Praying curses on enemies is permitted in the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures

Cursing in the Bible done by pagans is defined as the malicious intent to invoke harm another person usually involving spirits using amulets and magic. The Jewish/Christian concept however is different. There are several things that are forbidden. 1) Cursing someone out of hate or dislike. Leviticus 19:18 tells us to not bear grudges and love our neighbors. 2) Using black magic and witchcraft. Leviticus 26:6 forbids the use of it. 3) Cursing another believer. Believers are under the protection and sanctification of Jesus Christ (Galatians19:3). Therefore any attempt to harm them will not work. Now why do I say that cursing is permitted? The Torah outlines the concept of blessing and curses. Deut. 28 gives the blessings for obedience to the law and curses for disobedience. Gen. 12:3 "I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you." Now most would probably associate health with God and sickness of Satan, but the ancient mind didn't think in those terms. Everything both good and bad came from God (Isaiah 45:7). God would curse those who cursed Abraham, the forefather of our faith. Pronouncing curses on people was done when they have violated God's justice. Here are examples of people being cursed for sinning against God. Gen. 9:24 ".. Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his younger brothers.. " Noah cursed the children of Ham for their sexual perversion. Gen. 12 : 17 "But the LORD sent terrible plagues on Pharoah and his household because of Abraham's wife, Sarah. " Exodus 10 God pronounces curses on Egypt. Joshua 6:26 "At that time, Joshua pronounced this solemn oath : 'cursed before the LORD is the man who undertakes to rebuild this city, Jericho: 'at the cost of his firstborn son will he lay its foundations;at the cost of his youngest will he set up its gates." Judges 9:57 "God also made the man of Shechem pay for all their wickedness. The curse of Jotham son of Jerub-Baal came upon them. " 2 Kings 2:23-24 "23 from there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some youths came out of the town and jeered at him. "Go on up, you bald head! 24 he turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord.then two bears came out of the woods and mauled 42 of the youths. 25 and he went on to Mount Carmel and from there returned to Samaria." Not only did Elisha have to defend himself, they were also blaspheming against God. 2nd Kings 1:9-16 tells of an account between a group of men and Elijah. He calls down and consumes them. He then declares that the king would die. We find several verses where God is loving and compassionate towards those who turn to him, but pours his righteous wrath upon those who hate him by living in sin and rebellion. Some would argue that Jesus taught us to love and pray for our enemies and I agree that we should, but there are some exceptions in which I will explain later. A curse may not necessarily kill, but simply punish. God ultimately wants everyone to know the love and mercy coming through Jesus Christ, but to begin the Messianic age, Jesus will come as a warrior king executing judgement on those who turned against him (Rev. 19:11-21.) Exodus 23:20-33 God places an angel before Israel to fight against their enemies. Many of the Psalms speak of God unleashing his wrath upon the wicked for example Psalm 2 and most notably Psalm 58:6-8 says "6 break the teeth in their mouths, o God; tear out, o lord, the fangs of the lions! let them vanish like water that flows away; when they draw the bow, let their arrows be blunted Like a slug melting away as it move along, like it still born child, mayday not see the sun." That being said, the concept of cursing for believers should not be to bear grudges against evil doers, but pray that God's justice would be done. Let's look at some examples in the New Testament where we find people being cursed by believers. Acts 13:10-12 "You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? 11 Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind and for a time you will be unable to see the light of the Sun." immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. 12 when the proconsul saw what happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the LORD. " Paul was confronted by a sorcerer who tried to prevent the Gospel from being spread. Verse 9 says that Paul was moved by the Holy Spirit to pronounce a curse upon him. In conclusion, cursing others should never be done unless God's spirit moves a believer to pronounce judgement for the sake of the Gospel. Believers should never act out of selfish anger but in righteousness that for those who seek to commit evil, God will justly bring evil upon their own heads.