Bible Study on the Epistle of James; Prepared by Kirby Williams
Study Sheet #20. James 3:9-12 - The Forked Tongue.
Memory verse: James 3:10 "From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers,these things ought not to be so."-ESV
1. James concludes his warnings concerning the tongue by pointing out one of its worst qualities. This has been a theme of his throughout the letter, and something he warns us against in all of its manifestations. What is it? (Read James 1:8 to help you with your answer).
2. Verse 9 helps us understand the reason for this.
a. James points out 2 opposing things done with the tongue. What are they?
b. What does it mean to "bless" God in a biblical sense?
c. What does it mean to "curse" someone in a biblical sense?
d. Why does James tell us that this abuse of the tongue is so terrible?
3. Why do you think James repeats his argument of vs. 9 in vs. 10?
4. According to Christ, where do the words that come out of the mouth originate? (Read Matt 15:11,17-20 to help you with your answer)
5. If both blessing and curse come from the same source, what does this say about the source?
6. The literal translation for the last phrase in verse 10 is: "it is not necessary that these things should happen in this way". Using this literal translation,
a. What does it say about the inevitability of taming the tongue?
b. If the tongue is to be tamed, who do you think will tame it?
c. What then should be our plan for taming the tongue?
7. In verse 11-12, James hammers his point home with 3 illustrations.
a. What are the illustrations?
b. What do you notice grammatically about all three illustrations?
c. Why do you think James fashioned his statements this way?
8. Put yourself in the shoes of an ancient Palestinian, living in or near desert regions.
a. How important do you think sweet-water springs were to the people of Palestine?
b. What would happen to the community if a spring that had always produced sweet, drinkable water suddenly became bitter?
c. How does this illustration enrich James' discussion of the tongue?
9. James pulls the second illustration from a common agricultural understanding concerning the fruit of trees and plants.
a. What do the plants in the second illustration do that neither of the other illustrations are capable of.
b. According to this illustration, is it possible for the same plant to produce both kinds of fruit?
c. Therefore, if a plant looks like an olive tree, but produces grapes--what does it say about the plant?
d. Following the same reasoning, is it possible for the same tongue to produce both curses and blessings?
e. Therefore, if the tongue produces curses, what does it say about the blessings the same tongue produces?
10. The NIV translates the third illustration as "salt spring" while the ESV translates it "salt pond" and the NAS95 translates it "salt water". The actual Greek is merely the word for "salt".
a. If either the ESV or NAS95 translations are used, what is different from this illustration and the one in verse 11?
b. What does this say about the condition of the person who utters curses with a forked tongue.
11. There are few places in Scripture that approach a subject so emphatically as James does the tongue in these verses. Yet for most of us the tongue remains a huge problem. List some ways that you think we might better control our tongues and thereby be more Godly men.
**All quotations are taken from the English Standard Version of the Bible unless otherwise noted.