diff --git a/src/frontend/xcecli/cmd/jobs/submit.go b/src/frontend/xcecli/cmd/jobs/submit.go
index 86134c46..5c15efba 100755
--- a/src/frontend/xcecli/cmd/jobs/submit.go
+++ b/src/frontend/xcecli/cmd/jobs/submit.go
@@ -102,9 +102,16 @@ func (js *JobSubmitter) ParseCmdArgs(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 		}
 	}
 
-	// check if there is standard input redirection
+	// check if there is standard input redirection -- but only when the
+	// command line carries no command of its own. A piped stdin is the job
+	// script (bsub < script semantics, parsed as #xce job submit lines by
+	// parseConfigFile below); an explicit command on the command line wins
+	// and stdin must not be touched at all: reading it would block forever
+	// on a pipe that stays open without writing data (bug-1980 -- a hung
+	// submit observed in live use), and any stdin bytes would be silently
+	// reinterpreted as a config script next to the explicit command.
 	fileInfo, err := os.Stdin.Stat()
-	if err == nil && (fileInfo.Mode()&os.ModeCharDevice) == 0 {
+	if err == nil && len(args) == 0 && (fileInfo.Mode()&os.ModeCharDevice) == 0 {
 		if tmpFileName, err := js.handleStdin(); err != nil {
 			errMsg := request.ExtractErrorMessage(err)
 			return fmt.Errorf("error reading from stdin: [%s]", errMsg)
diff --git a/src/frontend/xcecli/cmd/jobs/submit_test.go b/src/frontend/xcecli/cmd/jobs/submit_test.go
index d2ac9466..fc83f823 100644
--- a/src/frontend/xcecli/cmd/jobs/submit_test.go
+++ b/src/frontend/xcecli/cmd/jobs/submit_test.go
@@ -376,3 +376,38 @@ func TestWaitForInteractiveURL_SuspendedJobKeepsWaiting(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Errorf("url = %q, want http://h:9000", url)
 	}
 }
+
+// bug-1980: `jobs submit <cmd...>` with a piped stdin used to block forever
+// when the pipe stayed open with no data (heredoc quoting accidents, generic
+// tooling that keeps a stdin pipe around): ParseCmdArgs treated ANY
+// non-terminal stdin as a potential job script and io.ReadAll'ed it before
+// looking at the command args. LSF (bsub) semantics the CLI claims to follow
+// are the reverse: stdin is the job script only when no command is given on
+// the command line -- an explicit command must win and never touch stdin.
+func TestParseCmdArgs_ExplicitCommandIgnoresHeldOpenStdin(t *testing.T) {
+	pr, pw, err := os.Pipe()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("pipe: %v", err)
+	}
+	defer pr.Close() //nolint:errcheck // read end: closed after Parse returns
+	t.Cleanup(func() { _ = pw.Close() })
+	// Keep the write end open for the duration of the call: the pre-fix code
+	// blocks in io.ReadAll here; the post-fix code must not read stdin at all.
+
+	oldStdin := os.Stdin
+	os.Stdin = pr
+	t.Cleanup(func() { os.Stdin = oldStdin })
+
+	js := NewJobSubmitter(nil)
+	cmd := NewSubmitJobsCmd(nil)
+	parseErr := js.ParseCmdArgs(cmd, []string{"sleep", "10"})
+	if parseErr != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("ParseCmdArgs with explicit command and held-open stdin: %v", parseErr)
+	}
+	if js.command != "sleep 10" {
+		t.Errorf("command = %q, want %q", js.command, "sleep 10")
+	}
+	if strings.Contains(js.configFile, "xcecli_stdin_") {
+		t.Errorf("stdin was consumed as a config file (%s) despite an explicit command", js.configFile)
+	}
+}