Jam 3:1-13 | TNotes | STEP | 3:1 Becoming teachers was one way to improve social status in the early church (1 Cor 12:28 ; Eph 4:11 ; 1 Tim 5:17 ; cp. Acts 5:34 ). Such honor would compensate for the shame imposed upon Christians as social outsiders (Jas 2:6-7 ). But the conspicuous role of teachers symbolizes the power of human speech to benefit or harm the church.

3:1 ^a Becoming teachers was one way to improve social status in the early church (1 Cor 12:28 ^b; Eph 4:11 ^c; 1 Tim 5:17 ^d; cp. Acts 5:34 ^e). Such honor would compensate for the shame imposed upon Christians as social outsiders (Jas 2:6-7 ^f). But the conspicuous role of teachers symbolizes the power of human speech to benefit or harm the church.
3:2 ^g we all: James’s primary concern is with the speech of church members as they influence interpersonal relationships (3:9-10 ^h, 14 ⁱ; 4:1-3 ^j).
3:6 ^k It is a whole world of wickedness: The tongue acts as an agent of the whole unrighteous world opposed to God (1:27 ^l; 4:4 ^m).

• hell itself: Greek Gehenna, the place of eternal punishment (Matt 5:22 ⁿ, 30 ^o; 23:15 ^p), in contrast to Hades, the abode of the dead (Luke 16:23 ^q; Acts 2:31 ^r). The reference to hell is an allusion to the devil (Jas 4:7 ^s; Matt 5:22 ^t; John 8:44 ^u) as the ultimate source of evil speech.
3:8 ^v no one can tame the tongue: The tongue has an astonishing capacity for committing evil. If its evil is motivated by hell (3:6 ^w), it certainly cannot be tamed by mere human effort.

• full of deadly poison: This might allude to the serpent in the Garden of Eden (Gen 3:1 ^x), who is identified with the devil (Rev 20:2 ^y).
3:9 ^z praises ... curses: Praising our Lord and Father is the best activity of the tongue, whereas cursing those made in his image is one of the worst, because it is an implicit curse on God himself (Gen 1:26-27 ^aa; 9:6 ^ab).
3:11 ^ac Some springs, especially in the upper sources of the Jordan River, did produce fresh water and bitter water; such brackish springs could not support a town. Similarly, if a person’s speech mixes foul with sweet, it will not build up the community.
3:13 ^ad If you are wise and understand: The wisdom that comes from God (1:5 ^ae) is not mere intellectual skill nor the collection of information, it is practical insight and spiritual understanding which expresses itself in moral uprightness, as described in 3:17-18 ^af (see also Job 28:28 ^ag; Prov 1:2-4 ^ah; 2:10-15 ^ai).