In the Old Testament being cursed includes loss of everything significant and a lowering to the most menial of positions. The serpent must crawl on his belly and eventually be crushed (Gen 3:14-15). Cain can no longer farm and must become a vagabond (Gen 4:11). Canaan becomes the lowest of slaves (Gen 9:25).

Nowhere in the Bible is the state of being cursed portrayed in more graphic terms than in Deuteronomy 28:16-68. The curse follows its victims everywhere, extending to progeny and all means of livelihood. It includes incurable diseases, slow starvation, abuse by enemies, exile, panic, confusion, and eventual madness.

Curses are usually imposed by persons in authority for major breaches of the Torah that might threaten collapse of society. Thus in Deuteronomy 27:15-26 people who practice idolatry, incest, misleading the blind, ambush, disrespect for authority, and subversion of justice are cursed.

The curse is totally under Yahweh's control. It is his power, not magical forces, which brings about the curse. His sovereign decision alone decides who merits being cursed (1 Kings 8:31-32). He cannot be forced into action by proper wording or ritual. Thus a curse could not be used capriciously as a weapon against one's personal enemies.

A king might utter a curse against an innocent person but, like a nervous bird, it would not light (1 Sam 14:24, 28; Prov 26:2). A curse directed against the select could be turned into a blessing or even come back against the one who sent it (Num 24:9; Deut 23:5-6). Curses could be removed by faithfulness. Levites were to be dispersed according to Jacob's curse (Gen 49:7). Because

of their faithfulness this scattering resulted in a widespread teaching ministry (Deut 33:8-10).

The unusual severe imprecations hurled at enemies in psalms such as 109 and 137 may be understood as cries of agony. They accurately record a stage of human spiritual development in people longing for the deeper revelation of love that Christ brought into the world. In some cases these enemies appear more than human and may represent demonic forces of evil. In any case these psalms do not contain divine approbation of the curses.

In the New Testament Christ voluntarily assumed all the pain and agony reserved for those who do not keep the law (Deut 27:26; Gal 3:10, 13). He is publicly exposed in the same shameful manner as the rebellious son (Deut 21:23; Gal 3:13). Paul wished himself to be accursed for his brethren (Rom 9:3).

A curse came to mean total removal of a person from the company of the redeemed where all blessings are localized. Thus anathema [ajnavqema] in the New Testament became equivalent to herem [,rej] in the Old Testament. This curse was imposed for apostasy (Gal 1:8), not loving Christ (1 Cor 16:22), and not extending loving care to the least of the brethren (Matt 25:41).

First Corinthians 12:3 confesses the impossibility of an inspired curse against

Christ. Revelation 22:3 looks forward to a day when the curse will be no more.

Job 1:5  When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would send and have them purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, "Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts." This was Job's regular custom. Job 1:11  But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face." 1 Ki 21:10  But seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them testify that he has cursed both God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death." 1 Ki 21:13  Then two scoundrels came and sat opposite him and brought charges against Naboth before the people, saying, "Naboth has cursed both God and the king." So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death. Exo 22:28  "Do not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people. Eccl 10:20  Do not revile the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich in your bedroom, because a bird of the air may carry your words, and a bird on the wing may report what you say. Acts 23:5  Paul replied, "Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: 'Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.'"Lev 24:15  Say to the Israelites: 'If anyone curses his God, he will be held responsible;

Lev 24:16  anyone who blasphemes the name of the LORD must be put to death. The entire assembly must stone him. Whether an alien or native-born, when he blasphemes the Name, he must be put to death. Acts 6:11  Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, "We have heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God." Lev 24:14  "Take the blasphemer outside the camp. All those who heard him are to lay their hands on his head, and the entire assembly is to stone him.

1. Lev 24:14  "Take the blasphemer outside the camp. All those who heard him are to lay their hands on his head, and the entire assembly is to stone him.

