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Made in the likeness of God

Made in the likeness of God

James 3:9


The fault of invoking curses on fellow human beings is deplorable because they are made in the likeness of God. This is obviously a reference to Gen 1:26–27. In the Genesis passage two words are used; one is “image” and the other is “likeness.” It is not clear why James chose the second word rather than the first one. In any case there seems to be no need to press for a different sense between the two, as they are obviously meant to have the same meaning. What James wants to communicate here is simply that acting against people who resemble God is the same as acting against God, who created those people. It is logically inconsistent to pretend to bless God and then to curse the representation of God (human beings). In other words, cursing other human beings is in effect cursing God, who created them. In languages where there is a difference in meaning between made and “created,” it may be desirable to use the latter, as TEV has done. In some languages it is desirable to supply “God” as the agent of the verb and shift the construction to the active voice; thus “… whom God created in his likeness.”

The following may be used as an alternative translation model for this verse:We [inclusive] use our tongues to give thanks to [or, praise] our Lord and Father and also to invoke harm to happen to [or, call down curses on] our fellow humans whom God created to be like himself.


Loh, I-Jin, and Howard Hatton. A Handbook on the Letter from James. New York: United Bible Societies, 1997. Print. UBS Handbook Series.

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