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Thursday, January 1st, 2026
Holy Name of Jesus
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New Living Translation

Jeremiah 48:10

Cursed are those who refuse to do the Lord 's work, who hold back their swords from shedding 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.
Bible in Basic English
Let him be cursed who does the Lord's work half-heartedly; let him be cursed who keeps 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 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 This message was given concerning Moab. This is what the Lord of Heaven's Armies, the God of Israel, says: "What sorrow awaits the city of Nebo; it will soon lie in ruins. The city of Kiriathaim will be humiliated and captured; the fortress will be humiliated and broken down. 2 No one will ever brag about Moab again, for in Heshbon there is a plot to destroy her. ‘Come,' they say, ‘we will cut her off from being a nation.' The town of Madmen, too, will be silenced; the sword will follow you there. 3 Listen to the cries from Horonaim, cries of devastation and great destruction. 4 All Moab is destroyed. Her little ones will cry out. 5 Her refugees weep bitterly, climbing the slope to Luhith. They cry out in terror, descending the slope to Horonaim. 6 Flee for your lives! Hide in the wilderness! 7 Because you have trusted in your wealth and skill, you will be taken captive. Your god Chemosh, with his priests and officials, will be hauled off to distant lands! 8 "All the towns will be destroyed, and no one will escape— either on the plateaus or in the valleys, for the Lord has spoken. 9 Oh, that Moab had wings so she could fly away, for her towns will be left empty, with no one living in them. 10 Cursed are those who refuse to do the Lord 's work, who hold back their swords from shedding 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
One day when Isaac was old and turning blind, he called for Esau, his older son, and said, "My son." "Yes, Father?" Esau replied.
Genesis 27:27
So Jacob went over and kissed him. And when Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he was finally convinced, and he blessed his son. He said, "Ah! The smell of my son is like the smell of the outdoors, which the Lord has blessed!
Genesis 31:55
Laban got up early the next morning, and he kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then he left and returned home.
Genesis 45:15
Then Joseph kissed each of his brothers and wept over them, and after that they began talking freely with him.
1 Samuel 3:2
One night Eli, who was almost blind by now, had gone to bed.
1 Samuel 4:15
who was ninety-eight years old and blind.
1 Kings 19:20
Elisha left the oxen standing there, ran after Elijah, and said to him, "First let me go and kiss my father and mother good-bye, and then I will go with you!" Elijah replied, "Go on back, but think about what I have done to you."
Isaiah 6:10
Harden the hearts of these people. Plug their ears and shut their eyes. That way, they will not see with their eyes, nor hear with their ears, nor understand with their hearts and turn to me for healing."
Isaiah 59:1
Listen! The Lord 's arm is not too weak to save you, nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call.

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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