2. Gen 8:21  The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: "Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.  Gen 8:21  The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: "Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.  Rev 14:6  Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth--to every nation, tribe, language and people.  (The Gospel, Summary: The word "gospel" means <good news.> As used in the N.T., the word deals with different aspects of divine revelation. Absolutely essential to man's salvation is the Gospel of the grace of God (Rom 2:16, refs.). This is the good news that Jesus Christ died on the cross for the sins of the world, that He was raised from the dead on account of our justification, and that by Him all who believe are justified from all things. It is described as the Gospel "of God" (Rom 1:1) because it originates in His love; "of Christ" (2 Cor 10:14) because it flows from His sacrifice, and because He is the object of faith; "of God's grace" (Acts 20:24) because it saves those whom the law curses; "of the glory of Christ" (2 Cor 4:4; cp. 1 Tim 1:11) because it concerns Him who is in the glory and who is bringing many sons to glory (Heb 2:10); "of your salvation" (Eph 1:13) because it is "the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes" (Rom 1:16); and "of peace" (Eph 6:15) because through Christ it makes peace between the believing sinner and God, and makes inward peace possible.

3. Another aspect of the good news is the gospel "of the kingdom" (Mat 4:23), i.e. the good news that God purposes to set up on the earth the kingdom of Christ, the Son of David, in fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant (2 Sam 7:16, note). The good news of this kingdom was announced by the O.T. prophets (Isa 9:6 - 7), by Christ in His first coming (Mat 9:35), and will be proclaimed during the great tribulation (Mat 24:14).

4. The "eternal gospel" (Rev 14:6ff.) is described as the announcement of divine judgment upon the wicked in the coming great tribulation. It is good news for the suffering believers as it heralds their coming deliverance and reward (cp. v. 12). In view of this those who "live on the earth" are exhorted to fear God and worship Him (v. 7).

5. The good news of divine revelation is contrasted with "a different gospel" (2 Cor 11:4; Gal 1:6) which Paul states is "no gospel at all," but a perversion of the Gospel of the grace of God. We are warned against all its seductive forms which deny the sufficiency of grace alone to save, keep, and perfect. Its teachers lie under the awful anathema of God (Gal 1:9).

6. The word "gospel," therefore, includes various aspects of the good news of divine revelation. But the fact that God has proclaimed the good news of the Gospel of grace, the Gospel of the coming kingdom, and the everlasting Gospel of divine judgment upon the wicked and deliverance of believers does not mean that there is more than one Gospel of salvation. Grace is the basis for salvation in all dispensations, and is under all circumstances the only way of salvation from sin.

7. <Gospel:> vv. 6 - 7. (Gen 12:3; Rev 14:6)

8. Gen 27:12  What if my father touches me? I would appear to be tricking him and would bring Deu 11:28  the curse if you disobey the commands of the LORD your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known.

9. Deu 11:29  When the LORD your God has brought you into the land you are entering to possess, you are to proclaim on Mount Gerizim the blessings, and on Mount Ebal the curses.with silver and gold, I could not do anything great or small to go beyond the command of the LORD my God.  Num 24:13  'Even if Balak gave me his palace filled with silver and gold, I could not do anything of my own accord, good or bad, to go beyond the command of the LORD--and I must say only what the LORD says'?

10. Deu 11:26  See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse--  =  Deu 30:1  When all these blessings and curses I have set before you come upon you and you take them to heart wherever the LORD your God disperses you among the nations,  Deu 30:15  See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction.  Deu 30:19  This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.

11. Deu 11:28  the curse if you disobey the commands of the LORD your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known.

12. Deu 11:29  When the LORD your God has brought you into the land you are entering to possess, you are to proclaim on Mount Gerizim the blessings, and on Mount Ebal the curses.  Deu 28:15  However, if you do not obey the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:

13. Deu 28:16  You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country.

14. Deu 28:17  Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed.

15. Deu 28:18  The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.

16. Deu 28:19  You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.

17. Deu 28:20  The LORD will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him.

18. Deu 28:21  The LORD will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you from the land you are entering to possess.

19. Deu 28:22  The LORD will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, with blight and mildew, which will plague you until you perish.

20. Deu 28:23  The sky over your head will be bronze, the ground beneath you iron.

21. Deu 28:24  The LORD will turn the rain of your country into dust and powder; it will come down from the skies until you are destroyed.

22. Deu 28:25  The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will come at them from one direction but flee from them in seven, and you will become a thing of horror to all the kingdoms on earth.

23. Deu 28:26  Your carcasses will be food for all the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and there will be no one to frighten them away.

