Then fire blazed through their company; flames consumed the wicked.
Parallel translations
- WEB A fire was kindled in their company. The flame burned up the wicked.
- KJV And a fire was kindled in their company; the flame burned up the wicked.
- NKJV A fire was kindled in their company; The flame burned up the wicked.
- NASB And a fire blazed up in their company; The flame consumed the wicked.
- NLT Fire fell upon their followers; a flame consumed the wicked.
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
Fire broke out and consumed the wicked among the rebels. It matters because God's judgment fell fully on those who defied Him.
Overview
Fire from the LORD consumed the 250 men who offered illicit incense in Korah's rebellion (Numbers 16:35). This judgment underscored the holiness of God and His worship. The verse reinforces that approaching God on one's own terms invites His righteous wrath.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Num 16:35–40And fire came forth from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense.
- Heb 12:29“For our God is a consuming fire.”
- Num 16:46Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, place fire from the altar in it, and add incense. Go quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, because wrath has come out from the LORD; the plague has begun.”
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
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 106:18 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.