Anathema Maran-Atha

The phrase combines a solemn curse with an Aramaic acclamation. In Paul's closing words to the Corinthians, the two expressions appear together as a sharp boundary marker: "If any man does not love the Lord, let him be accursed. Maranatha" (1Co 16:22). The first element, the curse, excludes from the community anyone who does not love the Lord. The second, Maranatha — an Aramaic phrase meaning "Our Lord, come" — turns immediately from exclusion to expectation, placing the coming of the Lord as the horizon against which the curse and the covenant both stand.