24. Deu 28:27  The LORD will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, festering sores and the itch, from which you cannot be cured.

25. Deu 28:28  The LORD will afflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of mind.

26. Deu 28:29  At midday you will grope about like a blind man in the dark. You will be unsuccessful in everything you do; day after day you will be oppressed and robbed, with no one to rescue you.

27. Deu 28:30  You will be pledged to be married to a woman, but another will take her and ravish her. You will build a house, but you will not live in it. You will plant a vineyard, but you will not even begin to enjoy its fruit.

28. Deu 28:31  Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will eat none of it. Your donkey will be forcibly taken from you and will not be returned. Your sheep will be given to your enemies, and no one will rescue them.

29. Deu 28:32  Your sons and daughters will be given to another nation, and you will wear out your eyes watching for them day after day, powerless to lift a hand.

30. Deu 28:33  A people that you do not know will eat what your land and labor produce, and you will have nothing but cruel oppression all your days.

31. Deu 28:34  The sights you see will drive you mad.

32. Deu 28:35  The LORD will afflict your knees and legs with painful boils that cannot be cured, spreading from the soles of your feet to the top of your head.

33. Deu 28:36  The LORD will drive you and the king you set over you to a nation unknown to you or your fathers. There you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone.

34. Deu 28:37  You will become a thing of horror and an object of scorn and ridicule to all the nations where the LORD will drive you.

35. Deu 28:38  You will sow much seed in the field but you will harvest little, because locusts will devour it.

36. Deu 28:39  You will plant vineyards and cultivate them but you will not drink the wine or gather the grapes, because worms will eat them.

37. Deu 28:40  You will have olive trees throughout your country but you will not use the oil, because the olives will drop off.

38. Deu 28:41  You will have sons and daughters but you will not keep them, because they will go into captivity.

39. Deu 28:42  Swarms of locusts will take over all your trees and the crops of your land.

40. Deu 28:43  The alien who lives among you will rise above you higher and higher, but you will sink lower and lower.

41. Deu 28:44  He will lend to you, but you will not lend to him. He will be the head, but you will be the tail.

42. Deu 28:45  All these curses will come upon you. They will pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the LORD your God and observe the commands and decrees he gave you.  Lev 26:14  "'But if you will not listen to me and carry out all these commands,

43. Lev 26:15  and if you reject my decrees and abhor my laws and fail to carry out all my commands and so violate my covenant,

44. Lev 26:16  then I will do this to you: I will bring upon you sudden terror, wasting diseases and fever that will destroy your sight and drain away your life. You will plant seed in vain, because your enemies will eat it.

45. Lev 26:17  I will set my face against you so that you will be defeated by your enemies; those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee even when no one is pursuing you.

46. Lev 26:18  "'If after all this you will not listen to me, I will punish you for your sins seven times over.

47. Lev 26:19  I will break down your stubborn pride and make the sky above you like iron and the ground beneath you like bronze.

48. Lev 26:20  Your strength will be spent in vain, because your soil will not yield its crops, nor will the trees of the land yield their fruit.

49. Lev 26:21  "'If you remain hostile toward me and refuse to listen to me, I will multiply your afflictions seven times over, as your sins deserve.

50. Lev 26:22  I will send wild animals against you, and they will rob you of your children, destroy your cattle and make you so few in number that your roads will be deserted.

51. Lev 26:23  "'If in spite of these things you do not accept my correction but continue to be hostile toward me,

52. Lev 26:24  I myself will be hostile toward you and will afflict you for your sins seven times over.

53. Lev 26:25  And I will bring the sword upon you to avenge the breaking of the covenant. When you withdraw into your cities, I will send a plague among you, and you will be given into enemy hands.

54. Lev 26:26  When I cut off your supply of bread, ten women will be able to bake your bread in one oven, and they will dole out the bread by weight. You will eat, but you will not be satisfied.

55. Lev 26:27  "'If in spite of this you still do not listen to me but continue to be hostile toward me,

56. Lev 26:28  then in my anger I will be hostile toward you, and I myself will punish you for your sins seven times over.

57. Lev 26:29  You will eat the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters.

58. Lev 26:30  I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars and pile your dead bodies on the lifeless forms of your idols, and I will abhor you.

