James 3:7

7 We humans are able to tame and have tamed all other creatures - wild animals and birds, reptiles and fish.

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 it is with the tongue: small as it is, it can boast about great things. Just think how large a forest can be set on fire by a tiny flame!

6 And the tongue is like a fire. It is a world of wrong, occupying its place in our bodies and spreading evil through our whole being. It sets on fire the entire course of our existence with the fire that comes to it from hell itself.

7 We humans are able to tame and have tamed all other creatures - wild animals and birds, reptiles and fish.

8 But no one has ever been able to tame the tongue. It is evil and uncontrollable, full of deadly poison.

9 We use it to give thanks to our Lord and Father and also to curse other people, who are created in the likeness of God.