Judges 5:23

‘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.’

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The angel of the LORD pronounces judgment on Meroz and its inhabitants during the Song of Deborah, positioned between the account of the enemy's rout and the blessing of Jael. The speaker addresses the recording community, marking a divine verdict on those who stayed out of the battle.

The words — The Hebrew א֣וֹרוּ ('o.ru) and אָר֖וֹר ('a.Ror) both stem from H779, meaning "to curse," with the latter form intensifying the command to a bitter or continuous cursing. מֵר֗וֹז (me.Roz) names the location, while יֹשְׁבֶ֑י/הָ (yo.she.Vei./ha) specifies its inhabitants.

The thread — The pattern of divine disfavor toward absentees runs through Judges 21:9, where Jabesh-gilead is recorded for missing the muster, and Nehemiah 3:5, where the Tekoites' nobles refuse to labor. The contrast between withholding and giving support is echoed in 1 Samuel 18:17, where military participation is tied to covenantal standing.

Why it lands — The text requires a direct evaluation of one's response to a divine call for collective action. It demands recognition that refusing to aid the LORD in battle is recorded as active opposition rather than neutral omission.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

א֣וֹרוּ'o.rucurse מֵר֗וֹזme.RozMeroz אָמַר֙'a.Marhe says מַלְאַ֣ךְmal.'Akh[the] angel of יְהוָ֔הYah.wehYahweh אֹ֥רוּ'O.rucurse אָר֖וֹר'a.Rorcontinuously <to curse>יֹשְׁבֶ֑יהָyo.she.Vei./hainhabitants/ its כִּ֤יkifor לֹֽא־lo'-not בָ֙אוּ֙va.'uthey came לְעֶזְרַ֣תle./'ez.Ratto/ [the] help of יְהוָ֔הYah.wehYahweh לְעֶזְרַ֥תle./'ez.Ratto/ [the] help of יְהוָ֖הYah.wehYahweh בַּגִּבּוֹרִֽים׃ba./gi.bo.Rimon the/ mighty [ones]

King James Version

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.

Cross-references

Judges 21:9 For when the people were counted, none of the residents of Jabesh-gilead were there.
1 Samuel 18:17 Then 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.”
Nehemiah 3:5 Next to him, the Tekoites made repairs, but their nobles did not put their shoulders to the work under their supervisors.
Jeremiah 48:10 Cursed is the one who is remiss in doing the work of the LORD, and cursed is he who withholds his sword from bloodshed.
1 Corinthians 3:9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.
1 Corinthians 16:22 If anyone does not love the Lord, let him be under a curse. Come, O Lord!
Judges 2:1 Now 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,
Judges 4:6 She 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.
Judges 6:11 Then 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.
Judges 13:3 The 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.