From the brightness of His presence His clouds advanced—hailstones and coals of fire.
Parallel translations
- WEB At the brightness before him his thick clouds passed, hailstones and coals of fire.
- KJV At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire.
- NKJV From the brightness before Him, His thick clouds passed with hailstones and coals of fire.
- NASB From the brightness before Him passed His thick clouds, Hailstones and coals of fire.
- NLT Thick clouds shielded the brightness around him and rained down hail and burning coals.
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
Out of God's brightness burst hailstones and coals of fire. It matters because it shows the blazing glory that accompanies God's saving advance.
Overview
From the radiance of God's presence the clouds break forth with hail and fiery coals. The imagery combines dazzling light with destructive power against his enemies. It portrays a God whose glory both saves his people and overwhelms the wicked.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Josh 10:11As they fled before Israel along the descent from Beth-horon to Azekah, the LORD cast down on them large hailstones from the sky, and more of them were killed by the hailstones than by the swords of the Israelites.
- Rev 16:21And great hailstones weighing almost a hundred pounds each rained down on them from above. And men cursed God for the plague of hail, because it was so horrendous.
- Exod 9:23–24So Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and lightning struck the earth. So the LORD rained down hail upon the land of Egypt.
- Matt 17:2There He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.
- Matt 17:5While Peter was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him!”
- 2 Sam 22:13–15From the brightness of His presence coals of fire blazed forth.
- Ps 104:2He wraps Himself in light as with a garment; He stretches out the heavens like a tent,
- Hab 3:4–5His radiance was like the sunlight; rays flashed from His hand, where His power is hidden.
- Ps 97:3–4Fire goes before Him and consumes His foes on every side.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 18:12 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.