Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.
James was a leader of the early church in Jerusalem, widely believed to be the brother of Jesus himself. His letter is intensely practical — not abstract theology, but real guidance for everyday life. Chapter 3 is one of the most famous passages in the Bible about the power and danger of words. Here, James points out something deeply uncomfortable: the same mouth that praises God in worship can tear down another person before the day is over. The phrase 'made in God's likeness' refers to the belief that every human being carries something of God's image in them — which means how we speak about people is never a small thing.
Father, I know my words carry more weight than I usually give them credit for. Forgive me for the ways I've torn down people made in your image with the same mouth I use to praise you. Give me a tongue that builds up, even when it's easier to tear down. Amen.
Think about the last twenty-four hours. Maybe a worship song on the commute. A quick grace before dinner. And also — the sharp thing you said when you were tired. The text with an edge to it. The comment about someone that you'd never say to their face, to a coworker who laughed along. James doesn't let us compartmentalize. He holds up a mirror and says: that's the same tongue. Same mouth. Both things, from the same source. The harder truth he's pressing on is that how you speak about people reveals how you actually see them. When you dismiss, belittle, or write someone off — even casually, even privately — you're doing something more serious than just being rude. You're contradicting your own worship. So here's the real question this verse leaves you with: who in your life have you been speaking about carelessly? Not a hypothetical person — a specific one, with a name. That's exactly where James wants this verse to land.
What does James mean when he says people are made 'in God's likeness,' and why does that specific idea matter for how we talk about them?
If you honestly reviewed your words from the past week, where do you notice the sharpest gap between how you speak about God and how you speak about certain people?
Is there a category of people — a political group, a difficult family member, a type of person — that you tend to talk about in ways that don't reflect their dignity? What's underneath that pattern?
How does the way you talk about people behind their backs — even in venting or joking — shape how others around you come to see those same people?
What is one specific habit you could build to bring your everyday words about people more in line with what you actually believe about them?
Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:
Isaiah 29:13
Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
Colossians 1:12
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Genesis 1:26
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
Genesis 1:27
Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.
Psalms 16:9
As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him: as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him.
Psalms 109:17
Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.
Proverbs 18:21
Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.
Genesis 9:6
With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God.
AMP
With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.
ESV
With it we bless [our] Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God;
NASB
With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness.
NIV
With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God.
NKJV
Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God.
NLT
With our tongues we bless God our Father; with the same tongues we curse the very men and women he made in his image.
MSG