complete verse (James 3:10)

Following are a number of back-translations of James 3:10:

  • Uma: “From just one [set of] lips come out words of praise and words of cursing. All my relatives! Actually it shouldn’t be like that! It is not fitting if our tongues we use to utter what is good and what is evil too.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “That means, from just one mouth come out words/speech with which we (dual) praise and curse. My brothers, let us (dual) not be like that.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “How surprising this is, for one thing only is the source of cursing and giving thanks! Brothers, this is not good.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Oh-good-grief that mouth with-which-we -speak! It’s only-one mouth, and sometimes we praise God, but sometimes we at-the-same-time insult/mock our fellows. My brothers, what is being done should not be like that.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Although we only have one mouth, the speech which comes out is two, praising and cursing with evil. My siblings in believing, like this really isn’t possible/acceptable.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Our mouths praise God, also our mouths speak bad against people. Listen, my dear brethren, we should not do this.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on James 3:10

From the same mouth come blessing and cursing: this emphasizes and makes clearer the problem that James has referred to in verse 9. It is interesting to note that he shifts from the “tongue” to the mouth, both of which are essential for speech. It is possible that his words may be echoing Jesus’ teaching about the defilement of speech (Matt 15.11, 17-18). In any case what James wants to convey is that doubleness in speech is not right and therefore must be rejected.

My brethren is not used here as a marker for the introduction of new subject matter, as it is in some other places. Here it is used for emphasis, as the author tries to make a passionate appeal to his readers. The address is meant to be inclusive and therefore may be rendered “My brothers and sisters” (New Revised Standard Version), or even “my friends” (Good News Translation, Revised English Bible). (See 1.2 for a further discussion on this expression.)

This ought not to be so is a rare expression; the sentence is literally “It is not fitting, my brethren, that these things should so be” (Hort). The impersonal verb translated “it is fitting” appears only here in the New Testament. Its original sense is apparently “there is need,” and in ethical applications it takes on the meaning “it is fitting” or “it ought to be.” The negative not in Greek is in emphatic position. To bring the force out properly, we may render the statement as “surely, my brothers, this is the sort of thing that never ought to happen!” (Phillips), or even “No, my brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so.” Contemporary English Version combines verses 9 and 10 in order to eliminate some of the repetition that is not good style in modern English. A similar alternative translation model is the following:
• My dear fellow Christians, we use our tongues to speak both praises and curses. We praise our Lord and Father and call down curses on our fellow human beings whom God created to be like himself. We should not do this!

Quoted with permission from Loh, I-Jin and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Letter from James. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator's Notes on James 3:10

3:10

In this verse, James summarized the statement he made in 3:9 and then made a comment on it.

3:10a

Out of the same mouth come blessing and cursing: In some languages, blessing and cursing are not normally described as things that can come or go. So it may not be possible to translate this clause literally. It may be necessary to say something like:

We use our mouths both to bless and to curse.
-or-
The same mouth speaks praises and curses.
-or-
with our tongues we speak both praises and curses (Contemporary English Version)

blessing and cursing: When you translate the words blessing and cursing, use words that are the same as, or related to, the words you used in 3:9. For example:

blessing and cursing (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
you speak well of one and evil against the other

3:10b

My brothers: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as My brothers refers to other believers in Christ. It refers to both the men and women to whom James was writing. James used the term of address My brothers here to soften his rebuke (“this should not be”). You may have another way in your language to soften a rebuke and could use it here.

This same phrase occurs at 1:2a.

The Greek text actually places the phrase My brothers in the middle of “this should not be.” In some languages, it may be more natural to place it at the end. For example:

This should not be so, my friends. (Revised English Bible)

this should not be!: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as this should not be is a strong rebuke. It means that it is quite wrong for people to speak both praises and curses. James is not saying that it is wrong to speak praises. He is saying that it is wrong to speak curses.

Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

this should not happen (God’s Word)
-or-
this isn’t right (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
what is being done should not be like that
-or-
we should not do this

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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.