“And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.” (James 3:6)
Some of the words used in this verse have meanings that are not evident to us. Understanding exactly what is being said brings new light and much deeper meaning to the verse.
For example, the phrase, “the course of nature” that is used
The word “course” comes from the Greek “Trochos” (Tra-Hass) and means wheel. It is used metaphorically as the wheel of life.

The word, “nature” comes from the word, “Genesis” (Gen Is Sis) and means source or origin. The word is used to describe a book of one's lineage or birth.

So the phrase, “Course of nature” is a reference to the wheel of life, that effects not only our life, but the lives of our children and their children and so on.

The tongue is described as a world of iniquity, or in other words, injustice and unrighteousness. Notice that the tongue is not described as a world of sin, but rather what is unfair and inequitable, void of things justifiable and virtuous. This is not sin of lust and desire, but of darkness and evil.
The tongue while being a small part of the body, is capable of destroying the entire body. And the life there of.

As King Solomon said in Proverbs 18:21, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.”

The tongue is a part of the body collective, a small part, but a most dangerous part. Look how the preceding verse, James Chapter 3 verse 5 describes it.

“Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!”

The word, “matter” from the phrase, “how great a matter a little fire kindleth!” comes from the Greek word “hyle” (Hoo-Lay) and it means a forest or woods. This brings new meaning to the verse. It is saying that the tongue, it’s just a little thing, but it can set the entire forest on fire!
So here we have the tongue that can, “defileth the whole body”. But worse it, “setteth on fire the course of nature”-In other words the wheel of life, our life and that fFrom generation to generation! What we say, what comes out of our mouth not only defiles us, but can ruin our entire life. It can ruin the lives of our children and their children. It is napalm that scorches our world and ignites it to a Hellish pitch.

Jesus said, “Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.” (Matthew 15:11)
That little tongue of ours, “it is set on fire of hell.”

The word “Hell” as it used here has both Hebrew and Aramaic origins and is pronounced, “geenna” (Geh Heh Nah). This was originally the Valley of Hinnom which was located just south of Jerusalem. This was a dumping ground for the dead and disgusting and then burned. The fire never burned completely out. It was a perpetual burn, and a most real image for Hell.

Now what we are about to talk about gets rather gruesome. The Valley of Hinnom was used by the Canaanites as a place to sacrifice and burn their own children alive to their god’s Moloch and Baal. Tophet, meaning a place of fire, was a section of the Valley of Hinnom where they did their sacrifices.

The Valley of Hinnom and Tophet were actual places. It was a rocky gorge that burned continuously, the fire never burned out. The dead were dumped there. Children and animals were sacrificed there. It was a very real, Hell on earth. This is the how the tongue is described. This is what the tongue, our tongue can do! This is the effects of what we say on our self, on our lives, and the lives of our children and grandchildren.

We need to think long, hard, and very seriously about this. We can ignite Hell fire that perpetually burns by the words that we speak. Should we not at least pause, and check our soul and check our spirit, and check our thoughts and emotions before we open our mouth?

Bill Hitchcock