James 3:7

7 For every creature-animal or bird, reptile or fish-is tamed and has been tamed by man,

James 3:7 Meaning and Commentary

James 3:7

For every kind of beasts, and of birds
Or the "nature" of them, as it is in the Greek text; however fierce, as beasts of prey are, or shy, as the fowls of the air be:

and of serpents and things in the sea;
the fishes there:

is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind,
or "by human nature": by the wit and industry of man; by the various ways, means, and methods devised by man. So Pliny ^F12 relates, that elephants lions and tigers among beasts, and the eagle among birds, and crocodiles, asps, and other serpents, and fishes of the sea, have been tamed: though some think this is only to be understood of their being mastered and subdued, by one means or another; or of their being despoiled of their power, or of their poison: and the Syriac and Ethiopic versions render it, "subjected to human nature".

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FOOTNOTES:

F12 Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 9. 16, 17. & 10. 5, 44.

James 3:7 In-Context

5 So too, though the tongue is a small part [of the body], it boasts great things. Consider how large a forest a small fire ignites.

6 And the tongue is a fire. The tongue, a world of unrighteousness, is placed among the parts of our [bodies]; it pollutes the whole body, sets the course of life on fire, and is set on fire by hell.

7 For every creature-animal or bird, reptile or fish-is tamed and has been tamed by man,

8 but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

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