James 3:8

“But the tongue can no man tame, etc.] Either his own, or others; not his own, for the man that has the greatest guard upon himself, his words and actions; yet, what through pride or passion, or one lust or another in his heart, at one time or another, bolts out vain, idle, angry, and sinful words: and he that does not may be set down for a perfect man indeed: nor can he tame or restrain the tongues of others from detraction, calumnies, backbitings, and whisperings; who say, their lips are their own, and who is Lord over us? no man can, by his own power and strength, tame or subdue his tongue, or restrain it from evils it is habituated to, be it lying, cursing, swearing, or what else: God, by…”

“no man--literally, "no one of men": neither can a man control his neighbor's, nor even his own tongue. Hence the truth of Jam 3:2 appears. unruly evil--The Greek, implies that it is at once restless and incapable of restraint. Nay, though nature has hedged it in with a double barrier of the lips and teeth, it bursts from its barriers to assail and ruin men [ESTIUS]. deadly--literally, "death-bearing."”

“But the tongue can no man tame - This does not mean that it is never brought under control, but that it is impossible effectually and certainly to subdue it. It would be possible to subdue and domesticate any kind of beasts, but this could not be done with the tongue. It is an unruly evil - An evil without restraint, to which no certain and effectual check can be applied. Of the truth of this no one can have any doubt, who looks at the condition of the world. Full of deadly poison - That is, it acts on the happiness of man, and on the peace of society, as poison does on the human frame. The allusion here seems to be to the bite of a venomous reptile. Compare Psalms 140:3, “They have…”

“But no man can tame the tongue - Of another; no, nor his own, without peculiar help from God. James 3:9”

“3:8 no one can tame the tongue: The tongue has an astonishing capacity for committing evil. If its evil is motivated by hell (3:6), it certainly cannot be tamed by mere human effort. • full of deadly poison: This might allude to the serpent in the Garden of Eden (Gen 3:1), who is identified with the devil (Rev 20:2).”

“an unruly: Jam 3:6; Psa 55:21, Psa 57:4, Psa 59:7, Psa 64:3, Psa 64:4 full: Deu 32:33; Psa 58:4, Psa 140:3; Ecc 10:11; Rom 3:13; Rev 12:9 James 3:9”