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Saturday, July 26th, 2025
the Week of Proper 11 / Ordinary 16
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Read the Bible

Young's Literal Translation

Jeremiah 48:10

Cursed [is] he who is doing the work of Jehovah slothfully, And cursed [is] he Who is withholding 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.
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 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.
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 Concerning Moab: `Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel: Wo unto Nebo, for it is spoiled, Put to shame, captured hath been Kiriathaim, Put to shame hath been the high tower, Yea, it hath been broken down. 2 There is no more praise of Moab, In Heshbon they devised against it evil: Come, and we cut it off from [being] a nation, Also, O Madmen, thou art cut off, After thee goeth a sword. 3 A voice of a cry [is] from Horonaim, Spoiling and great destruction. 4 Destroyed hath been Moab, Caused a cry to be heard have her little ones. 5 For the ascent of Luhith with weeping, Go up doth weeping, For in the descent of Horonaim Adversaries a cry of desolation have heard. 6 Flee ye, deliver yourselves, Ye are as a naked thing in a wilderness. 7 For, because of thy trusting in thy works, And in thy treasures, even thou art captured, And gone out hath Chemosh in a removal, His priests and his heads together. 8 And come in doth a spoiler unto every city, And no city doth escape, And perished hath the valley, And destroyed been the plain, as Jehovah said. 9 Give wings to Moab, for she utterly goeth out, And her cities are for a desolation, Without an inhabitant in them. 10 Cursed [is] he who is doing the work of Jehovah slothfully, And cursed [is] he Who is withholding 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
And it cometh to pass that Isaac [is] aged, and his eyes are too dim for seeing, and he calleth Esau his elder son, and saith unto him, `My son;' and he saith unto him, `Here [am] I.'
Genesis 27:27
and he cometh nigh, and kisseth him, and he smelleth the fragrance of his garments, and blesseth him, and saith, `See, the fragrance of my son [is] as the fragrance of a field which Jehovah hath blessed;
Genesis 31:55
and Laban riseth early in the morning, and kisseth his sons and his daughters, and blesseth them; and Laban goeth on, and turneth back to his place.
Genesis 45:15
and he kisseth all his brethren, and weepeth over them; and afterwards have his brethren spoken with him.
1 Samuel 3:2
And it cometh to pass, at that time, that Eli is lying down in his place, and his eyes have begun to be dim -- he is not able to see.
1 Samuel 4:15
And Eli is a son of ninety and eight years, and his eyes have stood, and he hath not been able to see.
1 Kings 19:20
and he forsaketh the oxen, and runneth after Elijah, and saith, `Let me give a kiss, I pray thee, to my father and to my mother, and I go after thee.' And he saith to him, `Go, turn back, for what have I done to thee?'
Isaiah 6:10
Declare fat the heart of this people, And its ears declare heavy, And its eyes declare dazzled, Lest it see with its eyes, And with its ears hear, and its heart consider, And it hath turned back, and hath health.'
Isaiah 59:1
Lo, the hand of Jehovah Hath not been shortened from saving, Nor heavy his ear 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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