en_tn/jas/03/05.md

## translationWords

* [[en:tw:boast]]
* [[en:tw:defile]]
* [[en:tw:hell]]
* [[en:tw:sin]]

## translationNotes

* **Likewise** - "In the same way." This compares the tongue to the horses' bits and the ships' rudders in the previous verses.
* **boasts great things** - "a person can use it to speak very evil things"
* **Notice how great** - "Think about how great"
* **how great a forest is kindled by a spark!** - This can be translated as an active clause: "a small flame can start a fire that burns many trees!" (See:[[en:ta:vol2:translate:figs_activepassive]])
* **tongue is also a fire** - Just as a fire consumes and destroys all it burns, the tongue, referring to what a person says (metonymy) can deeply hurt people (metaphor). Alternate translation: "the tongue is like a fire." (See: [[en:ta:vol1:translate:figs_metaphor]] and [[en:ta:vol2:translate:figs_metonymy]])
* **a world of sinfulness set among our body parts** - Alternate translation: "It is a small part of our body but it is capable of sinning in all kinds of ways."
* **which defiles the whole body** - This can be translated as a new sentence. "It can make us completely unpleasing to God" or "It can make us unacceptable to God."
* **and sets on fire the road of life** - The phrase "road of life" is a metaphor that refers to a person's entire life. This could be translated as "and it can ruin a person's entire life."
* **and itself is set on fire by hell** - The word "itself" refers to the tongue. Also, here "hell" is a metonym that refers to the powers of evil or to the Devil. This could be translated as an active clause: "because the Devil uses it for evil."