New International Version
2 Kings 1:10
10Elijah 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.
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)But Elijah replied to the captain, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and destroy you and your fifty men!” Then fire fell from heaven and killed them all.
Context of 2 Kings 1:10
8They replied, “He had a garment of hair and had a leather belt around his waist.” The king said, “That was Elijah the Tishbite.” 9Then he sent to Elijah a captain with his company of fifty men. The captain went up to Elijah, who was sitting on the top of a hill, and said to him, “Man of God, the king says, ‘Come down!’ ” 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. 11At this the king sent to Elijah another captain with his fifty men. The captain said to him, “Man of God, this is what the king says, ‘Come down at once!’ ” 12“If I am a man of God,” Elijah replied, “may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!” Then the fire of God fell 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 along the road, some boys came out of the town and jeered at him. “Get out of here, baldy!” they said. “Get out of here, baldy!”
- Numbers 16:28Then Moses said, “This is how you will know that the Lord has sent me to do all these things and that it was not my idea:
- 1 Kings 18:36At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command.
- 1 Kings 22:28Micaiah declared, “If you ever return safely, the Lord has not spoken through me.” Then he added, “Mark my words, all you people!”
- 2 Chronicles 36:16But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the Lord was aroused against his people and there was no remedy.
- Psalms 105:15“Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm.”
- Matthew 21:41“He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”
- Matthew 23:34Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town.
- Acts 5:3Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?
- Numbers 11:1Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the Lord, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the Lord burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp.
- Numbers 16:35And fire came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense.
- Job 1:16While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The fire of God fell from the heavens and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
- Psalms 106:18Fire blazed among their followers; a flame consumed the wicked.
- Luke 9:54When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?”
- Hebrews 12:29for our “God is a consuming fire.”
- Revelation 11:5If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die.
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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