John Gill's Bible Commentary Ver. 6. And the tongue is a fire , etc.] It is like to fire, very useful in its place, to warm and comfort; so is the tongue in Christian conversation, and in the ministry of the word; the hearts of God's children burn within them, while they are talking together, and while the Scriptures of truth are opening to them; but as fire should be carefully watched, and kept, so should men take heed to their ways, that they sin not with their tongue, and keep their tongue from evil, and their lips from speaking guile; for as fire kindles and rises up into a flame, so unchaste, angry, and passionate words, stir up the flame of lust, anger, envy, and revenge; and as fire is of a spreading nature, so are lies, scandal, and evil reports vented by the tongue; and as fire devours all that comes in its way, such are the words of an evil tongue; and therefore are called devouring words, ( Psalm 52:4) they devour the good names of men, and corrupt their good manners, and destroy those who make use of them; and what wood is to fire, and coals to burning coals, that are whisperers, tale bearers, backbiters, and contentious persons to strife, ( Proverbs 26:20,21) a world of iniquity ; that is, as the world is full of things, and full of sin, for it lies in wickedness, so is the tongue full of iniquity; there is a world of it in it; it abounds with it; it cannot well be said how much sin is in it, and done, or occasioned by it; as blasphemy against God, Father, Son, and Spirit; cursing of men, imprecations on themselves, their souls, and bodies, and on others, with a multitude of profane and dreadful oaths; obscene, filthy, and unchaste words; angry, wrathful, and passionate ones; lies, flatteries, reproaches, backbitings, whisperings, tale bearings, etc. And the Jews say, that he that uses an evil tongue multiplies transgression, and that it is equal to idolatry, adultery, and murder f32 , and the cause of all sin; and which they express by way of fable, in this manner f33 : when Adam sinned, God laid hold on him, and slit his tongue into two parts, and said unto him, the wickedness which is, or shall be in the world, thou hast begun with an evil tongue; wherefore I will make all that come into the world know that thy tongue is the cause of all this.
The Syriac version renders this clause thus, and the world of iniquity is as wood; or the branch of a tree; the tongue is fire, and a wicked world is fuel to it. So is the tongue amongst our members, that it defileth the whole body : the body politic, a whole nation, filling it with contention, strife, division, and confusion; and the ecclesiastical body, the church, by sowing discord, fomenting animosities, making parties, and spreading errors and heresies, whereby the temple of God is defiled; and the natural body, and the several members of it, even the whole person of a man, soul and body, bringing upon him a blot of infamy and reproach never to be wiped off; as for instance, the vice of the tongue, lying, does; and oftentimes through the tongue, the actions done in the body, which seem good, are quite spoiled: and setteth on fire the course of nature , or wheel of nature: the natural body, as before, in which there is a continual rotation or circulation of the blood, by which it is supported; this is the wheel broken at the cistern at death, in ( Ecclesiastes 12:6) or the course of a man's life and actions, yea, of all generations, and the vicissitudes and changes which have happened in them, on which the tongue has a great influence; and so the Syriac version renders it, and sets on fire the series of our genealogies, or our generations, which run like wheels: or it may intend the frame of nature, the whole fabric of the universe, and the general conflagration of it, which will be owing to the tongue; or because men's tongues are against the Lord, to provoke the eyes of his glory, because of the hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Christ and his people, of which they will be convinced by flames of fire about them: and it is set on fire of hell ; that is, by the devil; for as heaven sometimes is put for God, who dwells in heaven, ( Matthew 21:25 Luke 15:18) so hell is put for the devil, whose habitation it is; (see Matthew 16:18), and the sense is, that the tongue is influenced, instigated, and stirred up by Satan, to speak many evil things, and it will be hereafter set on fire in hell, as the tongue of the rich man in ( Luke 16:24). To which purpose are those words of the Talmud f34 ; whoever uses an evil tongue, the holy blessed God says to hell, I concerning him above, and thou concerning him below, will judge him, as it is said, ( <19C003> Psalm 120:3,4). What shall be done to thee, thou false tongue? sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper, there is no arrow but the tongue, according to ( Jeremiah 9:8) and there is no mighty one but God, ( Isaiah 42:13) coals of juniper, nhyg wnyyh , these are hell.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-12 - We are taught to dread an unruly tongue, as one of the greatest evils The affairs of mankind are thrown into confusion by the tongues of men Every age of the world, and every condition of life, private or public affords examples of this. Hell has more to do in promoting the fire of the tongue than men generally think; and whenever men's tongues ar employed in sinful ways, they are set on fire of hell. No man can tam the tongue without Divine grace and assistance. The apostle does no represent it as impossible, but as extremely difficult. Other sin decay with age, this many times gets worse; we grow more froward an fretful, as natural strength decays, and the days come on in which we have no pleasure. When other sins are tamed and subdued by the infirmities of age, the spirit often grows more tart, nature being drawn down to the dregs, and the words used become more passionate That man's tongue confutes itself, which at one time pretends to ador the perfections of God, and to refer all things to him; and at anothe time condemns even good men, if they do not use the same words an expressions. True religion will not admit of contradictions: how man sins would be prevented, if men would always be consistent! Pious an edifying language is the genuine produce of a sanctified heart; an none who understand Christianity, expect to hear curses, lies boastings, and revilings from a true believer's mouth, any more tha they look for the fruit of one tree from another. But facts prove tha more professors succeed in bridling their senses and appetites, than i duly restraining their tongues. Then, depending on Divine grace, let u take heed to bless and curse not; and let us aim to be consistent in our words and actions.
