Q&A: A Righteous Person Cursing
A Righteous Person Cursing
Question
It is written in Jeremiah chapter 18:
“And they said: Come, let us devise plans against Jeremiah, for Torah shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise man, nor the word from the prophet. Come, let us strike him with the tongue, and let us pay no attention to any of his words.” 19 “Give heed to me, O Lord, and listen to the voice of my adversaries.” 20 “Should evil be repaid for good? For they have dug a pit for my soul. Remember how I stood before You to speak good on their behalf, to turn away Your wrath from them.” 21 “Therefore deliver their children to famine, and give them over to the power of the sword; let their wives become bereaved and widowed, and let their men be put to death, their young men struck down by the sword in battle.” 22 “Let a cry be heard from their houses when You suddenly bring a raiding band upon them, for they have dug a pit to capture me and hidden snares for my feet.”
Is it fitting to curse like that, and especially that their children should be given over to famine? Why?
Answer
I don’t know. Maybe he hoped that this way they would repent, and then none of this would actually be necessary. If there is a society that raises its children in a way that makes it clear they will grow up to be criminals, maybe there is some justification for that, even though the children have not yet sinned (like the way a stubborn and rebellious son is judged based on what he is destined to become).