King James Version

James 3:5

Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!

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The KJV’s Greek text (Textus Receptus) does not include “a great” (ἡλίκον) before fire here. The KJV’s Greek text (Textus Receptus) adds “a little” (ὀλίγον) before fire here. The KJV’s Greek text (Textus Receptus) word order differs here.

οὕτωςhoutōssoοὕτω(ς)adverb — “so”G3779thus, so, in this manner.soκαὶkaiandκαίadverb — “and”G2532and, even, also, namely.This verse uses “and”.andἡhētheὁ (ho)article, nominative, singular, feminine — “the”, the subject formG3588the, the definite article.γλῶσσαglōssatongueγλῶσσαnoun, nominative, singular, feminine — “tongue”, the subject formG1100the tongue, a language, a nation (usually distinguished by their speech).μικρὸνmikronsmallμικρός (mikros)adjective, nominative, singular, neuter — “small”, the subject formG3398little, small.This verse uses “small”.μέλοςmelosmemberμέλοςnoun, nominative, singular, neuter — “member”, the subject formG3196a bodily organ, limb, member.This verse uses “member”.ἐστὶνestinto beεἰμί (eimi)verb, present active indicative, 3rd person singular — “to be”, an ongoing or repeated actionG1510I am, exist.καὶkaiandκαίconjunction — “and”G2532and, even, also, namely.This verse uses “and”.μεγάλαmegalagreatμέγας (megas)adjective, accusative, plural, neuter — “great”, the object formG3173large, great, in the widest sense.This verse uses “great”.αὐχεῖaucheiboasteth great thingsαὐχέω (aucheō)verb, present active indicative, 3rd person singular — “boasteth great things”, an ongoing or repeated actionG6094to boastboasteth great thingsἸδοὺidouBeholdἰδούparticle — “Behold”G2400See! Lo! Behold! Look!.Beholdἡλίκονhēlikonhow greatἡλίκος (hēlikos)interrogative or indefinite pronoun, nominative, singular, neuter — “how great”, the subject formG2245of which size, of what size, how small, how much.how greatπῦρpurfireπῦρnoun, nominative, singular, neuter — “fire”, the subject formG4442fire; the heat of the sun, lightning; fig: strife, trials; the eternal fire.This verse uses “fire”.fireἡλίκηνhēlikēnhow greatἡλίκος (hēlikos)interrogative or indefinite pronoun, accusative, singular, feminine — “how great”, the object formG2245of which size, of what size, how small, how much.ὕληνhulēnforestὕλη (hulē)noun, accusative, singular, feminine — “forest”, the object formG5208wood, fuel.ἀνάπτειanapteikindlethἀνάπτω (anaptō)verb, present active indicative, 3rd person singular — “kindleth”, an ongoing or repeated actionG381I kindle, set on fire, light.kindleth

Textus Receptus Words Not in the SBL Text

ὀλίγονoligona littleὀλίγος (oligos)interrogative or indefinite pronoun, nominative, singular, neuter — “a little”, the subject formG3641(a) especially in plur: few, (b) in sing: small; hence, of time: short, of degree: light, slight, little.

Literal (Young’s Literal Translation)

so also the tongue is a little member, and doth boast greatly; lo, a little fire how much wood it doth kindle!

Compare Public-Domain Translations

The King James Version remains the text of this page and the canonical URL.

American Standard Version (1901)

So the tongue also is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how much wood is kindled by how small a fire!

Young’s Literal Translation

so also the tongue is a little member, and doth boast greatly; lo, a little fire how much wood it doth kindle!

World English Bible

So the tongue is also a little member, and boasts great things. See how a small fire can spread to a large forest!

Darby Translation

Thus also the tongue is a little member, and boasts great things. See how little a fire, how large a wood it kindles!

Douay-Rheims

Even so the tongue is indeed a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold how small a fire kindleth a great wood.

American Standard Version (1901)

Young’s Literal Translation

World English Bible

Darby Translation

Douay-Rheims

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