Greek Textus Receptus
και 2532 CONJ η 3588 T-NSF γλωσσα 1100 N-NSF πυρ 4442 N-NSN ο 3588 T-NSM κοσμος 2889 N-NSM της 3588 T-GSF αδικιας 93 N-GSF ουτως 3779 ADV η 3588 T-NSF γλωσσα 1100 N-NSF καθισταται 2525 5743 V-PPI-3S εν 1722 PREP τοις 3588 T-DPN μελεσιν 3196 N-DPN ημων 2257 P-1GP η 3588 T-NSF σπιλουσα 4695 5723 V-PAP-NSF ολον 3650 A-ASN το 3588 T-ASN σωμα 4983 N-ASN και 2532 CONJ φλογιζουσα 5394 5723 V-PAP-NSF τον 3588 T-ASM τροχον 5164 N-ASM της 3588 T-GSF γενεσεως 1078 N-GSF και 2532 CONJ φλογιζομενη 5394 5746 V-PPP-NSF υπο 5259 PREP της 3588 T-GSF γεεννης 1067 N-GSF
Vincent's NT Word Studies
6. World of iniquity (kosmov thv adikiav). Kosmov, primarily, means order, and is applied to the world or universe as an orderly system. A world of iniquity is an organism containing within itself all evil essence, which from it permeates the entire man. World is used in the same sense as in the latter part of Prov. xvii. 6 (Sept.), which is not given in the A.V. "The trusty hath the whole world of things, but the faithless not a groat." Is the tongue (kaqistatai). This differs a little from the simple is, though it is not easy to render it accurately. The verb means to appoint, establish, institute, and is used of the tongue as having an appointed and definite place in a system (among our members). It might be rendered hath its place.Defileth (spilousa). Lit., defiling. Only here and Jude 23. See on 2 Peter ii. 13.
Setteth on fire (flogizousa). Lit., setting on fire. Only in this verse in New Testament.
The course of nature (trocon thv genesewv). A very obscure passage. Trocov (only here in New Testament), from trecw, to run, applies generally to anything round or circular which runs or rolls, as a wheel or sphere. Hence, often a wheel. Used of the circuit of fortifications and of circles or zones of land or sea. From the radical sense, to run, comes the meaning course, as the course of the sun; and from this a place for running, a race-course. Genesewv rendered nature, means origin, beginning, birth, manner of birth, production, and is used by Plato for the creation, or the sum of created things. It also means a race, and a generation or age. In the New Testament it occurs but twice outside of this epistle, viz., at Matt. i. 1, "the book of the generation of Jesus Christ," where the meaning is origin or birth; the birth-book of Jesus Christ. The other passage is Matt. i. 18, according to the best texts, also meaning birth. In Jas. i. 23, as we have seen, proswpon thv genesewv is the face of his birth. We may then safely translate trocov by wheel; and as birth is the meaning of genesiv in every New Testament passage where it occurs, we may give it the preference here and render the wheel of birth - i.e.., the wheel which is set in motion at birth and runs on to the close of life. It is thus a figurative description of human life. So Anacreon: "The chariot-wheel, like life, runs rolling round."
Tertullian says: "The whole revolving wheel of existence bears witness to the resurrection of the dead." The Rev., which gives nature, puts birth in margin. This revolving wheel is kindled by the tongue, and rolls on in destructive blaze. The image is justified by the fact. The tongue works the chief mischief, kindles the most baleful fires in the course of life.
