James 3:11 kjv
Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?
James 3:11 nkjv
Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening?
James 3:11 niv
Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?
James 3:11 esv
Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water?
James 3:11 nlt
Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water?
James 3 11 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Gen 1:26 | Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image... | Humans made in God's image; cursing them affronts God. |
| Ps 19:14 | May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD... | Desire for pure and acceptable speech to God. |
| Ps 51:10 | Create in me a pure heart, O God... | The need for a pure heart, the source of good words. |
| Ps 62:4 | From their mouths they bless, but in their hearts they curse. | Highlights the hypocrisy of duplicitous speech. |
| Prov 4:23 | Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. | Emphasizes the heart as the true source of all actions and words. |
| Prov 10:20 | The tongue of the righteous is choice silver, but the heart of the wicked is of little worth. | Contrast between valuable righteous speech and worthless wicked words. |
| Prov 18:21 | The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. | The immense and serious power of words to edify or destroy. |
| Isa 12:3 | With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. | Metaphorical use of pure water for divine blessing and life. |
| Jer 17:9-10 | The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure... I the LORD search the heart... | Reveals the heart as the inner wellspring needing divine inspection. |
| Matt 7:16-20 | By their fruit you will recognize them... | Consistent outcomes from a consistent source or character. |
| Matt 12:33-37 | Make a tree good and its fruit will be good... for a tree is recognized by its fruit. | Deeds and words (fruit) reveal the true inner nature (tree). |
| Mark 7:20-23 | He went on to say, “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come... | Reinforces the heart as the primary source of all speech, good or evil. |
| Luke 6:43-45 | A good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit... | Reiterates that external production reveals internal character. |
| Rom 3:13-14 | "Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit."... "Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness." | Depicts the corrupt and bitter nature of unredeemed speech. |
| Rom 12:14 | Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. | Exhortation for believers to consistently bless others, even enemies. |
| Eph 4:29 | Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up... | Instructs believers to use only edifying and constructive speech. |
| Col 4:6 | Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. | Encourages speech that is always grace-filled and wise. |
| Jas 1:26 | Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves... | The control of the tongue as a fundamental indicator of genuine religion. |
| Jas 3:9-10 | With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. | The immediate preceding verses highlight the direct contradiction this verse addresses. |
| 1 Pet 3:10 | For “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech.” | Links control of the tongue to living a good and blessed life. |
| Rev 21:6 | I will give to the thirsty a drink from the spring of the water of life without payment. | Symbolism of pure, life-giving water freely given by God. |
James 3 verses
James 3 11 Meaning
James 3:11 poses a rhetorical question, expecting a clear negative answer: "Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh water and bitter?" This verse highlights the fundamental principle of natural consistency, applying it metaphorically to human speech. Just as a physical source in nature cannot simultaneously yield two opposing substances—sweet, life-sustaining water and foul, bitter water—so too a person, whose words flow from their heart, should not produce contradictory speech. The verse asserts the absurdity and spiritual impossibility of using the same mouth to both praise God and curse fellow human beings made in God's image (as noted in the preceding verses, James 3:9-10). It emphasizes that true faith and spiritual integrity require consistency between inward disposition and outward expression, particularly concerning the tongue's output.
James 3 11 Context
James 3:11 is deeply embedded within James's extended discourse on the control of the tongue (James 3:1-12), a pivotal section highlighting the profound and often destructive power of human speech. This verse functions as a powerful natural illustration following James's explicit condemnation of using the same mouth to praise God and curse human beings (James 3:9-10). The immediate context establishes the inconsistency as morally and spiritually untenable. The broader context of the letter emphasizes practical Christianity and the outworking of true faith through righteous deeds. James often uses vivid analogies from nature and daily life to drive home his spiritual lessons, resonating with a largely Jewish-Christian audience familiar with the vital importance of springs and water in the arid landscape of ancient Palestine. The very notion of a single source producing opposing qualities (fresh vs. bitter water) would be understood as an undeniable anomaly, thus bolstering James’s argument against spiritual inconsistency.
