Lectionary Calendar
Sunday, August 3rd, 2025
the Week of Proper 13 / Ordinary 18
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Bible in Basic English

Jeremiah 48:10

Let him be cursed who does the Lord's work half-heartedly; let him be cursed who keeps back his sword from blood.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Minister, Christian;   War;   Thompson Chain Reference - Earnestness-Indifference;   Indifference;   Service;   The Topic Concordance - Curses;   Deception;   Labor;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Moabites;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Heshbon;   Kiriathaim;   Pisgah;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Slothful;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Greek Versions of Ot;   Madmen;   Moab, Moabites;   Obadiah, Book of;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Nebo;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Ammon ammonites children of ammon;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The one who doesthe Lord’s business deceitfully is cursed,and the one who withholdshis sword from bloodshed is cursed.
Hebrew Names Version
Cursed be he who does the work of the LORD negligently; and cursed be he who keeps back his sword from blood.
King James Version
Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.
English Standard Version
"Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord with slackness, and cursed is he who keeps back his sword from bloodshed.
New American Standard Bible
"Cursed is the one who does the LORD'S work negligently, And cursed is the one who restrains his sword from blood.
New Century Version
A curse will be on anyone who doesn't do what the Lord says, and a curse will be on anyone who holds back his sword from killing.
Amplified Bible
"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].
World English Bible
Cursed be he who does the work of Yahweh negligently; and cursed be he who keeps back his sword from blood.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Cursed be he that doeth the worke of the Lord negligently, and cursed be he that keepeth backe his sword from blood.
Legacy Standard Bible
Cursed be the one who does the work of Yahweh with a slack hand,And cursed be the one who restrains his sword from blood.
Berean Standard Bible
Cursed be the one who is negligent in doing the work of the LORD, and cursed is he who withholds his sword from bloodshed.
Contemporary English Version
I want you to kill the Moabites, and if you let them escape, I will put a curse on you."
Complete Jewish Bible
A curse on him who does the work of Adonai carelessly! A curse on him who withholds his sword from blood!
Darby Translation
Cursed be he that doeth the work of Jehovah negligently, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood!
Easy-to-Read Version
Bad things will happen to those who don't obey the Lord and don't use their swords to kill those people.
George Lamsa Translation
Cursed is be who does the work of the LORD deceitfully, and cursed is he who keeps back his sword from blood.
Good News Translation
(Curse those who do not do the Lord 's work with all their heart! Curse those who do not slash and kill!)
Lexham English Bible
The one who does the work of Yahweh with slackness is cursed, and the one who keeps away blood from his sword is cursed.
Literal Translation
Cursed is he who does the work of Jehovah deceitfully, and cursed is he who keeps back his sword from blood.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Cursed be he that doth the worke of the LORDE necligently, and cursed be he that kepeth backe his swearde from sheddynge off bloude.
American Standard Version
Cursed be he that doeth the work of Jehovah negligently; and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Cursed be he that doeth the work of the LORD with a slack hand, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.
King James Version (1611)
Cursed be he that doeth the worke of the Lord deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth backe his sword from blood.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Cursed be he that doth the worke of the Lorde fraudulently, and cursed be he that kepeth backe his sworde from sheddyng of blood.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Ismael brought back all the people that were left in Massepha, and the king’s daughter, whom the captain of the guard had committed in charge to Godolias the son of Achicam: and he went away beyond the children of Ammon.
English Revised Version
Cursed be he that doeth the work of the LORD negligently, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
He is cursid, that doith the werk of God gilefuli; and he is cursid, that forbedith his swerd fro blood.
Update Bible Version
Cursed be he that does the work of Yahweh negligently; and cursed be he that keeps back his sword from blood.
Webster's Bible Translation
Cursed [be] he that doeth the work of the LORD deceitfully, and cursed [be] he that keepeth back his sword from blood.
New English Translation
A curse on anyone who is lax in doing the Lord 's work! A curse on anyone who keeps from carrying out his destruction!
New King James Version
Cursed is he who does the work of the LORD deceitfully, And cursed is he who keeps back his sword from blood.
New Living Translation
Cursed are those who refuse to do the Lord 's work, who hold back their swords from shedding blood!
New Life Bible
The one who does the Lord's work without care is cursed. Cursed is the one who keeps his sword from blood.
New Revised Standard
Accursed is the one who is slack in doing the work of the Lord ; and accursed is the one who keeps back the sword from bloodshed.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Accursed be he that doeth the business of Yahweh carelessly; And, accursed be he that withholdeth his sword, from blood!
Douay-Rheims Bible
Cursed be he that doth the work of the Lord deceitfully: and cursed be he that withholdeth his sword from blood.
Revised Standard Version
"Cursed is he who does the work of the LORD with slackness; and cursed is he who keeps back his sword from bloodshed.
Young's Literal Translation
Cursed [is] he who is doing the work of Jehovah slothfully, And cursed [is] he Who is withholding his sword from blood.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Cursed be the one who does the LORD'S work negligently, And cursed be the one who restrains his sword from blood.

