to curse
a.rar marks a curse pronounced on people, places, things, or conduct, and can name the act of pronouncing it.
The dominant use marks persons, things, or situations as under a curse, often in declarative warnings or judgments; the same term also appears in commands and statements to pronounce such a curse, and in the repeated description of water that brings a curse.
Senses in use
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Being declared under a curse · dominant
Passive participles most often characterize a person, object, place, or condition as cursed. In Deuteronomy 27:15 the APB renders a declaration against the maker of an idol, while Deuteronomy 28:16 applies it to life in city and field; Genesis 3:17 applies the declaration to the ground because of Adam.
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Pronouncing a curse against someone or something · common
Finite forms and active participles present the act of calling down a curse. In Numbers 22:6 the APB renders Balak's request to Balaam, “curse this people for me,” and Judges 5:23 gives an imperative directed against Meroz and its inhabitants; Genesis 12:3 places the action in a blessing-and-curse declaration.
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Water characterized as bringing a curse · occasional
In the ritual involving bitter water, Piel active participles repeatedly qualify the water in the clause. In Numbers 5:22 the APB renders water entering the woman and causing bodily effects, and Numbers 5:27 adds that the woman becomes an object of cursing if she has been unfaithful.
In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB commonly presents the passive-participial clauses with “Cursed” or “cursed be,” while finite forms appear in clauses such as “curse this people for me.” In Numbers 5:18, Numbers 5:19, Numbers 5:22, Numbers 5:24, and Numbers 5:27 it renders the repeated phrase as water that “brings the curse”; these are verse-level renderings rather than word alignment.