God’s Word Translation
Psalms 18:8
8Smoke went up from his nostrils, and a raging fire came out of his mouth. Glowing coals flared up from it.
Psalms 18:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.
- New International Version (NIV)Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from him.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Smoke went up from His nostrils, And devouring fire from His mouth; Coals were kindled by it.
Context of Psalms 18:8
6I called on the Lord in my distress. I cried to my God for help. He heard my voice from his temple, and my cry for help reached his ears. 7Then the earth shook and quaked. Even the foundations of the mountains trembled. They shook violently because he was angry. Smoke went up from his nostrils, and a raging fire came out of his mouth. Glowing coals flared up from it. 9He spread apart the heavens and came down with a dark cloud under his feet. 10He rode on one of the angels as he flew, and he soared on the wings of the wind.
Read all of Psalms 18Psalms 18:8 word by word
עָ֘לָ֤ה עָשָׁ֨ן׀ בְּאַפּ֗וֹ וְאֵשׁ־מִפִּ֥יו תֹּאכֵ֑ל גֶּ֝חָלִ֗ים בָּעֲר֥וּ מִמֶּֽנּוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Psalms 18:8
- Psalms 11:6He rains down fire and burning sulfur upon wicked people. He makes them drink from a cup filled with scorching wind.
- Psalms 21:9When you appear, you will make them ⌞burn⌟ like a blazing furnace. The Lord will swallow them up in his anger. Fire will devour them.
- Psalms 74:1Why, O God, have you rejected us forever? Why does your anger smolder against the sheep in your care?
- Psalms 104:32He looks at the earth, and it trembles. He touches the mountains, and they smoke.
- Psalms 144:5O Lord, bend your heaven low, and come down. Touch the mountains, and they will smoke.
- Genesis 19:28When he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land in the plain, he saw smoke rising from the land like the thick smoke of a furnace.
- Leviticus 10:2A fire flashed from the Lord and burned them, and they died in the presence of the Lord.
- Numbers 11:1The people began complaining out loud to the Lord about their troubles. When the Lord heard them, he became angry, and fire from the Lord began to burn among them. It destroyed some people on the outskirts of the camp.
- Numbers 16:35Fire came from the Lord and consumed the 250 men who were offering incense.
- Deuteronomy 29:20The Lord will never be willing to forgive that person, because the Lord’s burning anger will smolder against him. All the curses described in this book will happen to him. The Lord will erase ⌞every memory of⌟ that person’s name from the earth.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:8He will take revenge on those who refuse to acknowledge God and on those who refuse to respond to the Good News about our Lord Jesus.
- Daniel 7:10A river of fire flowed. It came from him. Thousands and thousands served him. Ten thousand times ten thousand were stationed in front of him. The court convened, and the books were opened.
- Amos 4:11I destroyed some of you as I destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. You were like a burning log snatched from a fire. And you still didn’t return to me, declares the Lord.
- Nahum 1:5The mountains quake because of him. The hills melt. The earth draws back in his presence. The world and all who live in it draw back as well.
- Revelation 11:5If anyone wants to hurt them, fire comes out of the witnesses’ mouths and burns up their enemies. If anyone wants to hurt them, he must be killed the same way.
Commentaries on Psalms 18:8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8There went up a smoke out of his nostrils - Or, 'There ascended into his nostrils a smoke,' as the words, literally rendered, signify. The ancients placed the seat of anger in the nose, or nostrils; because when the passions are warm and violent, it discovers itself by the heated vehement breath which proceeds from them. Hence the physiognomists considered open wide nostrils as a sign of an angry, fiery disposition. "This description of a smoke arising…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8There went up a smoke out of his nostrils - Margin, “by his;” that is, as it is understood in the margin, the smoke seemed to be produced “by” his nostrils, or to be caused by his breathing. The comparison, according to Rosenmuller and DeWette, is derived from wild beasts when excited with anger, and when their rage is indicated by their violent breathing. Compare Psalm 74:1; Deuteronomy 29:20; Isaiah 65:5. And fire out of his mouth devoured - That is…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8His nostrils … His mouth: The psalmist compares God to an angry person or a fierce creature (see Job 41:12–22). The frightening images of smoke, flames, and glowing coals show God’s anger against sin.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 7-87-8. God's coming described in figures drawn from His appearance on Sinai (compare De 32:22).Read the comment
Topics related to Psalms 18:8
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
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