59. Lev 26:31  I will turn your cities into ruins and lay waste your sanctuaries, and I will take no delight in the pleasing aroma of your offerings.

60. Lev 26:32  I will lay waste the land, so that your enemies who live there will be appalled.

61. Lev 26:33  I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out my sword and pursue you. Your land will be laid waste, and your cities will lie in ruins.

62. Lev 26:34  Then the land will enjoy its sabbath years all the time that it lies desolate and you are in the country of your enemies; then the land will rest and enjoy its sabbaths.

63. Lev 26:35  All the time that it lies desolate, the land will have the rest it did not have during the sabbaths you lived in it.

64. Lev 26:36  "'As for those of you who are left, I will make their hearts so fearful in the lands of their enemies that the sound of a windblown leaf will put them to flight. They will run as though fleeing from the sword, and they will fall, even though no one is pursuing them.

65. Lev 26:37  They will stumble over one another as though fleeing from the sword, even though no one is pursuing them. So you will not be able to stand before your enemies.

66. Lev 26:38  You will perish among the nations; the land of your enemies will devour you.

67. Lev 26:39  Those of you who are left will waste away in the lands of their enemies because of their sins; also because of their fathers' sins they will waste away.

68. Lev 26:40  "'But if they will confess their sins and the sins of their fathers--their treachery

69. Lev 26:41  which made me hostile toward them so that I sent them into the land of their enemies--then when their uncircumcised hearts are humbled and they pay for their sin,

70. Lev 26:42  I will remember my covenant with Jacob and my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land.

71. Lev 26:43  For the land will be deserted by them and will enjoy its sabbaths while it lies desolate without them. They will pay for their sins because they rejected my laws and abhorred my decrees.  (e.g) Num 5:18  After the priest has had the woman stand before the LORD, he shall loosen her hair and place in her hands the reminder offering, the grain offering for jealousy, while he himself holds the bitter water that brings a curse.

72. Num 5:19  Then the priest shall put the woman under oath and say to her, "If no other man has slept with you and you have not gone astray and become impure while married to your husband, may this bitter water that brings a curse not harm you.

73. Num 5:20  But if you have gone astray while married to your husband and you have defiled yourself by sleeping with a man other than your husband"--

74. Num 5:21  here the priest is to put the woman under this curse of the oath--" may the LORD cause your people to curse and denounce you when he causes your thigh to waste away and your abdomen to swell.

75. Num 5:22  May this water that brings a curse enter your body so that your abdomen swells and your thigh wastes away. " "'Then the woman is to say, "Amen. So be it."

76. Num 5:23  "'The priest is to write these curses on a scroll and then wash them off into the bitter water.

77. Num 5:24  He shall have the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and this water will enter her and cause bitter suffering.

78. Num 5:25  The priest is to take from her hands the grain offering for jealousy, wave it before the LORD and bring it to the altar.

79. Num 5:26  The priest is then to take a handful of the grain offering as a memorial offering and burn it on the altar; after that, he is to have the woman drink the water.

80. Num 5:27  If she has defiled herself and been unfaithful to her husband, then when she is made to drink the water that brings a curse, it will go into her and cause bitter suffering; her abdomen will swell and her thigh waste away, and she will become accursed among her people.

81. Num 5:28  If, however, the woman has not defiled herself and is free from impurity, she will be cleared of guilt and will be able to have children.

82. Num 5:29  "'This, then, is the law of jealousy when a woman goes astray and defiles herself while married to her husband,

83. Num 5:30  or when feelings of jealousy come over a man because he suspects his wife. The priest is to have her stand before the LORD and is to apply this entire law to her.

84. Num 5:31  The husband will be innocent of any wrongdoing, but the woman will bear the consequences of her sin.'"

85. Num 22:5  sent messengers to summon Balaam son of Beor, who was at Pethor, near the River, in his native land. Balak said: "A people has come out of Egypt; they cover the face of the land and have settled next to me.

86. Num 22:6  Now come and put a curse on these people, because they are too powerful for me. Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the country. For I know that those you bless are blessed, and those you curse are cursed."

87. Num 22:7  The elders of Moab and Midian left, taking with them the fee for divination. When they came to Balaam, they told him what Balak had said.

