1 Kings 18 · Verse 38

1 Kings 18:38

Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
1 Kings 18:38, King James Version

1 Kings 18:38 in other translations

BSBThen 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.
WEBThen the LORD’s fire fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust; and it licked up the water that was in the trench.
ASVThen the fire of Jehovah fell, and consumed the burnt-offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
YLTAnd there falleth a fire of Jehovah, and consumeth the burnt-offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and the water that is in the trench it hath licked up.
DARBYAnd the fire of Jehovah fell, and consumed the burnt-offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
BBEThen the fire of the Lord came down, burning up the offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and drinking up the water in the drain.
WebsterThen the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt-sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.

What does 1 Kings 18:38 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Kings 18:21-40

21-40. Elijah said unto all the people, How long halt ye?--They had long been attempting to conjoin the service of God with that of Baal. It was an impracticable union and the people were so struck with a sense of their own folly, or dread of the king's displeasure, that they "answered not a word." Elijah proposed to decide for them the controversy between God and Baal by an appeal, not to the authority of the law…

Read the full comment on 1 Kings 18:21-40 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 38 Then the fire of the Lord fell - It did not burst out from the altar; this might still, notwithstanding the water, have afforded some ground for suspicion that fire had been concealed, after the manner of the heathens, under the altar. Pindar's account of the Rhodians' settling is the isle of Rhodes, and their first sacrifice there, bears a near affinity to the account here given: the shower of gold descending on the sacrifice offered up without fire, to show the approbation of their god, is little more than a poetic account of the above transactions. Καιτοι γαρ αιθουσας εχοντες Σπερμ' ανεβαν φλογος ου Τευξαν δ' απυροις ἱεροις Αλσος εν ακροπολει· κεινοισι μεν ξαν - θαν αγαγων νεφελαι· Πολυν ὑσε χρυσον Pind. Olymp. Od. 7, ver. 86. The Rhodians, mindful of their sire's behest, Straight in the citadel an altar reared; But with imperfect rites the Power addressed, And without fire their sacrifice prepared; Yet Jove, approving, o'er the assembly spread A yellow cloud, that dropped with golden dews. West. Consumed the burnt-sacrifice - The process of this consumption is very remarkable, and all calculated to remove the possibility of a suspicion that there was any concealed fire. 1. The fire came down from heaven. 2. The pieces of the sacrifice were first consumed. 3. The wood next, to show that it was not even by means of the wood that the flesh was burned. 4. The twelve stones were also consumed, to show that it was no common fire, but one whose agency nothing could resist. 5. The dust, the earth of which the altar was constructed, was burned up. 6. The water that was in the trench was, by the action of this fire, entirely evaporated. 7. The action of this fire was in every case downward, contrary to the nature of all earthly and material fire. Nothing can be more simple and artless than this description, yet how amazingly full and satisfactory is the whole account!

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 1 Kings 18:21-40

Many of the people wavered in their judgment, and varied in their practice. Elijah called upon them to determine whether Jehovah or Baal was the self-existent, supreme God, the Creator, Governor, and Judge of the world, and to follow him alone. It is dangerous to halt between the service of God and the service of sin, the dominion of Christ and the dominion of our lusts. If Jesus be the only Saviour, let us cleave…

Read the full comment on 1 Kings 18:21-40 →

1 Kings 18:38 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַתִּפֹּ֣לva.ti.Poland it fellH5307
אֵשׁ\־'esh-[the] fire ofH784
יְהוָ֗הYah.wehYahwehH3068
וַתֹּ֤אכַלva.To.khaland it consumedH398
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
הָֽעֹלָה֙ha.'o.Lahthe burnt offeringH5930
וְאֶת\־ve.'Etand <obj.>H853
הָ֣עֵצִ֔יםha.'e.Tzimthe wood<s>H6086
וְאֶת\־ve.'Etand <obj.>H853
הָאֲבָנִ֖יםha.'a.va.Nimthe stonesH68
וְאֶת\־ve.'Etand <obj.>H853
הֶעָפָ֑רhe.'a.Farthe dustH6083
וְאֶת\־ve.'Etand <obj.>H853
הַמַּ֥יִםha.Ma.yimthe waterH4325
אֲשֶׁר\־'a.Sher-whichH834
בַּתְּעָלָ֖הba.te.'a.Lah[was] in the trenchH8585
לִחֵֽכָה\׃li.Che.khahit licked upH3897

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 1 Kings 18:38

  • Leviticus 9:24

    And there came a fire out from before the Lord, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.

  • 1 Chronicles 21:26

    And David built there an altar unto the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called upon the Lord; and he answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of burnt offering.

  • 2 Chronicles 7:1

    Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the house.

  • Judges 6:21

    Then the angel of the Lord put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the Lord departed out of his sight.

  • 1 Kings 18:24

    And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.

  • 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 servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

  • Leviticus 10:2

    And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord.

  • 2 Kings 1:12

    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.

  • Genesis 15:17

    And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.

  • Isaiah 31:9

    And he shall pass over to his strong hold for fear, and his princes shall be afraid of the ensign, saith the Lord, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Then the.
Ge 15:17; Le 9:24; Jud 6:21; 1Ch 21:26; 2Ch 7:1
fire.
24; Le 10:2; 2Ki 1:12; Job 1:16; Isa 31:9

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 1 Kings 18:37

    Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.

  • 1 Kings 18:38

    Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.

  • 1 Kings 18:39

    And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God.

Read all of 1 Kings 18

1 Kings 18:38 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Entonces cayó fuego de Jehová, el cual consumió el holocausto, y la leña, y las piedras, y el polvo, y aun lamió las aguas que estaban en la reguera.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et le feu de l’ Éternel tomba, et consuma l’holocauste, et le bois, et les pierres, et la poussière, et lécha l’eau qui était dans le fossé.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Da fiel Feuer Jehovas herab und verzehrte das Brandopfer und das Holz und die Steine und die Erde; und das Wasser, das im Graben war, leckte es auf.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Cecidit autem ignis Domini, et voravit holocaustum, et ligna, et lapides, pulverem quoque, et aquam quæ erat in aquæductu lambens.