James 3:6

“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,…”

“Translate, "The tongue, that world of iniquity, is a fire." As man's little world is an image of the greater world, the universe, so the tongue is an image of the former [BENGEL]. so--omitted in the oldest authorities. is--literally, "is constituted." "The tongue is (constituted), among the members, the one which defileth," &c. (namely, as fire defiles with its smoke). course of nature--"the orb (cycle) of creation." setteth on fire . . . is set on fire--habitually and continually. While a man inflames others, he passes out of his own power, being consumed in the flame himself. of hell--that is, of the devil. Greek, "Gehenna"; found here only and in Mat 5:22. James has much in common with…”

“And the tongue is a fire - In this sense, that it produces a “blaze,” or a great conflagration. It produces a disturbance and an agitation that may be compared with the conflagration often produced by a spark. A world of iniquity - A little world of evil in itself. This is a very expressive phrase, and is similar to one which we often employ, as when we speak of a town as being a world in miniature. We mean by it that it is an epitome of the world; that all that there is in the world is represented there on a small scale. So when the tongue is spoken of as being “a world of iniquity,” it is meant that all kinds of evil that are in the world are exhibited there in miniature; it seems to…”

“A world of iniquity - Containing an immense quantity of all manner of wickedness. It defileth - As fire by its smoke. The whole body - The whole man. And setteth on fire the course of nature - All the passions, every wheel of his soul. James 3:7”

“3:6 It is a whole world of wickedness: The tongue acts as an agent of the whole unrighteous world opposed to God (1:27; 4:4). • hell itself: Greek Gehenna, the place of eternal punishment (Matt 5:22, 30; 23:15), in contrast to Hades, the abode of the dead (Luke 16:23; Acts 2:31). The reference to hell is an allusion to the devil (Jas 4:7; Matt 5:22; John 8:44) as the ultimate source of evil speech.”

“the tongue: Jdg 12:4-6; Sa2 19:43, Sa2 20:1; Ch2 10:13-16, Ch2 13:17; Psa 64:3, Psa 140:3; Pro 15:1, Pro 16:27, Pro 26:20, Pro 26:21; Isa 30:27 a world: Jam 2:7; Gen 3:4-6; Lev 24:11; Num 25:2, Num 31:16; Deu 13:6; Jdg 16:15-20; Sa1 22:9-17; Sa2 13:26-29, Sa2 15:2-6, Sa2 16:20-23, Sa2 17:1, Sa2 17:2; Kg1 21:5-15; Pro 1:10-14, Pro 6:19, Pro 7:5, Pro 7:21-23; Jer 20:10, Jer 28:16; Mat 12:24, Mat 12:32-36; Mat 15:11-20; Mar 7:15, Mar 7:20-22, Mar 14:55-57; Act 6:13, Act 20:30; Rom 3:13, Rom 3:14; Rom 16:17, Rom 16:18; Eph 5:3, Eph 5:4; Col 3:8, Col 3:9; Th2 2:10-12; Tit 1:11; Pe2 2:1, Pe2 2:2; Pe2 3:3; Jo3 1:10; Jde 1:8-10, Jde 1:15-18; Rev 2:14, Rev 2:15, Rev 13:1-5, Rev 13:14, Rev 18:23; Rev…”