“My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.”
King James Version (KJV)
3:1 Be not many teachers - Let no more of you take this upon you than God thrusts out; seeing it is so hard not to offend in speaking much. Knowing that we - That all who thrust themselves into the office. Shall receive greater condemnation - For more offences. St. James here, as in several of the following verses, by a common figure of speech, includes himself: we shall receive, - we offend, - we put bits, - we curse - None of which, as common sense shows, are to be interpreted either of him or of the other apostles.
Jas 3:1 The Control of the Tongue SUMMARY OF JAMES 3: Aspiring to Teachership. The Power of the Tongue. Its Untamable Nature. Its Contradictory Uses. Wisdom Shown in Its Proper Control. The Wisdom from Above Described. My brethren, be not many masters. Do not many of you seek to be teachers. The office of public teaching in the church is meant. Knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. Those who profess to teach others will be judged more strictly than those of humbler professions. See Mt 7:1. Of those who have much, much is required. See Lu 12:48. A lesson is to be given on the tongue. He who teaches will be held strictly to account for the manner in which he uses it.