Common English Bible

James 3:8-17 Common English Bible (CEB)

8. No one can tame the tongue, though. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

9. With it we both bless the Lord and Father and curse human beings made in God’s likeness.

10. Blessing and cursing come from the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, it just shouldn’t be this way!

11. Both fresh water and salt water don’t come from the same spring, do they?

12. My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree produce olives? Can a grapevine produce figs? Of course not, and fresh water doesn’t flow from a saltwater spring either.

13. Are any of you wise and understanding? Show that your actions are good with a humble lifestyle that comes from wisdom.

14. However, if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, then stop bragging and living in ways that deny the truth.

15. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above. Instead, it is from the earth, natural and demonic.

16. Wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there is disorder and everything that is evil.

17. What of the wisdom from above? First, it is pure, and then peaceful, gentle, obedient, filled with mercy and good actions, fair, and genuine.