Bible Strands
Psalms 140:10
May burning coals fall on them; may they be thrown into the fire, into the miry pits, never to rise again.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — David addresses God directly, pleading for judgment against the violent men surrounding him. The prayer is spoken during a period of active persecution where slanderers and aggressors seek his destruction.
The words — The Hebrew יִמּוֹטוּ (ya.mi.tu) literally means "may they be dropped" or "may they fall," describing the descent of burning coals. The phrase בַּל־יָקוּמוּ (bal-yā.qu.mu) translates to "not to arise," specifying permanent entrapment in miry pits.
The thread — The descent of burning coals appears in Psalms 11:6 and Psalms 21:9, while the irreversible pit imagery aligns with Revelation 20:15. These texts share a consistent motif of divine retribution using fire and unrelenting pits.
Why it lands — The verse requires the reader to acknowledge that sustained hostility against God’s people ends in irreversible judgment. It directs the believer to relinquish personal vengeance and rely on God’s declared justice.
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
Let burning coals fall upon them: let them be cast into the fire; into deep pits, that they rise not up again.
Cross-references
- Psalms 11:6 On the wicked He will rain down fiery coals and sulfur; a scorching wind will be their portion.
- Psalms 21:9 You will place them in a fiery furnace at the time of Your appearing. In His wrath the LORD will engulf them, and the fire will consume them.
- Revelation 20:15 And if anyone was found whose name was not written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
- Revelation 21:8 But to the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death.”
- Genesis 19:24 Then the LORD rained down sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of the heavens.
- Exodus 9:23 So Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and lightning struck the earth. So the LORD rained down hail upon the land of Egypt.
- Psalms 18:13 The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded—hailstones and coals of fire.
- Psalms 55:23 But You, O God, will bring them down to the Pit of destruction; men of bloodshed and deceit will not live out half their days. But I will trust in You.
- Psalms 120:4 Sharp arrows will come from the warrior, with burning coals of the broom tree!
- Proverbs 28:10 He who leads the upright along the path of evil will fall into his own pit, but the blameless will inherit what is good.