Bible Strands
2 Kings 1:12
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 Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Elijah addresses a second captain and his fifty men who have been dispatched by King Ahaziah to demand his immediate descent. This exchange occurs immediately after the first military unit's destruction and the king's decision to send another force.
The words — The conditional clause אִם־ אִישׁ הָ/אֱלֹהִים אָ֔נִי (im ish ha'Elohim ani) literally translates to "if I am a man of God." Elijah uses this formula to bind the coming judgment to his prophetic identity rather than personal vengeance.
The thread — The structural repetition of a captain leading fifty men frames the narrative in 2 Kings 1:9 and 2 Kings 1:13. The motif of divine fire descending from heaven to authenticate a prophet recurs in 1 Kings 18:38 and 2 Kings 2:11.
Why it lands — The text records that fire physically consumed the captain and his men after Elijah's spoken condition. It demands recognition that prophetic authority carries immediate, non-negotiable consequences for those who treat divine messengers as disobedient subjects.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James 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.
Cross-references
- 2 Kings 1:9 Then King Ahaziah sent to Elijah a captain with his company of fifty men. So the captain went up to Elijah, who was sitting on top of a hill, and said to him, “Man of God, the king declares, ‘Come down!’”