James 3 11 Word analysis
- Does: This interrogative word introduces a rhetorical question, designed to evoke a universally recognized "no" as the obvious answer, thereby reinforcing the speaker's point by appeal to common knowledge or natural law.
- a spring: (Greek: πηγή, pēgē) Refers to a natural fountain, source, or well of water. In ancient contexts, springs were essential life sources, implying consistency and fundamental origin for whatever flowed from them.
- pour forth: (Greek: βρύει, bryei) Meaning to gush, to spout, to cause to flow, to send forth abundantly. This verb suggests a consistent and substantial emanation, not just an occasional drip.
- from the same opening: (Greek: τῆς αὐτῆς ὀπῆς, tēs autēs opēs) Literally "of the same hole/eye." This phrase stresses the singularity of the source. It underscores that it is biologically and naturally impossible for one point of origin to yield fundamentally different substances simultaneously.
- both fresh water: (Greek: γλυκὺ ὕδωρ, glyky hydōr) Refers to sweet, pleasant, and potable water, which is life-giving and beneficial. Metaphorically, this represents wholesome, edifying, or divine speech, words of blessing, and praise to God.
- and bitter: (Greek: πικρόν, pikron) Describes something acrid, pungent, or poisonous. This contrasts sharply with "fresh water." Symbolically, it refers to harsh, cursing, destructive, or defiling words aimed at others.
- "Does a spring pour forth from the same opening": This phrase sets up the powerful argument from nature's order. It suggests an inherent design where a single source maintains consistency in its output. The natural world, created by God, embodies order and distinction; mixed output from one source is contrary to this established order. This emphasizes the absurdity of spiritual inconsistency.
- "both fresh water and bitter": This stark pairing highlights an absolute spiritual and moral dichotomy. "Fresh water" symbolizes life, purity, and spiritual nourishment through speech, while "bitter" signifies spiritual poison, harm, and unholiness. The inability for both to flow from the same opening points to a deeper issue of spiritual integrity: a truly renewed heart, from which words flow, should not be a mixed well of blessing and cursing.
- The entire verse, structured as a rhetorical question, aims to demonstrate the illogical and unnatural nature of praising God and cursing fellow humans from the same mouth, compelling the reader to acknowledge the spiritual contradiction that true faith must rectify.
James 3 11 Bonus section
This verse is a prime example of James's affinity for wisdom literature, where truth is often conveyed through sharp rhetorical questions, practical analogies, and appeals to observed reality, similar to the style found in the Book of Proverbs or Ecclesiastes. It connects strongly with the broader New Testament teaching that the mouth speaks what the heart is full of (Matt 12:34). James subtly argues for a spiritual integrity where external conduct (speech) directly reflects internal character. The "unnatural" behavior implied by the rhetorical question also hints at the "unspiritual" or "demonic" wisdom described later in James 3:15, contrasting it with the "wisdom from above" (James 3:17) which is pure and peace-loving. This verse thus lays foundational ground for distinguishing genuine, consistent Christian living from mere outward profession.
James 3 11 Commentary
James 3:11 serves as a profound and concise illustration reinforcing the principle of consistency that should govern a believer's speech. Following his exposition on the tongue's disproportionate power (James 3:1-8) and the explicit hypocrisy of praising God while cursing humanity (James 3:9-10), James presents this undeniable natural law. He posits that just as a physical spring cannot naturally produce two entirely opposite types of water from the same source, so a true spiritual life cannot authentically issue both blessing and cursing from the same heart, expressed through the tongue. The rhetorical nature of the question expects an obvious "no," thereby exposing the spiritual incongruity and absurdity of such double-mindedness in speech. This indicates that genuine spiritual life necessitates congruence between inner disposition and outward expression. Our words are not merely superficial but are tell-tale signs of the heart's true condition. When one claims to be a source of blessing for God yet concurrently a source of bitterness towards others, it reveals an inconsistency that undermines the authenticity of their faith.