‘Curse Meroz,’ says the angel of the LORD. ‘Bitterly curse her inhabitants; for they did not come to help the LORD, to help the LORD against the mighty.’
Parallel translations
- WEB ‘Curse Meroz,’ said Yahweh’s angel. ‘Curse bitterly its inhabitants, because they didn’t come to help Yahweh, to help Yahweh against the mighty.’
- KJV Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the LORD, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof; because they came not to the help of the LORD, to the help of the LORD against the mighty.
- NKJV ‘Curse Meroz,’ said the angel of the Lord, ‘Curse its inhabitants bitterly, Because they did not come to the help of the Lord, To the help of the Lord against the mighty.’
- NASB ‘Curse Meroz,’ said the angel of the Lord, ‘Utterly curse its inhabitants, Because they did not come to the help of the Lord, To the help of the Lord against the warriors.’
- NLT ‘Let the people of Meroz be cursed,’ said the angel of the Lord. ‘Let them be utterly cursed, because they did not come to help the Lord— to help the Lord against the mighty warriors.’
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The angel of Yahweh curses Meroz for refusing to help in the battle.
Overview
Meroz is condemned not for fighting against Israel but for failing to come to the LORD's aid. Neutrality in God's cause is treated as serious guilt. The curse warns that to withhold help from God's people in their need is to side against Him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- 1 Cor 3:9For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.
- Judg 21:9–10For when the people were counted, none of the residents of Jabesh-gilead were there.
- 1 Cor 16:22If anyone does not love the Lord, let him be under a curse. Come, O Lord!
- Jer 48:10Cursed is the one who is remiss in doing the work of the LORD, and cursed is he who withholds his sword from bloodshed.
- Judg 6:11Then the angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to hide it from the Midianites.
- 1 Sam 25:28Please forgive your servant’s offense, for the LORD will surely make a lasting dynasty for my lord, because he fights the LORD’s battles. May no evil be found in you as long as you live.
- Judg 2:1Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim and said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land that I had promised to your fathers, and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you,
- Judg 4:6She summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “Surely the LORD, the God of Israel, is commanding you: ‘Go and march to Mount Tabor, taking with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun.
- 1 Sam 18:17Then Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab. I will give her to you in marriage. Only be valiant for me and fight the LORD’s battles.” But Saul was thinking, “I need not raise my hand against him; let the hand of the Philistines be against him.”
- 2 Cor 6:1As God’s fellow workers, then, we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.
- Matt 25:41Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
- 1 Sam 17:47And all those assembled here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and He will give all of you into our hands.”
- Judg 13:3The angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, “It is true that you are barren and have no children; but you will conceive and give birth to a son.
- Rom 15:18I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obedience by word and deed,
- Neh 3:5Next to him, the Tekoites made repairs, but their nobles did not put their shoulders to the work under their supervisors.
- 1 Sam 26:19Now please, may my lord the king hear the words of his servant: If the LORD has stirred you up against me, then may He accept an offering. But if men have done it, may they be cursed in the presence of the LORD! For today they have driven me away from sharing in the inheritance of the LORD, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’
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Christ at the center
Israel's cycle of sin and rescue through flawed deliverers cries out for a Savior who never fails — the true and final Judge and Deliverer who saves his people not for a season but forever.
How Judges 5:23 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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