3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses that they may obey us, we guide their whole bodies.
4 Look at the ships also; though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs.
5 So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!
6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of evil among the members of the body. The tongue corrupts our whole person, sets the whole course of our life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
7 For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race.
8 But no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.