Contextual Overview

1 Of Moab. The Lord of armies, the God of Israel, has said: Sorrow on Nebo, for it has been made waste; Kiriathaim has been put to shame and is taken: the strong place is put to shame and broken down. 2 The praise of Moab has come to an end; as for Heshbon, evil has been designed against her; come, let us put an end to her as a nation. But your mouth will be shut, O Madmen; the sword will go after you. 3 There is the sound of crying from Horonaim, wasting and great destruction; 4 Moab is broken; her cry has gone out to Zoar. 5 For by the slope of Luhith they will go up, weeping all the way; for on the way down to Horonaim the cry of destruction has come to their ears. 6 Go in flight, get away with your lives, and let your faces be turned to Aroer in the Arabah. 7 For because you have put your faith in your strong places, you, even you, will be taken: and Chemosh will go out as a prisoner, his priests and his rulers together. 8 And the attacker will come against every town, not one will be safe; and the valley will be made waste, and destruction will come to the lowland, as the Lord has said. 9 Put up a pillar for Moab, for she will come to a complete end: and her towns will become a waste, without anyone living in them. 10 Let him be cursed who does the Lord's work half-heartedly; let him be cursed who keeps back his sword from blood.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Cursed: Jeremiah 50:25, Numbers 31:14-18, Judges 5:23, 1 Samuel 15:3, 1 Samuel 15:9, 1 Samuel 15:13-35, 1 Kings 20:42

deceitfully: or, negligently

Reciprocal: Genesis 27:12 - and I shall Numbers 31:15 - General Deuteronomy 20:17 - thou shalt Joshua 10:19 - stay ye Judges 1:27 - the Canaanites Judges 17:2 - cursedst Judges 21:5 - a great oath 1 Samuel 15:33 - hewed 1 Samuel 28:18 - obeyedst 1 Kings 18:40 - slew them there Jeremiah 50:21 - and do Malachi 1:14 - cursed

Cross-References

Genesis 27:1
Now when Isaac was old and his eyes had become clouded so that he was not able to see, he sent for Esau, his first son, and said to him, My son: and he said, Here am I.
Genesis 27:27
And he came near and gave him a kiss; and smelling the smell of his clothing, he gave him a blessing, and said, See, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field on which the blessing of the Lord has come:
Genesis 31:55
And early in the morning Laban, after kissing and blessing his daughters, went on his way back to his country.
Genesis 45:15
Then he gave a kiss to all his brothers, weeping over them; and after that his brothers had no fear of talking to him.
1 Samuel 3:2
And at that time, when Eli was resting in his place, (now his eyes were becoming clouded so that he was not able to see,)
1 Samuel 4:15
Now Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes were fixed so that he was not able to see.
1 Kings 19:20
And letting the oxen be where they were, he came running after Elijah, and said, Only let me give a kiss to my father and mother, and then I will come after you. But he said to him, Go back again; for what have I done to you?
Isaiah 6:10
Make the hearts of this people fat, and let their ears be stopped, and their eyes shut; for fear that they may see with their eyes, and be hearing with their ears, and their heart may become wise, and they may be turned to me and made well.
Isaiah 59:1
Truly, the Lord's hand has not become short, so that he is unable to give salvation; and his ear is not shut from hearing:

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Cursed [be] he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully,.... Which is said with respect to the Chaldeans, who were enjoined to destroy the Moabites; which is called the work of the Lord, because he had given them a commission to do it; and which was to be done by them, not by halves, or in a remiss and negligent manner, but fully and faithfully; they were not to spare them, as Saul did the Amalekites, and Ahab Benhadad. This is a general rule, which may be applied to all divine work and service; every man has work to do for God; some in a more public, others in a more private way; all should be done in uprightness and sincerity, with all faithfulness and integrity: it is done deceitfully when men play the hypocrite; and negligently when they are backward to it, lukewarm in it, and infrequent in the performance of it; which brings upon them the curse of God; and which is not a curse causeless, but a legal one; and is no other than the wrath of God in strict justice:

and cursed [be] he that keepeth back his sword from blood; from shedding the blood of the Moabites, when God had given command to do it. The curse is repeated, as Kimchi observes, to confirm the matter, that it might be most assuredly expected; since it would certainly come, if the Lord's work was not done aright.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Deceitfully - Better as in the margin.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Jeremiah 48:10. Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully — Moab is doomed to destruction, and the Lord pronounces a curse on their enemies if they do not proceed to utter extirpation. God is the Author of life, and has a sovereign right to dispose of it as he pleases; and these had forfeited theirs long ago by their idolatry and other crimes.


 
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