88. Num 22:8  "Spend the night here," Balaam said to them, "and I will bring you back the answer the LORD gives me." So the Moabite princes stayed with him.

89. Num 22:9  God came to Balaam and asked, "Who are these men with you?"

90. Num 22:10  Balaam said to God, "Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent me this message:

91. Num 22:11  'A people that has come out of Egypt covers the face of the land. Now come and put a curse on them for me. Perhaps then I will be able to fight them and drive them away.'"

92. Num 22:12  But God said to Balaam, "Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed."

93. Num 22:13  The next morning Balaam got up and said to Balak's princes, "Go back to your own country, for the LORD has refused to let me go with you."

94. Num 22:14  So the Moabite princes returned to Balak and said, "Balaam refused to come with us."

95. Num 22:15  Then Balak sent other princes, more numerous and more distinguished than the first.

96. Num 22:16  They came to Balaam and said: "This is what Balak son of Zippor says: Do not let anything keep you from coming to me,

97. Num 22:17  because I will reward you handsomely and do whatever you say. Come and put a curse on these people for me."

98. Num 22:18  But Balaam answered them, "Even if Balak gave me his palace filled with silver and gold, I could not do anything great or small to go beyond the command of the LORD my God.

99. Num 22:19  Now stay here tonight as the others did, and I will find out what else the LORD will tell me."

100. Num 22:20  That night God came to Balaam and said, "Since these men have come to summon you, go with them, but do only what I tell you."

101. Num 22:21  Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab.

102. Num 22:22  But God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the LORD stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him.

103. Num 22:23  When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, she turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat her to get her back on the road.

104. Num 22:24  Then the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path between two vineyards, with walls on both sides.

105. Num 22:25  When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam's foot against it. So he beat her again.

106. Num 22:26  Then the angel of the LORD moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left.

107. Num 22:27  When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat her with his staff.

108. Num 22:28  Then the LORD opened the donkey's mouth, and she said to Balaam, "What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?"

109. Num 22:29  Balaam answered the donkey, "You have made a fool of me! If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now."

110. Num 22:30  The donkey said to Balaam, "Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?" "No," he said.

111. Num 22:31  Then the LORD opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown.

112. Num 22:32  The angel of the LORD asked him, "Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me.

113. Num 22:33  The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If she had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared her."

114. Num 22:34  Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, "I have sinned. I did not realize you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now if you are displeased, I will go back."

115. Num 22:35  The angel of the LORD said to Balaam, "Go with the men, but speak only what I tell you." So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.

116. Num 22:36  When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the Moabite town on the Arnon border, at the edge of his territory.

117. Num 22:37  Balak said to Balaam, "Did I not send you an urgent summons? Why didn't you come to me? Am I really not able to reward you?"

118. Num 22:38  "Well, I have come to you now," Balaam replied. "But can I say just anything? I must speak only what God puts in my mouth."

119. Num 22:39  Then Balaam went with Balak to Kiriath Huzoth.

120. Num 22:40  Balak sacrificed cattle and sheep, and gave some to Balaam and the princes who were with him.

121. Num 22:41  The next morning Balak took Balaam up to Bamoth Baal, and from there he saw part of the people.

122. Num 23:1  Balaam said, "Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me."

123. Num 23:2  Balak did as Balaam said, and the two of them offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

124. Num 23:3  Then Balaam said to Balak, "Stay here beside your offering while I go aside. Perhaps the LORD will come to meet with me. Whatever he reveals to me I will tell you." Then he went off to a barren height.

125. Num 23:4  God met with him, and Balaam said, "I have prepared seven altars, and on each altar I have offered a bull and a ram."

126. Num 23:5  The LORD put a message in Balaam's mouth and said, "Go back to Balak and give him this message."

127. Num 23:6  So he went back to him and found him standing beside his offering, with all the princes of Moab.

128. Num 23:7  Then Balaam uttered his oracle: "Balak brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the eastern mountains. 'Come,' he said, 'curse Jacob for me; come, denounce Israel.'

129. Num 23:8  How can I curse those whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce those whom the LORD has not denounced?

130. Num 23:9  From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them. I see a people who live apart and do not consider themselves one of the nations.

