1 Very few of you, my brothers, should become teachers, knowing as you do that it is by a stricter standard that we who teach will be judged. 2 Many, after all, are the ways in which all of us falter. Still, if someone can stay steady in this area—his speech—he is a blameless man, able to keep a tight rein not only on his tongue, but on the rest of his body, too. 3 Now if, in the case of a horse, the bit we place in its mouth, in order to make it obey us, we can direct, too, the rest of its body. 4 Or think of ships: Although they are so large, and thus need very strong winds to drive them along, they are directed by a rudder so small, wherever the person steering the ship decides. 5 So it is, too, with the tongue. Even though it is such a small part of the body, it makes such huge boasts. Consider how even the very tiniest of sparks can set the very largest of forests ablaze! 6 The tongue, too, is itself a spark. The tongue presents itself among the parts of the body as the very symbol of evil—this little part which stains and defiles the whole person and sets fire to the entire course of one’s life, and which is itself set on fire by the flames of Gehenna. 7 All kinds of animals and birds, reptiles and sea creatures, can and have in fact been tamed by mankind. 8 The tongue, however, can be tamed by no member of the human race. It is wild and evil, and full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless and praise our Lord and Father, and with it we call down curses on our fellow human beings, who are made in the very image of God. 10 Praises and curses erupt from the very same mouth! How wrong this is, my brothers and sisters! It should never happen. 11 Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter water from the same opening? No! 12 Can a fig tree produce olives, my brothers and sisters, or a grapevine figs? Of course not! Neither can a salt spring produce water that is fresh.

13 Is there anyone among you who considers himself wise and knowledgeable? Let him prove it by conducting himself in a way that is honorable, by deeds done in the humble and peaceable way characteristic of true wisdom. 14 If, however, you are harboring in your hearts bitter envy and selfish ambition, then stop singing your own praises in defiance of the truth. 15 That kind of “wisdom” doesn’t come down from above, but is merely human, void of the Spirit, demonic. 16 Wherever there is envy and selfish-ambition, you see, there one also finds disorder and every kind of evil practice. 17 The wisdom from above, however, to begin with, is pure, then peaceable, gracious, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, and sincere. 18 A harvest of righteousness, moreover, is the result when peacemakers sow seeds of peace.