James 3:11

Doth? The Greek implies that a negative answer is expected.

Fountain. Gr. pege, “spring.” As the fountain is the source of water, so the heart is the source of words (see on Prov. 4:23, 24), Though a fountain is inanimate, its flow is regulated by the laws of nature. Accordingly, Christian men should act in harmony with the law of their renewed nature. The apostle reasons from what is impossible in nature to what is absurdly, but unfortunately, true in human conduct.

Send forth. Literally, “gush forth.”

Place. Gr. ope, “opening,” “cleft.”

Sweet. That is, fresh.

Bitter. That is, brackish. No spring pours forth fresh and brackish water from the same cleft. Those familiar with Palestine would think of the contrast between the mineral springs near the Dead Sea and the fresh streams of the north, fed by the snows of Lebanon.