by Mike Bennett

In the King James Version, this verse is rendered with a Greek and Aramaic phrase left untranslated: “If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.”

The New King James Version correctly translates the Greek word anathema as “accursed.”

Adam Clarke’s Commentary explains, “This is not said in the way of a wish or imprecation, but as a prediction of what would certainly come upon them if they did not repent.”

“Having spoken so strongly, Paul then turns to the future hope and cries out, ‘Marana the’—Aramaic words that came to be used in the early church and that can best be translated ‘Our Lord, come!’” (Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary, note on 1 Corinthians 16:21-24).

For more about the Christian hope for the return of Jesus Christ, see “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.”