Paragraph 3:9–12

In this paragraph, James showed how inconsistent the tongue is. Both good words and bad words come out of the same mouth. This is something that should not happen. It is also contrary to nature.

3:9a

With the tongue: As in 3:5a, the tongue represents the words that we speak with our tongues. In some languages, “the lips” or “the mouth” represent the words that a person says.

we bless our Lord and Father: This clause is a general statement. In some languages, it is more natural to use a different noun or pronoun in place of the pronoun we. For example:

people praise their Lord and Father
-or-
you^(plur) praise your Lord and Father

we bless: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as we bless means “speak well” of God, “praise” God or “thank” God. It contrasts with the phrase “curse men” in 3:9b.

James was perhaps thinking of prayer here. Jews, and no doubt Jewish Christians, started many of their prayers of praise to God with the words “Blessed are you.”

Some other ways to translate this word are:

we speak well of
-or-
we praise (New International Version (2011 Revision))
-or-
We…give thanks (Good News Translation)

our Lord and Father:

Some manuscripts and the King James Version have “God” instead of “Lord.” “Lord” has the strongest manuscript support and is followed by the majority of English versions. The phrase our Lord and Father contains two titles that both refer to the one God. Make sure your translation clearly refers to one God.

Some ways to do this are:

the one who is our Lord and our Father
-or-
our Lord who is our Father

our Lord: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Lord means “one who is in authority,” or “master.” Here it refers to God. He is the one who has supreme authority.

Some other ways to translate Lord are:

our Master
-or-
our Owner
-or-
our supreme Chief/Leader
-or-
God, our Lord

3:9b

we curse: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as we curse means “we speak against a person.” It means “we call on God (or another spiritual power) to do harm to someone.” It is stronger than insulting or abusing someone. It is the opposite of blessing a person.

Some other ways to translate this word are:

we speak evil against
-or-
we condemn with words
-or-
we call upon God to harm

men: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as men refers to human beings in general. It includes women and children. Check how you translated this same word in 3:7b and 3:8a.

Some other ways to translate this word are:

people
-or-
other human beings

It is particularly important here to use a word that includes all human beings. This is so that your translation does not convey the wrong meaning that only men “have been made in God’s likeness” (in 3:9c).

3:9c

The clause in 3:9c points out why it is wrong for the same tongue to praise God and then curse men. It is wrong because humans are made in God’s likeness. Doing such a thing is praising God and then cursing his likeness.

who have been made in God’s likeness: The Berean Standard Bible and most other English versions translate 3:9c as a relative clause. In some languages, translating this clause as a relative clause may imply that there are other people who have not been created in God’s likeness. It may also hide the point that cursing men is cursing God’s likeness.

Some other ways to translate this clause to give the correct meaning are:

and they have been made in God’s likeness
-or-
though they are made in God’s likeness (Revised English Bible)
-or-
in spite of the fact that they are created in God’s likeness

have been made in God’s likeness: The Berean Standard Bible translates the Greek verb here as the passive verb have been made. Some ways to translate this verb are:

• Use a passive verb. For example:

who were created to be like God (Contemporary English Version)

• Use an active verb. For example:

whom God made like himself (New Century Version)

in God’s likeness: The phrase in God’s likeness indicates that God made people to resemble him in certain ways. Theologians debate as to what ways people are in God’s likeness. Some of the ways they suggest are: people can love, talk, create, reason, make moral choices, rule God’s creation, and appreciate beauty. You will not want to say all this in your translation. But avoid translating this in a way that will make readers think that people look like God. It is speaking more of their character and abilities, not of their physical appearance.

Some other ways to translate this phrase are in the examples above.

This phrase comes from Genesis 1:26.

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.