For behold, the LORD will come with fire—His chariots are like a whirlwind—to execute His anger with fury and His rebuke with flames of fire.
Parallel translations
- WEB For, behold, Yahweh will come with fire, and his chariots will be like the whirlwind; to render his anger with fierceness, and his rebuke with flames of fire.
- KJV For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.
- NKJV For behold, the Lord will come with fire And with His chariots, like a whirlwind, To render His anger with fury, And His rebuke with flames of fire.
- NASB For behold, the Lord will come in fire, And His chariots like the whirlwind, To render His anger with fury, And His rebuke with flames of fire.
- NLT See, the Lord is coming with fire, and his swift chariots roar like a whirlwind. He will bring punishment with the fury of his anger and the flaming fire of his hot rebuke.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The LORD comes with fire and whirlwind to pour out his fierce anger and rebuke. It matters because it portrays God's coming in judgment against all who oppose him.
Overview
The imagery of fire and storm-chariots depicts a theophany of judgment, the LORD arriving to execute his wrath. This sober counterpart to the preceding comfort warns that God's salvation includes the judgment of his enemies. The New Testament applies such imagery to the return of Christ, who will be revealed in flaming fire (2 Thessalonians 1:7-8).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Isa 30:33For Topheth has long been prepared; it has been made ready for the king. Its funeral pyre is deep and wide, with plenty of fire and wood. The breath of the LORD, like a torrent of burning sulfur, sets it ablaze.
- 2 Pet 3:10–12But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and its works will be laid bare.
- 2 Th 1:6–9After all, it is only right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you,
- Matt 22:7The king was enraged, and he sent his troops to destroy those murderers and burn their city.
- Ps 11:6On the wicked He will rain down fiery coals and sulfur; a scorching wind will be their portion.
- Ps 68:17The chariots of God are tens of thousands—thousands of thousands are they; the Lord is in His sanctuary as He was at Sinai.
- Ps 97:3Fire goes before Him and consumes His foes on every side.
- Ps 21:9You 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.
- Isa 30:27–28Behold, the Name of the LORD comes from afar, with burning anger and dense smoke. His lips are full of fury, and His tongue is like a consuming fire.
- Ps 50:3Our God approaches and will not be silent! Consuming fire precedes Him, and a tempest rages around Him.
- Jer 4:3For this is what the LORD says to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: “Break up your unplowed ground, and do not sow among the thorns.
- Amos 7:4This is what the Lord GOD showed me: The Lord GOD was calling for judgment by fire. It consumed the great deep and devoured the land.
- Dan 11:40At the time of the end, the king of the South will engage him in battle, but the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots, horsemen, and many ships, invading many countries and sweeping through them like a flood.
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 66:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.