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Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.
Psalms 11:6 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB On the wicked he will rain blazing coals; fire, sulfur, and scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.
  • BSB On the wicked He will rain down fiery coals and sulfur; a scorching wind will be their portion.
  • NKJV Upon the wicked He will rain coals; Fire and brimstone and a burning wind Shall be the portion of their cup.
  • NASB He will rain coals of fire upon the wicked, And brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup.
  • NLT He will rain down blazing coals and burning sulfur on the wicked, punishing them with scorching winds.

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

On the wicked God will rain fire, sulfur, and scorching wind as their portion. Judgment is the appointed cup of those who love violence.

Overview

David pictures the wicked's destiny in imagery recalling the judgment of Sodom (Genesis 19:24). Their 'cup' is the measured portion God assigns to the unrepentant. This sober warning underscores that God's justice is certain, while it implicitly magnifies the mercy by which Christ drank the cup of judgment for sinners.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 21

  • Ezek 38:22And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.
  • Gen 19:24Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;
  • Ezek 13:13Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even rend it with a stormy wind in my fury; and there shall be an overflowing shower in mine anger, and great hailstones in my fury to consume it.
  • Luke 17:29But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.
  • Ps 75:8For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture; and he poureth out of the same: but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them.
  • Job 18:15It shall dwell in his tabernacle, because it is none of his: brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation.
  • Job 20:23When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating.
  • Job 27:13–23This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage of oppressors, which they shall receive of the Almighty.
  • John 18:11Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?
  • Jer 25:15–17For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it.
  • Hab 2:16Thou art filled with shame for glory: drink thou also, and let thy foreskin be uncovered: the cup of the LORD’s right hand shall be turned unto thee, and shameful spewing shall be on thy glory.
  • Ps 105:32He gave them hail for rain, and flaming fire in their land.
  • Jer 4:11–12At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A dry wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse,
  • Isa 24:17–18Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
  • Isa 51:17Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the LORD the cup of his fury; thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling, and wrung them out.
  • Ps 16:5The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot.
  • Exod 9:23–24And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt.
  • Isa 51:22Thus saith thy Lord the LORD, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again:
  • Gen 43:34And he took and sent messes unto them from before him: but Benjamin’s mess was five times so much as any of theirs. And they drank, and were merry with him.
  • 1 Sam 9:23And Samuel said unto the cook, Bring the portion which I gave thee, of which I said unto thee, Set it by thee.
  • 1 Sam 1:4And when the time was that Elkanah offered, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions:

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Psalms videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Psalms 11:6YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on PsalmsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 11:6 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.