety, that there shall be a moral certainty that he will use it aright....

EXPOSITION JAMES 3:1 WARNING AGAINST OVER-READINESS TO TEACH, LEADING TO A DISCOURSE ON THE IMPORTANCE OF GOVERNMENT OF THE TONGUE. JAMES 3:1 (1) _Warning_. BE NOT MANY TEACHERS. The warning is parallel to that of our Lord in Matthew 23:8, _seq._,_ _"Be not ye called Rabbi; for one is your Teacher [διδάσκαλος,_ _and not, a

CAN THE FIG TREE, MY BRETHREN, BEAR OLIVE BERRIES?.... Every tree bears fruit, according to its kind; a fig tree produces figs, and an olive tree olive berries; a fig tree does not produce olive berries, or an olive tree figs; and neither of them both: EITHER A VINE, FIGS? or fig trees, grapes; or either of them, figs and grapes: SO CAN NO FOUNTAIN BOTH YIELD SALT WATER AND FRESH. The Alexandrian copy reads, "neither can the salt water yield sweet water"; that is, the sea cannot yield sweet or fresh water: the Syriac version renders it, "neither can salt water be made sweet": but naturalists say, it may be made sweet, by being strained through sand: the design of these similes is to observe how absurd a thing it is that a man should both bless and curse with his tongue....

JAMES 3:12 ou;te a`luko,n {B} Many witnesses, including a C2 K L P 049 056 0142 81 104 1739 itff vg syrp, h with * copbo _al,_ add ou[twj before the negative. Since, however, it was natural for copyists to add such a word to enhance the comparison, and since it is absent from such early and important witnesses as A B C* 88 2492txt syrh copsa arm, the Committee preferred the shorter reading. Still less likely to be original is the expansion in the Textus Receptus, which after ou[twj continues ouvdemi,a phgh. a`luko.n kai,, with K (P) 049 056 0142 104 614 917....

III. THE EVILS OF THE TONGUE CORRECTED CHAPTER 3 _ 1. The tongue and its work (James 3:1)_ 2. The wisdom which is earthly and the wisdom that is from above (James 3:13) James 3:1 The practical character of this Epistle is still more evidenced by the contents of this chapter. The tongue is the member of the human body which is made prominent. The human tongue is a great and wonderful gift of the Creator; with which no other earthly creature is endowed. It is written: “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” It therefore reveals the real ‘condition of the heart and by what it is governed. The opening verse exhorts to caution as to teaching: “My brethren, be not many teachers, knowi

Do not crowd into the ranks of the teachers, my brothers. You know that we teachers shall be judged more severely than other men; and there are many things in which all of us stumble. This leads to the discussion of the snare of speech, into which those who talk much are peculiarly liable to fall. The words rendered now if (James 3:3) should be taken as one word meaning see, and the conjunction for inserted. Now with horses, for example, it is in their mouths, look you, that we put the bit when we want them to obey us. In James 3:4 the word impulse may be the pressure of the steersman's hand on the tiller. To the small bridle and the small rudder the tongue is compared as an insignificant part of man's equipment, but one that can boast of great power. See what a spark it takes to kindle what a mass of wood! And the tongue is fire

THE TEACHER'S PERIL (James 3:1) _ 3:1 My brothers, it is a mistake for many of you to become teachers, for you must be well aware that those of us who teach will receive a greater condemnation._ In the early church the teachers were of first rate importance Wherever they are mentioned, they are mentioned with honour. In the Church at Antioch they are ranked with the prophets who sent out Paul and Barnabas on the first missionary journey (Acts 13:1). In Paul's list of those who hold great gifts within the Church they come second only to the apostles and to the prophets (1 Corinthians 12:28; compare Ephesians 4:11)