New International Version “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. New Living Translation Elijah replied, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and destroy you and your fifty men!” And again the fire of God fell from heaven and killed them all. English Standard Version But Elijah answered them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. Berean Standard Bible Again Elijah replied, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” And the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed the captain and his fifty men. Berean Literal Bible And Elijah answered and said to them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from the heavens and consume you and your fifty.” And the fire of God came down from the heavens and consumed him and his fifty. King James Bible And Elijah answered and said unto them, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty. New King James Version So Elijah answered and said to them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” And the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. New American Standard Bible But Elijah replied to them, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men. NASB 1995 Elijah replied to them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. NASB 1977 And Elijah answered and said to them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. Legacy Standard Bible And Elijah answered and spoke to them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. Amplified Bible Elijah answered them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty [fighting men].” And the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. Berean Annotated Bible Again Elijah (my God is YHWH) replied, “If I am a man of God {Elohim}, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men. And the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed the captain and his fifty men. Christian Standard Bible Elijah 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. Holman Christian Standard Bible Elijah responded, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your 50 men.” So a divine fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his 50 men. American Standard Version And Elijah answered and said unto them, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty. Contemporary English Version "If I am a man of God," Elijah answered, "fire will destroy you and your 50 soldiers." And God sent down fire from heaven on the officer and his men. English Revised Version And Elijah answered and said unto them, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty. GOD'S WORD® Translation Elijah answered the officer, "If I'm a man of God, fire will come from heaven and burn up you and your 50 men." Then God's fire came from heaven and burned up the officer and his 50 men. Good News Translation "If I am a man of God," Elijah answered, "may fire come down from heaven and kill you and your men!" At once the fire of God came down and killed the officer and his men. International Standard Version Elijah responded to the leader and to his entire company, "So I'm a man of God, am I? If so, may fire fall from heaven and devour you and your 50 soldiers…" Just then, fire fell from heaven and devoured him and his 50 soldiers. NET Bible Elijah replied to them, "If I am indeed a prophet, may fire come down from the sky and consume you and your fifty soldiers!" Fire from God came down from the sky and consumed him and his fifty soldiers. New Heart English Bible And Elijah answered and said to him, "If I am a man of God, let fire come down from the sky, and consume you and your fifty." The fire of God came down from the sky, and consumed him and his fifty. Webster's Bible Translation And Elijah answered and said to them, If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty. Majority Text Translations Majority Standard BibleAgain Elijah replied, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” And the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed the captain and his fifty men. World English Bible Elijah answered them, “If I am a man of God, then let fire come down from the sky and consume you and your fifty!” Then God’s fire came down from the sky, and consumed him and his fifty. Literal Translations Literal Standard VersionAnd Elijah answers and speaks to them, “If I [am] a man of God, fire comes down from the heavens and consumes you and your fifty”; and fire of God comes down from the heavens and consumes him and his fifty. Berean Literal Bible And Elijah answered and said to them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from the heavens and consume you and your fifty.” And the fire of God came down from the heavens and consumed him and his fifty. Young's Literal Translation And Elijah answereth and speaketh unto them, 'If I am a man of God, fire doth come down from the heavens, and consume thee and thy fifty;' and fire of God cometh down from the heavens, and consumeth him and his fifty. Smith's Literal Translation And Elijah will answer and speak to them, If I a man of God, fire shall come down from the heavens and consume thee and thy fifty. And the fire of God will come down from the heavens and consume him and his fifty. Catholic Translations Douay-Rheims BibleElias answering, said: If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And fire came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty. Catholic Public Domain Version Responding, Elijah said, “If I am a man of God, let fire from heaven descend and devour you and your fifty.” And fire from heaven descended and devoured him and his fifty. New American Bible Elijah answered them, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” And divine fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men. New Revised Standard Version But Elijah answered them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. Translations from Aramaic Lamsa BibleAnd Elijah answered and said to him, If I am a prophet of God, then let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. Peshitta Holy Bible Translated And Elyah answered and said to him: “If I am a Prophet of God, fire shall come down from Heaven and shall consume you yourself and the fifty who are with you!” And fire came down from Heaven and consumed him and the fifty who were with him. OT Translations JPS Tanakh 1917And Elijah answered and said unto them: 'If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty.' And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty. Brenton Septuagint Translation And Eliu answered and spoke to him, and said, If I am a man of God, fire shall come down out of heaven, and devour thee and thy fifty. And fire came down out of heaven, and devoured him and his fifty. Additional Translations ... Audio Bible (Voice ▾ Musical ▾) Context Elijah Denounces Ahaziah…11So the king sent to Elijah another captain with his fifty men. And the captain said to Elijah, “Man of God, the king declares, ‘Come down at once!’ ” 12Again Elijah replied, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” And the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed the captain and his fifty men. 13So the king sent a third captain with his fifty men. And the third captain went up, fell on his knees before Elijah, and begged him, “Man of God, may my life and the lives of these fifty servants please be precious in your sight.… Cross References Again Elijah replied, 1 Kings 18:36-37 At the time of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet approached the altar and said, “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and have done all these things at Your command. / Answer me, O LORD! Answer me, so that this people will know that You, the LORD, are God, and that You have turned their hearts back again.” 1 Kings 19:10 “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of Hosts,” he replied, “but the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I am the only one left, and they are seeking my life as well.” “If I am a man of God, 1 Kings 13:1 Suddenly, as Jeroboam was standing beside the altar to burn incense, there came a man of God from Judah to Bethel by the word of the LORD. 1 Kings 17:24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is truth.” 2 Kings 4:9 Then the woman said to her husband, “Behold, now I know that the one who often comes our way is a holy man of God. may fire come down from heaven Luke 9:54-56 When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do You want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?” / But Jesus turned and rebuked them. / And He and His disciples went on to another village. 1 Kings 18:38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and it licked up the water in the trench. and consume you and your fifty men.” Numbers 16:35 And fire came forth from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense. Leviticus 10:2 So fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died in the presence of the LORD. And the fire of God came down from heaven Job 1:16 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and reported: “The fire of God fell from heaven. It burned and consumed the sheep and the servants, and I alone have escaped to tell you!” Revelation 20:9 And they marched across the broad expanse of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. But fire came down from heaven and consumed them. and consumed the captain and his fifty men. Leviticus 9:24 Fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown. Psalm 106:18 Then fire blazed through their company; flames consumed the wicked. Hebrews 12:29 “For our God is a consuming fire.” Revelation 11:5 If anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouths and devours their enemies. In this way, anyone who wants to harm them must be killed. Leviticus 10:1-2 Now Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense, and offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, contrary to His command. / So fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died in the presence of the LORD. Treasury of Scripture And Elijah answered and said to them, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume you and your fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty. 2 Kings 1:9,10 Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him: and, behold, he sat on the top of an hill. And he spake unto him, Thou man of God, the king hath said, Come down… Jump to Previous Consume Consumed Consumeth Elijah Eli'jah Fell Fifty Fire Heaven Heavens Sky SpeakethJump to Next Consume Consumed Consumeth Elijah Eli'jah Fell Fifty Fire Heaven Heavens Sky Speaketh2 Kings 1 1. Moab rebels2. Ahaziah, sending to Baal-Zebub, has his judgement by Elijah 5. Elijah twice brings fire from heaven on those Ahaziah sent to apprehend him. 13. He pities the third captain, 15. and, encouraged by an angel, tells the king of his death 17. Jehoram succeeds Ahaziah Again Elijah replied, Ahaziah’s second detachment repeats the king’s demand that Elijah submit to royal authority. Elijah answers as the Lord’s prophet, not as a subject who may be summoned at the king’s pleasure. 1Ki 18:36-37 At the time of the evening sacrifice, Elijah… “If I am a man of God, The captain’s words had acknowledged Elijah by this title, yet his command showed contempt for the God who sent him. Elijah leaves the matter with God, whose response will establish the prophet’s authority. 1Ki 13:1 Suddenly, as Jeroboam was standing beside the altar… may fire come down from heaven Fire had already marked the Lord’s public vindication of Elijah on Mount Carmel. Here it becomes an immediate judgment against those sent to seize God’s servant. Luk 9:54-56 When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked… and consume you and your fifty men.” The captain and his soldiers had come as an armed force under Ahaziah’s command. Their destruction demonstrates that the king’s power could not prevail against the Lord. Num 16:35 And fire came forth from the LORD and consumed the 250 men… And the fire of God came down from heaven God answered without delay, confirming that Elijah spoke by divine authority and that Ahaziah’s defiance was ultimately directed against the Lord. Job 1:16 While he was still speaking, another messenger came… and consumed the captain and his fifty men. The second judgment intensifies the warning to Ahaziah and prepares for the different response of the third captain, who approaches Elijah with humility and fear of God. Lev 9:24 Fire came out from the presence of the LORD… Persons / Places / Events 1. ElijahA prophet of God known for his boldness and miraculous acts, Elijah is central to this passage as he demonstrates God's power and authority. 