God’s Word Translation
Psalms 18:13
13The Lord thundered in the heavens. The Most High made his voice heard with hailstones and lightning.
Psalms 18:13 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire.
- New International Version (NIV)The Lord thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.
- English Standard Version (ESV)The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice, hailstones and coals of fire.
- New King James Version (NKJV)The Lord thundered from heaven, And the Most High uttered His voice, Hailstones and coals of fire.
Context of Psalms 18:13
11He made the darkness his hiding place, the dark rain clouds his covering. 12Out of the brightness in front of him, those rain clouds passed by with hailstones and lightning. The Lord thundered in the heavens. The Most High made his voice heard with hailstones and lightning. 14He shot his arrows and scattered them. He flashed streaks of lightning and threw them into confusion. 15Then the ocean floor could be seen. The foundations of the earth were laid bare at your stern warning, O Lord, at the blast of the breath from your nostrils.
Read all of Psalms 18Psalms 18:13 word by word
וַיַּרְעֵ֬ם בַּשָּׁמַ֨יִם׀ יְֽהוָ֗ה וְ֭עֶלְיוֹן יִתֵּ֣ן קֹל֑וֹ בָּ֝רָ֗ד וְגַֽחֲלֵי־אֵֽשׁ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- The Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- also thunderedרָעַםrâ‛am · to thunderH7481
- in the heavensשָׁמַיִםshâmayim shâmeh · heavenH8064
- and the Highestעֶלְיוֹן‛elyôn · Most HighH5945
- gaveנָתַןnâthan · to give: cry outH5414
- his voiceקוֹלqôl qôl · voiceH6963
- hailבָּרָדbârâd · hailH1259
- and coalsגַּחֶ֫לֶתgechel gacheleth · coalH1513
- of fireאֵשׁ'êsh · fireH784
Cross-references for Psalms 18:13
- Psalms 78:48He let the hail strike their cattle and bolts of lightning strike their livestock.
- Psalms 104:7and fled because of your threat. Water ran away at the sound of your thunder.
- Exodus 20:18All the people heard the thunder and saw the lightning. They heard the blast of the ram’s horn and saw the mountain covered with smoke. So they shook with fear and stood at a distance.
- 1 Samuel 7:10While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines came to fight against Israel. On that day the Lord thundered loudly at the Philistines and threw them into such confusion that they were defeated by Israel.
- Job 40:9Do you have power like God’s? Can you thunder with a voice like his?
- John 12:29The crowd standing there heard the voice and said that it had thundered. Others in the crowd said that an angel had talked to him.
- Revelation 4:5Lightning, noise, and thunder came from the throne. Seven flaming torches were burning in front of the throne. These are the seven spirits of God.
- Revelation 8:5The angel took the incense burner, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it on the earth. Then there was thunder, noise, lightning, and an earthquake.
- Revelation 19:6I heard what sounded like the noise from a large crowd, like the noise of raging waters, like the noise of loud thunder, saying, “Hallelujah! The Lord our God, the Almighty, has become king.
- Psalms 29:3The voice of the Lord rolls over the water. The God of glory thunders. The Lord shouts over raging water.
- Ezekiel 10:5The sound of the angels’ wings was heard as far as the outer courtyard. It was like the sound of the Almighty God when he speaks.
- Psalms 120:3You deceitful tongue, what can the Lord give you? What more can he do for you?
- Psalms 140:10Let burning coals fall on them. Let them be thrown into a pit, never to rise again.
- Deuteronomy 32:24They will be starved by famines and ravaged by pestilence and deadly epidemics. I will send vicious animals against them along with poisonous animals that crawl on the ground.
- Habakkuk 3:5Diseases go ahead of him. Plagues follow after him.
Commentaries on Psalms 18:13
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 13The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice - And then followed the hail and coals of fire. The former verse mentioned the lightning, with its effects; this gives us the report of the thunder, and the increasing storm of hail and fire that attended it. Some think the words hail-stones and coals of fire are entered here by some careless transcribers from the preceding verse; and it is true that they are wanting in the Septuagint…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 13The Lord also thundered in the heavens - Thunder is often in the Scriptures described as the voice of God. See the magnificent description in Psalm 29:1-11; compare Job 40:9, “Canst thou thunder with a voice like him?” So 1 Samuel 7:10; 1 Samuel 12:18; Psalm 77:18; Job 37:4. And the Highest gave his voice - God, the most exalted Being in the universe, uttered his voice in the thunder; or, the thunder was his voice. Hail-stones, and coals of fire…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7-15The psalmist describes the Lord coming down from heaven to earth. This moment includes powerful signs such as earthquakes, fire, smoke, darkness, and rain. All creation trembles when God appears. The psalm shows God as the Divine Warrior (a title that describes God fighting for his people, see Psalm 97:2–5) and as the Judge who rules with justice (see 50:1–6).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1313. The storm breaks forth--thunder follows lightning, and hail with repeated lightning, as often seen, like balls or coals of fire, succeed (Ex 9:23).Read the comment
Topics related to Psalms 18:13
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Psalms 18
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- The Treasury of David
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries