James 3:11

11 Do clean and polluted water flow out of the same spring?

James 3:11 Meaning and Commentary

James 3:11

Doth a fountain send forth at the same place
"Or hole"; for at divers places, and at different times, as Pliny ^F13 observes, it may send forth

sweet [water] and bitter:
and it is reported ^F14, there is a lake with the Trogloditae, a people in Ethiopia, which becomes thrice a day bitter, and then as often sweet; but then it does not yield sweet water and bitter at the same time: this simile is used to show how unnatural it is that blessing and cursing should proceed out of the same mouth.

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FOOTNOTES:

F13 Nat. Hist. l. 2. c. 103.
F14 Isodor. Hispal. Originum, l. 13. c. 13. p. 115.

James 3:11 In-Context

9 With our tongues we praise our Lord and Father. Yet, with the same tongues we curse people, who were created in God's likeness.

10 Praise and curses come from the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, this should not happen!

11 Do clean and polluted water flow out of the same spring?

12 My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree produce olives? Can a grapevine produce figs? In the same way, a pool of salt water can't produce fresh water.

13 Do any of you have wisdom and insight? Show this by living the right way with the humility that comes from wisdom.