Zechariah 8:13
11 But I will be different now to this remnant of my people from the way I was in those days,’ says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, 12 ‘for there will be a peaceful time of sowing, the vine will produce its fruit, and the ground its yield, and the skies will rain down dew. Then I will allow the remnant of my people to possess all these things. 13 And it will come about that just as you, both Judah and Israel, were a curse to the nations, so I will save you and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid! Instead, be strong.’ 14 “For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says, ‘As I had planned to hurt you when your fathers made me angry,’ says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, ‘and I was not sorry, 15 so, to the contrary, I have planned in these days to do good to Jerusalem and Judah—do not fear!
Malachi 2:2
1 “Now, you priests, this commandment is for you. 2 If you do not listen and take seriously the need to honor my name,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will send judgment on you and turn your blessings into curses—indeed, I have already done so because you are not taking it to heart. 3 I am about to discipline your children and will spread offal on your faces, the very offal produced at your festivals, and you will be carried away along with it. 4 Then you will know that I sent this commandment to you so that my covenant may continue to be with Levi,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
Notes and References
"... The social control model presupposes that people follow social norms more readily if they fear curse as a means of punishment127. Some of the Old Testament texts contain curses with a function of a threat in order to prevent a behavior harmful for the whole community (a ‘decalogue’ of curses in Deuteronomy 27; Zechariah 5:3; Malachi 2:2). Such curse-threats could be pronounced not only by God, but by a person in authority as, for instance, in 1 Samuel 14:24. The basic threat includes misfortune, the devastating calamity, exclusion from the community and loss of every benefit obtained by a previous blessing (Hosea 8-10). The curse will befall the people in case of neglect of the Lord’s commandment (Deuteronomy 11:28; 29:20). Britt notices that the power of curse has social and cultural dimension, because ‘it consists in the harm or threat of harm they are believed to carry. For “religious” cursing as for “secular” hate speech, the mention or threat of powerful words is often as significant as their actual use; both depend on social and cultural norms’ ..."
Skulkina, Irina Blessing and Curse in the Old Testament: Socio-Cultural Aspects (pp. 41-42) Ukrainian Catholic University, 2013