2. Ahaziah The king of Israel at the time, who sent soldiers to capture Elijah. His actions reflect a lack of reverence for God and His prophet. 3. The Captain and His Fifty Men Representatives of King Ahaziah, they are consumed by fire from heaven as a result of their mission to seize Elijah. 4. Fire from Heaven A divine act demonstrating God's power and judgment, reminiscent of other biblical instances where God uses fire as a sign of His presence and authority. 5. Samaria The capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, where King Ahaziah reigned and from where he sent his men to confront Elijah. Teaching Points God's Sovereignty and PowerThis passage highlights God's ultimate authority over all creation. Believers are reminded of the importance of recognizing and submitting to God's power in their lives. The Role of the Prophet Elijah's role as a prophet underscores the importance of speaking God's truth, even in the face of opposition. Christians are called to be bold in their faith and witness. Judgment and Mercy While this passage demonstrates God's judgment, it also points to the need for repentance and the mercy available through Christ. Believers should seek to balance truth with grace in their interactions. Reverence for God The consuming fire serves as a reminder of the holiness of God. Christians are encouraged to approach God with reverence and awe, recognizing His majesty and power. Obedience to God's Word Elijah's obedience to God's command is a model for believers. Trusting and obeying God's Word should be a priority in the life of every Christian. Bible Study Questions and Answers 1. What is the meaning of 2 Kings 1:12?2. How does 2 Kings 1:12 demonstrate God's power and authority through Elijah? 3. What can we learn about faithfulness from Elijah's response in 2 Kings 1:12? 4. How does Elijah's action in 2 Kings 1:12 connect to God's justice in Scripture? 5. How should believers today respond to challenges, inspired by Elijah in 2 Kings 1:12? 6. What does 2 Kings 1:12 teach about the consequences of opposing God's messengers? 7. How does 2 Kings 1:12 demonstrate God's power and authority over life and death? 8. Why did Elijah call down fire from heaven in 2 Kings 1:12? 9. What does 2 Kings 1:12 reveal about God's judgment and justice? 10. What are the top 10 Lessons from 2 Kings 1? (12) Said (spake) unto them.--LXX. and Syriac, "unto him," which seems original. The fire of God.--"The" is not in the Hebrew. The LXX., Vulgate, Arabic, and Targum, with some MSS., omit "of God." The phrase occurs in the sense of lightning (Job 1:16). Consumed him and his fifty.--According to Thenius, the story of the destruction of the captains And their companies emphasises (1) the authority properly belonging to the prophet; (2) the help and protection which Jehovah bestows on His prophets. The captains and their men are simply conceived as instruments of a will opposing itself to Jehovah, and are accordingly annihilated. These considerations, he thinks, render irrelevant all questions about the moral justice of their fate, and comparative degrees of guilt. (Comp. 2Kings 2:23, seq., 2Kings 6:17.) 2 Kings 1:12 demonstrates that Elijah truly is God’s prophet, heaven itself confirming his words by sending consuming fire. The episode teaches that God vindicates His servants, judges arrogant rebellion, and extends mercy to the humble. Those who honor His authority find grace; those who defy it face certain judgment.Parallel Commentaries ... Hebrew Again Elijahאֵלִיָּה֮ (’ê·lî·yāh) Noun - proper - masculine singular Strong's 452: Elijah -- 'Yah is God', a well-known prophet of Israel, also three other Israelites replied, וַיַּ֣עַן (way·ya·‘an) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular Strong's 6030: To answer, respond “If אִם־ (’im-) Conjunction Strong's 518: Lo!, whether?, if, although, Oh that!, when, not I אָ֔נִי (’ā·nî) Pronoun - first person common singular Strong's 589: I am a man אִ֤ישׁ (’îš) Noun - masculine singular construct Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person of God, הָֽאֱלֹהִים֙ (hā·’ĕ·lō·hîm) Article | Noun - masculine plural Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative may fire אֵשׁ֙ (’êš) Noun - common singular Strong's 784: A fire come down תֵּ֤רֶד (tê·reḏ) Verb - Qal - Imperfect Jussive - third person feminine singular Strong's 3381: To come or go down, descend from מִן־ (min-) Preposition Strong's 4480: A part of, from, out of heaven הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם (haš·šā·ma·yim) Article | Noun - masculine plural Strong's 8064: Heaven, sky and consume וְתֹאכַ֥ל (wə·ṯō·ḵal) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive imperfect - third person feminine singular Strong's 398: To eat you אֹתְךָ֖ (’ō·ṯə·ḵā) Direct object marker | second person masculine singular Strong's 853: Untranslatable mark of the accusative case and וְאֶת־ (wə·’eṯ-) Conjunctive waw | Direct object marker Strong's 853: Untranslatable mark of the accusative case [your] fifty [men].” חֲמִשֶּׁ֑יךָ (ḥă·miš·še·ḵā) Number - common plural construct | second person masculine singular Strong's 2572: Fifty And the fire אֵשׁ־ (’êš-) Noun - common singular construct Strong's 784: A fire of God אֱלֹהִים֙ (’ĕ·lō·hîm) Noun - masculine plural Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative came down וַתֵּ֤רֶד (wat·tê·reḏ) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular Strong's 3381: To come or go down, descend from מִן־ (min-) Preposition Strong's 4480: A part of, from, out of heaven הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם (haš·šā·ma·yim) Article | Noun - masculine plural Strong's 8064: Heaven, sky and consumed וַתֹּ֥אכַל (wat·tō·ḵal) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular Strong's 398: To eat him אֹת֖וֹ (’ō·ṯōw) Direct object marker | third person masculine singular Strong's 853: Untranslatable mark of the accusative case and וְאֶת־ (wə·’eṯ-) Conjunctive waw | Direct object marker Strong's 853: Untranslatable mark of the accusative case [his] fifty men. חֲמִשָּֽׁיו׃ (ḥă·miš·šāw) Number - common plural construct | third person masculine singular Strong's 2572: Fifty Additonal Resources 2 Kings 1:12 Blue Letter Bible2 Kings 1:12 Bible Gateway 2 Kings 1:12 Bible.com 2 Kings 1:12 NIV |
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