Curse (2672) (kataraomai from katara = a curse from kata = down + ara = a prayer, a curse) literally is to curse down and so to call a curse down upon someone. The idea is to imprecate (= to invoke) evil on someone saying that a supernatural power will cause harm to someone or something. To pray or wish evil or ruin toward someone or some thing. To call down curses upon someone. To doom or give judgment against. To utter a prayer or invocation for harm or injury to come upon one. To utter a wish of evil against one; to imprecate evil upon; to call for mischief or injury to fall upon; to execrate. A solemn appeal to a supernatural power to inflict harm on someone or something. In the passive voice the idea is to be doomed or accursed (Mt 25:41 = the forever fate of all Christ rejecters!). The antithesis of eulogeo! For fallen men to curse is NATURAL, but for fallen men to bless is SUPERNATURAL! You must be born again in order to bless in those circumstances and situations in which you formerly would curse. Other resources on curse: Curse - Easton's, ISBE Blessing and Cursing - Holman Bible Dictionary Curse, Accursed - Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology Can a Christian be cursed- Will God allow a curse on a believer? What does the Bible say about breaking "generational curses"? What is imprecatory prayer? Are believer's to pray as David did? Louw-Nida - to cause injury or harm by means of a statement regarded as having some supernatural power, often because a deity or supernatural force has been evoked. (Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains) Vine's Lexicon... Kataraomai = primarily signifies to pray against, to wish evil against a person or thing; hence to curse Katara = Noun Feminine — kata, "down," intensive, and No. 1, denotes an "execration, imprecation, curse," uttered out of malevolence, James 3:10 ; 2 Peter 2:14 ; or pronounced by God in His righteous judgment, as upon a land doomed to barrenness, Hebrews 6:8 ; upon those who seek for justification by obedience, in part or completely, to the Law, Galatians 3:10,13 ; in this 13th verse it is used concretely of Christ, as having "become a curse" for us, i.e., by voluntarily undergoing on the Cross the appointed penalty of the "curse." He thus was identified, on our behalf, with the doom of sin. Here, not the verb in the Sept. of Deuteronomy 21:23 is used (see B, No. 3), but the concrete noun. (Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary) Renner - In the ancient world, it was believed that when a person spoke good words about someone else, those words conveyed a blessing on that other person's life. Conversely, people believed that when someone spoke curses over another person, his very words caused curses to come upon that person's life. This ancient belief in the power of words is actually borne out in the Scriptures. We should never forget the power that is contained in the words we speak. Proverbs 18:21 makes it very clear that the power of life and death is in the tongue. (Sparkling Gems from the Greek) NIDNTT on Curse - To this day as understood in the East, its aim is to destroy the object of the curse, since it delivers him up to the destructive working of supernatural powers or brings them into action against him....Ara, curse is current from the time of Homer. From the 5th-4th cent. B.C. there is also the compound katara with the same meaning. kataraomai, curse someone (dat.) or to execrate him (acc.), occurs in secular Gk. from Homer. Curse (Webster's 1828 definition) - 1. To utter a wish of evil against one; to imprecate evil upon; to call for mischief or injury to fall upon; to execrate. Thou shalt not curse the ruler of thy people. Bless and curse not. Curse me this people, for they are too mighty for me. Numbers 22 2 . To injure; to subject to evil; to vex, harass or torment with great calamities. - On impious realms and barbarous kings impose thy plagues, and curse em with such sons as those. 3. To devote to evil. - To utter imprecations; to affirm or deny with imprecations of divine vengeance. - Then began he to curse and to swear. Numbers 22 . Kataraomai is in the present imperative with a negative which is a command to the saints in Rome to stop cursing, implying they were in fact already responding in this manner (this tense with a negative also means don't let this practice begin). Don't miss the order in this verse - first, bless, then, curse not. It's difficult to curse someone you just blessed beloved! And remember it's all founded on a surrender of your will in Romans 12:1-note, which in turn is founded on the liberating truth in Romans 1-11. You cannot just begin to read Paul's commands in Romans 12-16 and expect that you will be able to obey them unless you understand why it is even now possible for you in Christ to be able to do so (that's Romans 1-11!) It appears that some of the Roman saints were calling down curses on those who persecuted them for the sake of Christ. But Paul says "Stop cursing them!” The noun katara is use in Galatians 3:10 For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse (katara); for it is written, “CURSED (epikataratos from epà = upon + katáratos = cursed, thus "under a curse, doomed to punishment") IS EVERYONE WHO DOES NOT ABIDE BY ALL THINGS WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF THE LAW, TO PERFORM THEM.” Christ redeemed us from this curse (Gal 3:13). Kataraomai - 6x in 6v - Usage: accursed(1), curse(3), cursed(1). Matthew 25:41 "Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; Mark 11:21 Being reminded, Peter said to Him, "Rabbi, look, the fig tree which You cursed has withered." Luke 6:28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Romans 12:14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. James 