'Cursed' in the Bible

The Lord God said to the serpent,“Because you have done this,You are cursed more than all the cattle,And more than any animal of the field;On your belly you shall go,And dust you shall eatAll the days of your life.

And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s [shed] blood from your hand.

He named him Noah, saying, “This one shall bring us rest and comfort from our work and from the [dreadful] toil of our hands because of the ground which the Lord cursed.”

So he said,“Cursed be Canaan [the son of Ham];A servant of servantsHe shall be to his brothers.”

May peoples serve you,And nations bow down to you;Be lord and master over your brothers,And may your mother’s sons bow down to you.May those who curse you be cursed,And may those who bless you be blessed.”

“Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce;And their wrath, for it was cruel.I will divide and disperse them in Jacob,And scatter them in [the midst of the land of] Israel.

‘If anyone curses his father or mother, he shall most certainly be put to death; he has cursed his father or mother; his blood is on him [that is, he bears full responsibility for the consequences].

The Israelite woman’s son blasphemed the Name [of the Lord] and cursed. So they brought him to Moses. (Now his mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.)

“Bring the one who has cursed [the Lord] outside the camp, and let all who heard him lay their hands on his head [as witnesses to his guilt]; then let all the congregation stone him.

Then Moses spoke to the Israelites, and they brought the one who had cursed [the Lord] outside the camp and stoned him with stones. Thus the Israelites did just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Now please come, curse these people for me, for they are too powerful for me; perhaps I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land. For I know [your reputation] that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”

“How shall I curse those whom God has not cursed?Or how can I [violently] denounce those the Lord has not denounced?

“He bowed down [to rest], he lies down as a lion;And as a lioness, who dares to rouse him?Blessed [of God] is he who blesses you,And cursed [of God] is he who curses you.”

‘Cursed is the man who makes a carved or cast image (idol), a repulsive thing to the Lord, the work of the hands of the artisan, and sets it up in secret.’ All the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen.’

‘Cursed is he who dishonors (treats with contempt) his father or his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

‘Cursed is he who moves his neighbor’s boundary mark.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

‘Cursed is he who misleads a blind person on the road.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

‘Cursed is he who distorts (perverts) the justice due to a stranger, an orphan, and a widow.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

‘Cursed is he who is intimate with his father’s [former] wife, because he has violated what belongs to his father.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

‘Cursed is he who is intimate with any animal.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

‘Cursed is he who is intimate with his [half] sister, whether his father’s or his mother’s daughter.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

‘Cursed is he who is intimate with his mother-in-law.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

‘Cursed is he who strikes his neighbor in secret.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

‘Cursed is he who accepts a bribe to strike down an innocent person.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

‘Cursed is he who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them [keeping them, taking them to heart as the rule of his life].’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

“You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the field.

“Your basket and your kneading bowl will be cursed.

“The offspring of your body and the produce of your land, the offspring of your herd and the young of your flock will be cursed.

“You will be cursed when you come in and you will be cursed when you go out.

Then Joshua made them take an oath at that time, saying, “Cursed before the Lord is the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho; with the loss of his firstborn he shall lay its foundation, and with the loss of his youngest son he shall set up its gates.”

Now therefore, you are cursed, and you shall always be slaves, both cutters and gatherers of firewood and water carriers for the house of my God.”

They went out into the field, gathered the grapes of their vineyard and trod them, and held a festival; and they entered the house of their god, and they ate and drank, and cursed Abimelech.

And he said to his mother, “The eleven hundred pieces of silver which were taken from you, about which you cursed [the thief] and also spoke about in my hearing, behold, the silver is with me; I took it.” And his mother said, “Blessed be my son before the Lord.”

But we cannot give them wives from our daughters.” For the sons of Israel had sworn [an oath], “Cursed is he who gives a wife to [a man from the tribe of] Benjamin.”

But the men of Israel were hard-pressed that day, because Saul had put the people under a curse, saying, “Cursed be the man who eats food before evening, and before I have taken vengeance on my enemies.” So none of the people ate any food.

But one of the people told him, “Your father strictly put the people under an oath, saying, ‘Cursed be the man who eats food today.’” And the people were exhausted [and hungry].

The Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with [shepherd’s] staffs?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

Now therefore, please let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If the Lord has incited you against me, let Him accept an offering [from me]; but if it is men, may they be cursed before the Lord, because they have driven me out this day to keep me from sharing in the inheritance of the Lord, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’

When King David came to Bahurim, a man named Shimei, the son of Gera, came out from there. He was of the family of Saul’s household and he was cursing continually as he came out.

This is what Shimei said as he cursed: “Get out, get out, you man of bloodshed, you worthless and useless man!

So David and his men went on the road; and Shimei went along on the hillside close beside David and cursed as he went and threw stones and dust at him.

But Abishai the son of Zeruiah said, “Should not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the Lord’s anointed?”

And look, you have with you Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite of Bahurim; he is the one who cursed me with a sinister curse the day I went to Mahanaim. But he came down to meet me at the Jordan [on my return], and I swore to him by the Lord, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’

and seat two worthless and unprincipled men opposite him, and have them testify against him, saying, ‘You cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.”

Two worthless and unprincipled men came in and sat down opposite him; and they testified against Naboth before the people, saying, “Naboth cursed and renounced God and the king.” Then they brought him outside the city and stoned him to death.

When he came in, he ate and drank, and said, “See now to this cursed woman and bury her, for she is a king’s daughter.”

When the days of their feasting were over, Job would send [for them] and consecrate them, rising early in the morning and offering burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, “It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” Job did this at all [such] times.

After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.

“I have seen the foolish taking root [and outwardly prospering],But I cursed his dwelling immediately [for his destruction was certain].

“They are insignificant on the surface of the water;Their portion is cursed on the earth;They do not turn toward the vineyards.

For those blessed by God will [at last] inherit the land,But those cursed by Him will be cut off.

for you also know that you too have cursed others many times.

Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, “Cursed is the man who does not heed the words of this covenant

Thus says the Lord,“Cursed is the man who trusts in and relies on mankind,Making [weak, faulty human] flesh his strength,And whose mind and heart turn away from the Lord.

Cursed be the day on which I was born;Do not bless the day on which my mother gave birth to me!

Cursed be the man who brought the newsTo my father, saying,“A son has been born to you!”Making him very glad.

“Cursed is the one who does the work of the Lord negligently,And cursed is the one who restrains his sword from blood [in executing the judgment of the Lord].

“But cursed is the swindler who has a male in his flock and vows [to offer] it, but sacrifices to the Lord a blemished or diseased thing! For I am a great King,” says the Lord of hosts, “and My name is to be [reverently and greatly] feared among the nations.”

You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, this whole nation!

But I say to you that everyone who continues to be angry with his brother or harbors malice against him shall be guilty before the court; and whoever speaks [contemptuously and insultingly] to his brother, ‘Raca (You empty-headed idiot)!’ shall be guilty before the supreme court (Sanhedrin); and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of the fiery hell.

“Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Leave Me, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels (demons);

Therefore I want you to know that no one speaking by the [power and influence of the] Spirit of God can say, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is [my] Lord,” except by [the power and influence of] the Holy Spirit.

For all who depend on the Law [seeking justification and salvation by obedience to the Law and the observance of rituals] are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed (condemned to destruction) is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, so as to practice them.”

Christ purchased our freedom and redeemed us from the curse of the Law and its condemnation by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs [crucified] on a tree (cross)”—

but if it persistently produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.