131. Num 23:10  Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and may my end be like theirs!"

132. Num 23:11  Balak said to Balaam, "What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but you have done nothing but bless them!"

133. Num 23:12  He answered, "Must I not speak what the LORD puts in my mouth?"

134. Num 23:13  Then Balak said to him, "Come with me to another place where you can see them; you will see only a part but not all of them. And from there, curse them for me."

135. Num 23:14  So he took him to the field of Zophim on the top of Pisgah, and there he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

136. Num 23:15  Balaam said to Balak, "Stay here beside your offering while I meet with him over there."

137. Num 23:16  The LORD met with Balaam and put a message in his mouth and said, "Go back to Balak and give him this message."

138. Num 23:17  So he went to him and found him standing beside his offering, with the princes of Moab. Balak asked him, "What did the LORD say?"

139. Num 23:18  Then he uttered his oracle: "Arise, Balak, and listen; hear me, son of Zippor.

140. Num 23:19  God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?

141. Num 23:20  I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot change it.

142. Num 23:21  "No misfortune is seen in Jacob, no misery observed in Israel. The LORD their God is with them; the shout of the King is among them.

143. Num 23:22  God brought them out of Egypt; they have the strength of a wild ox.

144. Num 23:23  There is no sorcery against Jacob, no divination against Israel. It will now be said of Jacob and of Israel, 'See what God has done!'

145. Num 23:24  The people rise like a lioness; they rouse themselves like a lion that does not rest till he devours his prey and drinks the blood of his victims."

146. Num 23:25  Then Balak said to Balaam, "Neither curse them at all nor bless them at all!"

147. Num 23:26  Balaam answered, "Did I not tell you I must do whatever the LORD says?"

148. Num 23:27  Then Balak said to Balaam, "Come, let me take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God to let you curse them for me from there."

149. Num 23:28  And Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, overlooking the wasteland.

150. Num 23:29  Balaam said, "Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me."

151. Num 23:30  Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

152. Num 24:1  Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he did not resort to sorcery as at other times, but turned his face toward the desert.

153. Num 24:2  When Balaam looked out and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the Spirit of God came upon him

154. Num 24:3  and he uttered his oracle: "The oracle of Balaam son of Beor, the oracle of one whose eye sees clearly,

155. Num 24:4  the oracle of one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened:

156. Num 24:5  "How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places, O Israel!

157. Num 24:6  "Like valleys they spread out, like gardens beside a river, like aloes planted by the LORD, like cedars beside the waters.

158. Num 24:7  Water will flow from their buckets; their seed will have abundant water. "Their king will be greater than Agag; their kingdom will be exalted.

159. Num 24:8  "God brought them out of Egypt; they have the strength of a wild ox. They devour hostile nations and break their bones in pieces; with their arrows they pierce them.

160. Num 24:9  Like a lion they crouch and lie down, like a lioness--who dares to rouse them? "May those who bless you be blessed and those who curse you be cursed!"

161. Num 24:10  Then Balak's anger burned against Balaam. He struck his hands together and said to him, "I summoned you to curse my enemies, but you have blessed them these three times.

162. Num 24:11  Now leave at once and go home! I said I would reward you handsomely, but the LORD has kept you from being rewarded."

163. Num 24:12  Balaam answered Balak, "Did I not tell the messengers you sent me,

164. Num 24:13  'Even if Balak gave me his palace filled with silver and gold, I could not do anything of my own accord, good or bad, to go beyond the command of the LORD--and I must say only what the LORD says'?

165. Num 24:14  Now I am going back to my people, but come, let me warn you of what this people will do to your people in days to come."

166. Deu 11:28  the curse if you disobey the commands of the LORD your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known.

167. Deu 11:29  When the LORD your God has brought you into the land you are entering to possess, you are to proclaim on Mount Gerizim the blessings, and on Mount Ebal the curses.

168. Deu 21:23  you must not leave his body on the tree overnight. Be sure to bury him that same day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God's curse. You must not desecrate the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.  =  Gal 3:13  Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree."  =  2 Sam 7:14  I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men.

169. 2 Sam 7:15  But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you.

170. 2 Sam 7:16  Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me ; your throne will be established forever.'"