3:9 With it (the tongue which is "double" for with it) we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; Kataraomai - 49 verses in the non-apocryphal Septuagint - Ge 5:29; 8:21; 12:3; Ge 27:29; Lev 24:11, 14f, 23; Num 22:6, 12; 23:8, 13, 25, 27; 24:9f; Deut 21:23; 23:4; Judg 5:23; 9:27; 1 Sam 17:43; 2 Sam 16:5, 7, 9ff, 13; 19:21; 1 Kgs 2:8, 35; 2 Kgs 2:24; 9:34; Neh 10:29; 13:2, 25; Job 3:1, 6, 8; 24:18; Ps 37:22; 62:4; 109:28; Pr 27:14; 30:10f; Eccl 7:21f; 10:20; Jer 15:10; Mal 2:2 Ge 5:29 Now he called his name Noah, saying, “This one shall give us rest from our work and from the toil of our hands arising from the ground which the LORD has cursed.” (Hebrew = arar; Lxx = Kataraomai) Ge 8:21 And the LORD smelled the soothing aroma; and the LORD said to Himself, “I will never again curse (Hebrew = qalal; Lxx = Kataraomai) the ground on account of man, for the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done. Ge 12:3 (repeated in Ge 27:29 = God is serious about cursing those who curse the nation of Israel!) And I will bless those who bless you (Jacob/Israel), And the one who curses (Lxx = epikataratos = epi = upon, so it is picture of a curse upon = accursed, condemned by God) you I will curse (Hebrew = arar; Lxx = Kataraomai). And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Nu 22:12 And God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them; you shall not curse (Hebrew = arar; Lxx = Kataraomai) the people; for they are blessed.” Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Dictionary writes that a curse is "a prayer for injury, harm, or misfortune to befall someone. Noah, for instance, pronounced a curse on Canaan (Ge 9:25). Isaac pronounced a curse on anyone who cursed Jacob (Ge 27:29). The soothsayer Balaam was hired by Balak, king of Moab, to pronounce a curse on the Israelites (Nu 22:1-24:25). Goliath, the Philistine giant of Gath, “cursed David by his gods” (1Sa 17:43). In Bible times, a curse was considered to be more than a mere wish that evil would befall one’s enemies; it was believed to possess the power to bring about the evil the curser spoke." Note that the Greek idea of "curse" does not have the usual present day meaning of speaking profanity, but of calling down divine curses upon another person. Kent Hughes comments that... This is the radical way of Jesus as given in his Sermon on the Mount. More than speaking well of one’s enemies, it includes praying for their forgiveness and blessing. This is supremely radical. It is one thing not to curse your enemies, but entirely another to pray for their blessing. This is a life-changing call. The Arabs have a custom which (though practiced with differing levels of sincerity) symbolizes what is called for here. They touch the head, lips, and heart indicating, “I think highly of you, I speak well of you, my heart beats for you.” What a way to love the world! “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.” (Hughes, R. K. Romans: Righteousness from heaven. Preaching the Word. Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books) Vincent gives an illustration of this word "curse" (kataraomai) in classical Greek “Plutarch relates that when a decree was issued that Alcibiades should be solemnly cursed by all the priests and priestesses, one of the latter declared that her holy office obliged her to make prayers, but not execrations.” To fulfill this command requires right thinking (Romans 1-11 culminating in Romans 12:1-note, Ro 12:2) as we put into practice what we by grace through faith now possess in the New Covenant -- the mind of Christ (1Cor 2:16). With this mindset ("Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." Luke 23:34) and with our hearts surrendered to His will, not our will, we repay unkindness and injury with a grace filled and Spirit empowered response instead of the natural response (from our Old self or old man) which is to curse and retaliate. (See Torrey's Topic "Union w/ Christ") Romans 12:15 Rejoice (PAN) with those who rejoice (PAPMPG), and weep (PAN) with those who weep (PAPMPG). (NASB: Lockman) Greek: chairein (PAN) meta chaironton, (PAPMPN) klaiein (PAN) meta klaionton. (PAPMPN) Amplified: Rejoice with those who rejoice [sharing others' joy], and weep with those who weep [sharing others' grief]. (Amplified Bible - Lockman) NLT: When others are happy, be happy with them. If they are sad, share their sorrow. (NLT - Tyndale House) Phillips: Share the happiness of those who are happy, the sorrow of those who are sad. (Phillips: Touchstone) Wuest: Be rejoicing with those who are rejoicing, and be weeping with those who are weeping (Eerdmans) Young's Literal: to rejoice with the rejoicing, and to weep with the weeping, REJOICE WITH THOSE WHO REJOICE: chairein (PAN) meta chaironton (PAPMPG) (Isaiah 66:10, 11, 12, 13, 14; Luke 1:58; 15:5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10; Acts 11:23; 1 Corinthians 12:26; 2 Corinthians 2:3; Philippians 2:17,18,28) While rejoice is not a command in Greek, it comes across with the sense of a command, as indeed effusive joy should be the lifestyle of all believers (At least that is our potential in Christ!). How? What is the fruit of the Spirit? If joy is the fruit (Gal 5:22-note), it follows that the only way for a believer to give verbal expression of that joy (especially that which is independent of one's circumstances) is by being continually filled with the Spirit (Eph 5:18-note), that we might continually walk (conduct, behave) by the same Spirit, and not act according to the desires of our fallen flesh (Gal 5:16-note). I like Webster's definition of rejoice as "to give joy to"! Does your presence in the room bring joy to others? I hope you are convicted because I am! Rejoice continually (present tense).