And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?
Parallel translations
- WEB When his disciples, James and John, saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from the sky, and destroy them, just as Elijah did?”
- BSB When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do You want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?”
- NKJV And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?”
- NASB When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”
- NLT When James and John saw this, they said to Jesus, “Lord, should we call down fire from heaven to burn them up?”
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
James and John want to call down fire from heaven to destroy the village. Their zeal is real but misguided and vengeful.
Overview
The brothers appeal to Elijah's calling fire on his enemies, wanting to punish the inhospitable Samaritans. Their reaction reveals a spirit of vengeance at odds with Jesus' mission. It shows how easily even sincere followers can confuse personal anger with godly zeal.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- 2 Kgs 1:10–14And 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.
- Jas 3:14–18But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.
- Jas 1:19–20Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
- Acts 4:29–30And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word,
- 2 Sam 21:2And the king called the Gibeonites, and said unto them; (now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; and the children of Israel had sworn unto them: and Saul sought to slay them in his zeal to the children of Israel and Judah.)
- 2 Kgs 10:31But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart: for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, which made Israel to sin.
- 2 Kgs 10:16And he said, Come with me, and see my zeal for the LORD. So they made him ride in his chariot.
- Rev 13:3And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 9:54 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 Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.