By his sovereign plan he gave us birth ¹  through the message of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

Look at ships too: Though they are so large and driven by harsh winds, they are steered by a tiny rudder wherever the pilot’s inclination directs.

So too the tongue is a small part of the body, ¹  yet it has great pretensions. ²  Think ³  how small a flame sets a huge forest ablaze.

Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct he should show his works done in the gentleness that wisdom brings. ¹ 

But he gives greater grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.” ¹ 

But the one who peers into the perfect law of liberty and fixes his attention there, ¹  and does not become a forgetful listener but one who lives it out – he ²  will be blessed in what he does. ³ 

But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” ¹  Show me your faith without works and I will show you faith by ²  my works.

And the tongue is a fire! The tongue represents ¹  the world of wrongdoing among the parts of our bodies. It ²  pollutes the entire body and sets fire to the course of human existence – and is set on fire by hell. ³ 

Do not speak against one another, brothers and sisters. ¹  He who speaks against a fellow believer ²  or judges a fellow believer speaks against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but its judge. ³