do hereby join with our leaders in an oath, under penalty of a curse if we break it, that we will live according to God's Law, which God gave through his servant Moses; that we will obey all that the Lord, our Lord, commands us; and that we will keep all his laws and requirements.
When the people who were taken away as prisoners from Jerusalem to Babylonia want to bring a curse on someone, they will say, ‘May the Lord treat you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylonia roasted alive!’
If she has committed adultery, the water will cause bitter pain; her stomach will swell up and her genital organs will shrink. Her name will become a curse among her people.
At this time Joshua issued a solemn warning: “Anyone who tries to rebuild the city of Jericho will be under the Lord's curse. Whoever lays the foundation will lose his oldest son; Whoever builds the gates will lose his youngest.”
The Israelites were weak with hunger that day, because Saul, with a solemn oath, had given the order: “A curse be on anyone who eats any food today before I take revenge on my enemies.” So nobody had eaten anything all day.