James 3:11

11 Does a spring pour out sweet and bitter water from the same opening?

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 it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men who are made in God's likeness.

10 Out of the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things should not be this way.

11 Does a spring pour out sweet and bitter water from the same opening?

12 Can a fig tree produce olives, my brothers, or a grapevine [produce] figs? Neither can a saltwater spring yield fresh water.

13 Who is wise and understanding among you? He should show his works by good conduct with wisdom's gentleness.