3:7 Human beings have brought all the major forms of animal life under control. For example, people have taught lions, tigers, and monkeys to jump through hoops. They have taught parrots and canaries to speak and sing. They have charmed snakes. They have trained dolphins and whales to perform various tricks and tasks. The ancients took pride in the ability of humans to tame and control the animal kingdom.138"Tamed"is perhaps too strong a word. "Subdued"might be a better translation of the Greek word (damazo).
3:8 Apart from the Holy Spirit's help no human being has ever been able to tame his or her own tongue. It is much more dangerous than any deadly animal because it never rests, and it can destroy simply with words. Fire, animals, and the tongue all have power to destroy(cf. v. 5).
