Christian Standard Bible
2 Kings 1:10
10Elijah responded to the captain, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.
2 Kings 1:10 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.
- New International Version (NIV)Elijah answered the captain, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!” Then fire fell from heaven and consumed the captain and his men.
- English Standard Version (ESV)But Elijah answered the captain of fifty, "If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty." Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.
- New King James Version (NKJV)So Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” And fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.
Context of 2 Kings 1:10
8They replied, “A hairy man with a leather belt around his waist.” He said, “It’s Elijah the Tishbite.” 9So King Ahaziah sent a captain with his fifty men to Elijah. When the captain went up to him, he was sitting on top of the hill. He announced, “Man of God, the king declares, ‘Come down! ’” Elijah responded to the captain, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men. 11So the king sent another captain with his fifty men to Elijah. He took in the situation and announced, “Man of God, this is what the king says: ‘Come down immediately! ’” 12Elijah responded, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” So a divine fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.
Read all of 2 Kings 12 Kings 1:10 word by word
וַיַּעֲנֶ֣ה אֵלִיָּ֗הוּ וַיְדַבֵּר֮ אֶל־שַׂ֣ר הַחֲמִשִּׁים֒ וְאִם־אִ֤ישׁ אֱלֹהִים֙ אָ֔נִי תֵּ֤רֶד אֵשׁ֙ מִן־הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וְתֹאכַ֥ל אֹתְךָ֖ וְאֶת־חֲמִשֶּׁ֑יךָ וַתֵּ֤רֶד אֵשׁ֙ מִן־הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וַתֹּ֥אכַל אֹת֖וֹ וְאֶת־חֲמִשָּֽׁיו׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And Elijahאֵלִיָּה'êlîyâh 'êlîyâhû · ElijahH452
- answeredעָנָה‛ânâh · to answerH6030
- and saidדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
- to the captainשַׂרώar · rulerH8269
- of fiftyחֲמִשִּׁיםchămishshîym · fiftyH2572
- a manאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
- of Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- then let fireאֵשׁ'êsh · fireH784
- come downיָרַדyârad · to go downH3381
- from heavenשָׁמַיִםshâmayim shâmeh · heavenH8064
- and consumeאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
Cross-references for 2 Kings 1:10
- 2 Kings 2:23From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking up the path, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, chanting, “Go up, baldy! Go up, baldy!”
- Numbers 16:28Then Moses said, “This is how you will know that the Lord sent me to do all these things and that it was not of my own will:
- 1 Kings 18:36At the time for offering the evening sacrifice, the prophet Elijah approached the altar and said, “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, today let it be known that you are God in Israel and I am your servant, and that at your word I have done all these things.
- 1 Kings 22:28But Micaiah said, “If you ever return safely, the Lord has not spoken through me.” Then he said, “Listen, all you people!”
- 2 Chronicles 36:16But they kept ridiculing God’s messengers, despising his words, and scoffing at his prophets, until the Lord’s wrath was so stirred up against his people that there was no remedy.
- Psalms 105:15“Do not touch my anointed ones, or harm my prophets.”
- Matthew 21:41“He will completely destroy those terrible men,” they told him, “and lease his vineyard to other farmers who will give him his fruit at the harvest.”
- Matthew 23:34This is why I am sending you prophets, sages, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town.
- Acts 5:3“Ananias,” Peter asked, “why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the proceeds of the land?
- Numbers 11:1Now the people began complaining openly before the Lord about hardship. When the Lord heard, his anger burned, and fire from the Lord blazed among them and consumed the outskirts of the camp.
- Numbers 16:35Fire also came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men who were presenting the incense.
- Job 1:16He was still speaking when another messenger came and reported, “God’s fire fell from heaven. It burned the sheep and the servants and devoured them, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
- Psalms 106:18Fire blazed throughout their assembly; flames consumed the wicked.
- Luke 9:54When the disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?”
- Hebrews 12:29for our God is a consuming fire.
- Revelation 11:5If anyone wants to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and consumes their enemies; if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way.
Commentaries on 2 Kings 1:10
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 10And there came down fire - Some have blamed the prophet for destroying these men, by bringing down fire from heaven upon them. But they do not consider that it was no more possible for Elijah to bring down fire from heaven, than for them to do it. God alone could send the fire; and as he is just and good, he would not have destroyed these men had there not been a sufficient cause to justify the act. It was not to please Elijah, or to gratify any…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 10The charge of cruelty made against Elijah makes it needful to consider the question: What was Elijah‘s motive? And the answer is: Sharply to make a signal example, to vindicate God‘s honor in a striking way. Ahaziah had, as it were, challenged Yahweh to a trial of strength by sending a band of fifty to arrest one man. Elijah was not Jesus Christ, able to reconcile mercy with truth, the vindication of God‘s honor with the utmost tenderness for erring men…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-18Verses 9-18 Elijah called for fire from heaven, to consume the haughty, daring sinners; not to secure himself, but to prove his mission, and to reveal the wrath of God from heaven, against the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. Elijah did this by a Divine impulse, yet our Saviour would not allow the disciples to do the like, Lu 9:54. The dispensation of the Spirit and of grace by no means allowed it. Elijah was concerned for God's glory, those for…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9-10The proud words of the army captain contradicted themselves. Elijah showed this: If Elijah was truly a man of God (a prophet of God), then his authority came from God. To ignore him was to invite danger (see Deuteronomy 18:15–19). Fire often represents God's presence in the Scriptures (see Exodus 3:1–6; 19:18; compare 1 Kings 18:38). Fifty soldiers was a typical group size (1 Kings 18:4); here it shows a division in Israel's military organization.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1010. let fire come down--rather, "fire shall come down." Not to avenge a personal insult of Elijah, but an insult upon God in the person of His prophet; and the punishment was inflicted, not by the prophet, but by the direct hand of God.Read the comment
Topics related to 2 Kings 1:10
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 2 Kings 1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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