KJV: Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?
YLT: doth the fountain out of the same opening pour forth the sweet and the bitter?
Darby: Does the fountain, out of the same opening, pour forth sweet and bitter?
ASV: Doth the fountain send forth from the same opening sweet water and bitter?
| πηγὴ | spring |
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Parse: Noun, Nominative Feminine Singular Root: πηγή Sense: fountain, spring. |
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| ἐκ | out |
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Parse: Preposition Root: ἐκ Sense: out of, from, by, away from. |
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| τῆς | of the |
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Parse: Article, Genitive Feminine Singular Root: ὁ Sense: this, that, these, etc. |
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| αὐτῆς | same |
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Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Feminine 3rd Person Singular Root: αὐτός Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself. |
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| ὀπῆς | opening |
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Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular Root: ὀπή Sense: through which one can see, an opening, an aperture. |
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| βρύει | pours forth |
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Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular Root: βρύω Sense: to abound, gush forth, teem with juices. |
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| τὸ | - |
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Parse: Article, Accusative Neuter Singular Root: ὁ Sense: this, that, these, etc. |
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| γλυκὺ | [both] fresh |
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Parse: Adjective, Accusative Neuter Singular Root: γλυκύς Sense: sweet. |
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| πικρόν | bitter |
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Parse: Adjective, Accusative Neuter Singular Root: πικρός Sense: bitter. |
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Greek Commentary for James 3:11
Old word for spring (John 4:14). [source]
Old word for fissure in the earth, in N.T. only here and Hebrews 11:38 (caves).Send forth (βρυει bruei). Present active indicative of βρυω bruō old verb, to bubble up, to gush forth, here only in N.T. The use of μητι mēti shows that a negative answer is expected in this rhetorical question.The sweet and the bitter Cognate accusatives with βρυει bruei Separate articles to distinguish sharply the two things. The neuter singular articular adjective is a common way of presenting a quality. Γλυκυς Glukus is an old adjective (in N.T. only here and Revelation 10:9.), the opposite of πικρον pikron (from old root, to cut, to prick), in N.T. only here and James 3:14 (sharp, harsh). [source]
Present active indicative of βρυω bruō old verb, to bubble up, to gush forth, here only in N.T. The use of μητι mēti shows that a negative answer is expected in this rhetorical question. [source]
Cognate accusatives with βρυει bruei Separate articles to distinguish sharply the two things. The neuter singular articular adjective is a common way of presenting a quality. Γλυκυς Glukus is an old adjective (in N.T. only here and Revelation 10:9.), the opposite of πικρον pikron (from old root, to cut, to prick), in N.T. only here and James 3:14 (sharp, harsh). [source]
The interrogative particle, μήτι , which begins the sentence, expects a negative answer. Fountain has the article, “the fountain,” generic. See Introduction, on James' local allusions. The Land of Promise was pictured to the Hebrew as a land of springs (Deuteronomy 8:7; Deuteronomy 11:11). “Palestine,” says Dean Stanley, “was the only country where an Eastern could have been familiar with the language of the Psalmsist: 'He sendeth the springs into the valleys which run among the mountains.' Those springs, too, however short-lived, are remarkable for their copiousness and beauty. Not only not in the East, but hardly in the West, can any fountains and sources of streams be seen, so clear, so full-grown even at their birth, as those which fall into the Jordan and its lakes throughout its whole course from north to south” (“Sinai and Palestine”). The Hebrew word for a fountain or spring is áyinmeaning an eye. “The spring,” says the same author, “is the bright, open source, the eye of the landscape.” Send forth ( βρύει )An expressive word, found nowhere else in the New Testament, and denoting a full, copious discharge. Primarily it means to be full to bursting; and is used, therefore, of budding plants, teeming soil, etc., as in the charming picture of the sacred grove at the opening of the “Oedipus Coloneus” of Sophocles: “full ( βρύων ) of bay, olive, and vine.” Hence, to burst forth or gush. Though generally in-transitive, it is used transitively here.Place ( ὀπῆς )Rather, opening or hole in the earth or rock. Rev., opening. Compare caves, Hebrews 11:38. The word is pleasantly suggestive in connection with the image of the eye of the landscape. See above.Sweet water and bitterThe readers of the epistle would recall the bitter waters of Marah (Exodus 15:23), and the unwholesome spring at Jericho (2 Kings 2:19-21). [source]
Reverse Greek Commentary Search for James 3:11
Bowels of mercy literally (1 Peter 3:8; James 3:11). Revised margin has it, hearts of mercy. [source]
The situation is a matter of conjecture. The word, Aenon is probably akin to the Hebrew ayin an eye, a spring. See on James 3:11. [source]
Ὁπή only here and James 3:11. It means a hole; primarily a place through which one can see ( ὄπωπα ). In lxx the cleft of the rock in which God placed Moses, Exodus 33:22: a window, a latticed opening, Ecclesiastes 12:3eye-socket, Zechariah 14:12: a hole in the wall, Ezekiel 8:7: a hole in a tree, 4Macc. 14:16. [source]
Graphic picture in a short parenthetical relative clause Present middle participle of πλαναω planaō like lost sheep, hunted by wolves. Caves Old word from σπεος speos (cavern) as in Matthew 21:13. Holes Old word, perhaps from οπς ops (root of οραω horaō to see), opening, in N.T. only here and James 3:11. Cf. 1 Kings 18:4; 2Macc 5:27; 10:6 (about Judas Maccabeus and others). [source]
Late word, from εριτος erithos (hireling, from εριτευω eritheuō to spin wool), a pushing forward for personal ends, partisanship, as in Philemon 1:16.In your heart (εν τηι καρδιαι υμων en tēi kardiāi humōn). The real fountain (πηγη pēgē James 3:11).Glory not Present middle imperative of κατακαυχαομαι katakauchaomai for which see note on James 2:13. Wisdom is essential for the teacher. Boasting arrogance disproves the possession of wisdom.Lie not against the truth (πσευδεστε κατα της αλητειας pseudesthe kata tēs alētheias). Present middle imperative of πσευδομαι pseudomai old verb, to play false, with μη mē carried over. Lying against the truth is futile. By your conduct do not belie the truth which you teach; a solemn and needed lesson. Cf. Romans 1:18., Romans 2:18, Romans 2:20. [source]
The real fountain (πηγη pēgē James 3:11). [source]