2 Kings 1:10

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.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Elijah	אֵלִיָּ֗הוּ 'e.li.Ya.hu	H452	Elijah · proper noun, a man's name
answered	וַיַּעֲנֶ֣ה vai.ya.'a.Neh	H6030	properly · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
said	וַיְדַבֵּר֮ vay.da.Ber	H1696	perhaps properly · conjunction + verb, piel sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
captain	שַׂ֣ר sar	H8269	a head person (of any rank or class) · noun, common masculine singular construct
fifty	הַחֲמִשִּׁים֒ ha.cha.mi.Shim	H2572	fifty · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
man	אִ֤ישׁ 'ish	H376	a man as an individual or a male person · noun, common masculine singular construct
God	אֱלֹהִים֙ 'E.lo.Him	H430	gods in the ordinary sense · noun, common masculine plural absolute
fire	אֵשׁ֙ 'esh	H784	fire (literally or figuratively) · noun, common both genders singular absolute
down	תֵּ֤רֶד Te.red	H3381	to descend (literally · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular
heaven	הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם ha.sha.Ma.yim	H8064	the sky (as aloft · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
consume	וְתֹאכַ֥ל ve.to.Khal	H398	to eat (literally or figuratively) · conjunction + verb, qal, 3rd person feminine singular
fifty	חֲמִשֶּׁ֑יךָ cha.mi.Shei.kha	H2572	fifty · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
down	וַתֵּ֤רֶד va.Te.red	H3381	to descend (literally · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular
fire	אֵשׁ֙ 'esh	H784	fire (literally or figuratively) · noun, common both genders singular absolute
heaven	הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם ha.sha.Ma.yim	H8064	the sky (as aloft · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
consumed	וַתֹּ֥אכַל va.To.khal	H398	to eat (literally or figuratively) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular
fifty	חֲמִשָּֽׁיו cha.mi.Shav	H2572	fifty · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Luke 9:54 And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them,…
Daniel 3:25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like…
1 Kings 18:36-38 And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham,…
Daniel 3:22 Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadra…
Psalms 106:18 And a fire was kindled in their company; the flame burned up the wicked.
Hebrews 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.
Numbers 16:28-30 And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the LORD hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind.
Job 1:16 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the s…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Kings 1:9–end

Here, I. The king issues out a warrant for the apprehending of Elijah. If the God of Ekron had told him he should die, it is probable he would have taken it quietly; but now that a prophet of the Lord tells him so, reproving him for his sin and reminding him of the God of Israel, he cannot bear it. So far is he from making any good improvement of the warning given him that he is enraged against the prophet; neither his sickness, nor the thoughts of death, made any good impressions upon him, nor possessed him with any fear of God. No external alarms will startle and soften secure sinners, but rather exasperate them. Did the king think Elijah a prophet, a true prophet? Why then durst he persec…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Kings 1:10

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.

Adam Clarke on 2 Kings 1:10

And 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 vindictive humor in him, that God thus acted; but to show his own power and justice. No entreaty of Elijah could have induced God to have performed an act that was wrong in itself. Elijah, personally, had no concern in the business. God led him simpl…

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John Gill on 2 Kings 1:10

And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, if I be a man of God,.... As I am, and thou shalt know it by the following token, though thou callest me so jeeringly: then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty; this he said not in a passion, and from a private spirit of revenge, but for the vindication of the honour and glory of God, and under the impulse of his spirit, who was abused through the insult on him as his prophet: and there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty; a flash of lightning, which destroyed them at once; the Lord hearkening to the voice of his prophet, in vindication of him in his office, and of his own glory.

The Church Fathers

And in another place, concerning the captains of the hosts who went up to bring him down with the others who were with them, it is written that he commanded and spake with Godlike authority, and the fire of God came down from heaven and burnt them all up. "If I be a prophet, as thou sayest, let fire come down from heaven and consume thee and the fifty who are with thee," and straightway and without delay, the fire descended from heaven upon the unclean, and it burnt into them as it came down, and to the word of the prophet there was actual fulfilment.
— Philoxenus of Mabbug, 13 Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 2 -- On Faith

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Ekron — Firm-rooted, the most northerly of the five towns belonging to the lords of the Philistines, about 11 miles north of Gath. It was assigned to Judah (Josh. 13:3), and afterwards to Dan (19:43), but…
Elijah — Whose God is Jehovah. (1.) “The Tishbite,” the “Elias” of the New Testament, is suddenly introduced to our notice in 1 Kings 17:1 as delivering a message from the Lord to Ahab. There is mention made…
Fire — (1.) For sacred purposes. The sacrifices were consumed by fire (Gen. 8:20). The ever-burning fire on the altar was first kindled from heaven (Lev. 6:9, 13; 9:24), and afterwards rekindled at the…
Fire · The — The
Miracles Wrought Through Servants Of God · Elijah: Men destroyed by fire — Elijah: Men destroyed by fire

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

2 Kings 1:10

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Kings 1:9–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Kings 1:10

Adam Clarke on 2 Kings 1:10

John Gill on 2 Kings 1:10

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

2 Kings 1:10

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Kings 1:9–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Kings 1:10

Adam Clarke on 2 Kings 1:10

John Gill on 2 Kings 1:10

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on 2 Kings 1:9-10

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 2 Kings 1:9-10

Rashi on 2 Kings 1:2