A student of mine asked this question and I’m not sure how to answer. I appreciate any help you can give me. Thanks. I want to know what are curses and what brings curses upon a person? And what is a blessing? How can a person be blessed?<\/p>\n\t
“But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so<\/em>” (James 3:8-10).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
A blessing is something that brings happiness to a person.<\/p>\n
In the Old Testament, “blessing” translates the Hebrew word barak<\/em>, which means to kneel. It used to be the custom that when someone came or went, you knelt. It can be seen in “Now it happened, as soon as he had finished presenting the burnt offering, that Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might greet him<\/em>” (I Samuel 13:10). What is translated as “greet” is actually the word\u00a0barak<\/em>. The concept is carried into today in many cultures, with people greeting each other by bowing. It isn’t limited to just the act of kneeling or greeting. It referred to things that made you happy or when you wished happiness on another person.<\/p>\n
In Greek, the word “blessing” translates\u00a0markarios<\/em>, which means having good fortune or being well off. Another word is\u00a0eulogeo<\/em>, which means to praise or speak well of another person.<\/p>\n
So someone is blessed when they have things that bring them happiness or make them better off. A person gives blessings when they make another person happy through their actions or the praises they give. That is why Jesus’ beatitudes were so startling. He mentioned things that most people would consider hardships and said they were really blessings: poor in spirit, mourning, and being persecuted (Matthew 5:3-11).<\/p>\n
A curse, then, is the opposite. It is something that brings unhappiness to a person.<\/p>\n
In the Old Testament\u00a0‘arar\u00a0<\/em>is often translated as “cursed” and carries the idea of condemnation and banning of the person from something that could have brought happiness. So when Adam and Eve sinned, they were condemned to a life of hardship and banned from the Garden of Eden. Interestingly, barak<\/em>, which is normally translated as a blessing, can be translated as a curse in the sense of someone being sent away or rejected. Another word, qalal,<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>literally means something small or light. As a curse, it refers to something that you despise or don’t think is important.<\/p>\n
In the New Testament, “curse” is from the Greek word\u00a0katara<\/em>, which means to condemn or bring doom.<\/p>\n
Thus, a curse is when things happen to make you unhappy or when you express that another will receive unhappiness. A curse is when you are kept from what brings happiness, or you reject what brings happiness.<\/p>\n
“The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, but He blesses the home of the just<\/em>” (Proverbs 3:33).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The Lord blesses us or curses us in response to how we behave.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: A student of mine asked this question and I’m not sure how to answer. I appreciate any help you can give me. Thanks. I want to know what are curses and what brings curses upon a person? And what is a blessing? How can a person be blessed? Answer: “But no man can tame…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[1095,1567,76],"class_list":["post-26749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-blessings","tag-curses","tag-terminology"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":74252,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-the-families-of-the-earth-be-blessed-through-abraham\/","url_meta":{"origin":26749,"position":0},"title":"How can the families of the earth be blessed through Abraham?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 13, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi there! I hope you're well! Romans 2:24, \"Because of you, the Gentiles blaspheme My name.\" Does this contradict Genesis 12:3? How could the blasphemers be not cursed if they are excused by Romans 2:24? Thank you so much. Answer: \"And I will bless those who bless you, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":23301,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-is-the-hebrew-word-for-bless-in-job-15-translated-as-curse\/","url_meta":{"origin":26749,"position":1},"title":"Why is the Hebrew word for “bless” in Job 1:5 translated as “curse?”","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 9, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My Bible has a footnote on Job 1:5 that says the word \"curse\" in this passage is actually the Hebrew word for \"bless.\" I don't understand this. Answer: \"So it was, when the days of feasting had run their course, that Job would send and sanctify them, and he\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":32235,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-a-preacher-say-i-break-all-generational-curses-on-you\/","url_meta":{"origin":26749,"position":2},"title":"Should a preacher say, “I break all generational curses on you”?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 21, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Why do so many preachers pray over people by saying \"I break all generational curses on you\"? I read what you wrote about\u00a0God visiting the iniquities of the fathers on their children, but I still need biblical verses to disprove these preachers and convince myself. Answer: \"For the time\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":91315,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-are-spiritual-blessings\/","url_meta":{"origin":26749,"position":3},"title":"What are spiritual blessings?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 16, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My daughter asked me a question that I couldn't answer as straightforwardly as I would like. Could you help me answer this question? What is a spiritual blessing? Ephesians 1:3 discusses this concept, but the explanation I found was too complex for me to understand fully. I need it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24522,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-jesus-become-a-curse\/","url_meta":{"origin":26749,"position":4},"title":"Did Jesus become a curse?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 10, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good day, In Galatians 3:10-13, did Jesus become a curse? Please give some insight into this verse. Thanks. Answer: \"The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, 'All the nations will be blessed in you.'\" So then those who\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11033,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-god-intend-for-adam-to-have-children-before-the-fall\/","url_meta":{"origin":26749,"position":5},"title":"Did God intend for Adam to have children before the fall?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 10, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Had God any intention of having children for Adam? Adam was cursed only after he was driven away from paradise. That too was a curse. Answer: Before the fall of man, God told Adam and Eve, \"Then God blessed them, and God said to them, \"Be fruitful and multiply;\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26749"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26749\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}