^1:10Elijah replied to the captain,²² “If I am indeed a prophet, may fire come down from the sky and consume you and your fifty soldiers!” Fire then came down²³ from the sky and consumed him and his fifty soldiers.

^1:11The king²⁴ sent another captain and his fifty soldiers to retrieve Elijah. He went up and told him,²⁵ “Prophet, this is what the king says, ‘Come down at once!’ ”²⁶^1:12Elijah replied to them,²⁷ “If I am indeed a prophet, may fire come down from the sky and consume you and your fifty soldiers!” Fire from God²⁸ came down from the sky and consumed him and his fifty soldiers.

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Footnotes

22 Heb “answered and said to the officer of fifty.”
23 Wordplay contributes to the irony here. The king tells Elijah to “come down” (Hebrew יָרַד, yarad), but Elijah calls fire down (יָרַד) on the arrogant king’s officer.
24 Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
25 The reads, “he answered and said to him.” The verb “he answered” (וַיַּעַן, vayya’an) is probably a corruption of “he went up” (וַיַּעַל, vayya’al). See v. 9.
26 In this second panel of the three-paneled narrative, the king and his captain are more arrogant than before. The captain uses a more official sounding introduction (“this is what the king says”) and the king adds “at once” to the command.
27 Two medieval Hebrew , the , and the have the singular “to him.”
28 Or “intense fire.” The divine name may be used idiomatically to emphasize the intensity of the fire. Whether one translates אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) here as a proper name or idiomatically, this addition to the narrative (the name is omitted in the first panel, v. 10b) emphasizes the severity of the judgment and is appropriate given the more intense command delivered by the king to the prophet in this panel.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

But Elijah answered the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.

Again the king sent to him another captain of fifty men with his fifty. And he answered and said to him, “O man of God, this is the king’s order, ‘Come down quickly!’ ” 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.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Elijah answered the captain, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!” Then fire fell from heaven and consumed the captain and his men.

At this the king sent to Elijah another captain with his fifty men. The captain said to him, “Man of God, this is what the king says, ‘Come down at once!’ ”

“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.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Elijah responded to the captain, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.

So the king sent another captain with his fifty men to Elijah. He took in the situation and announced, “Man of God, this is what the king says: ‘Come down immediately!’ ”

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.

NLTNew Living Translation

But Elijah replied to the captain, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and destroy you and your fifty men!” Then fire fell from heaven and killed them all.

So the king sent another captain with fifty men. The captain said to him, “Man of God, the king demands that you come down at once.”

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.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Then Elijah answered and said to the commander of the fifty, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty!” Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.

So he again sent another commander of fifty and his fifty men. He answered and said to him, “O man of God, thus says the king, ‘Come down quickly!’ ” Then Elijah answered and said to them, “If I am a man of God, then 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.

KJV 1900King James Version

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. Again also he sent unto him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he answered and said unto him, O man of God, thus hath the king said, Come down quickly. 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.

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