Psalm 18:13
New International Version
The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.

New Living Translation
The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded amid the hail and burning coals.

English Standard Version
The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice, hailstones and coals of fire.

Berean Standard Bible
The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded—hailstones and coals of fire.

King James Bible
The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire.

New King James Version
The LORD thundered from heaven, And the Most High uttered His voice, Hailstones and coals of fire.

New American Standard Bible
The LORD also thundered in the heavens, And the Most High uttered His voice, Hailstones and coals of fire.

NASB 1995
The LORD also thundered in the heavens, And the Most High uttered His voice, Hailstones and coals of fire.

NASB 1977
The LORD also thundered in the heavens, And the Most High uttered His voice, Hailstones and coals of fire.

Legacy Standard Bible
Yahweh also thundered in the heavens, And the Most High gave forth His voice, Hailstones and coals of fire.

Amplified Bible
The LORD also thundered in the heavens, And the Most High uttered His voice, Hailstones and coals of fire.

Christian Standard Bible
The LORD thundered from heaven; the Most High made his voice heard.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
The LORD thundered from heaven; the Most High projected His voice.

American Standard Version
Jehovah also thundered in the heavens, And the Most High uttered his voice, Hailstones and coals of fire.

Contemporary English Version
LORD Most High, your voice thundered from the heavens, as hailstones and fiery coals poured down like rain.

English Revised Version
The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice; hailstones and coals of fire.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
The LORD thundered in the heavens. The Most High made his voice heard with hailstones and lightning.

Good News Translation
Then the LORD thundered from the sky; and the voice of the Most High was heard.

International Standard Version
Then the LORD thundered in the heavens, and the Most High sounded aloud, calling for hail stones and flashes of fire.

Majority Standard Bible
The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded—hailstones and coals of fire.

NET Bible
The LORD thundered in the sky; the sovereign One shouted.

New Heart English Bible
The LORD also thundered in the sky. The Most High uttered his voice.

Webster's Bible Translation
The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire.

World English Bible
Yahweh also thundered in the sky. The Most High uttered his voice: hailstones and coals of fire.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And YHWH thunders in the heavens, "" And the Most High gives forth His voice, "" Hail and coals of fire.

Young's Literal Translation
And thunder in the heavens doth Jehovah, And the Most High giveth forth His voice, Hail and coals of fire.

Smith's Literal Translation
And Jehovah will thunder in the heavens, and the Most High will give his voice; hail and coals of fire.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And the Lord thundered from heaven, and the highest gave his voice: hail and coals of fire.

Catholic Public Domain Version
And the Lord thundered from heaven, and the Most High uttered his voice: hail and coals of fire.

New American Bible
The LORD thundered from heaven; the Most High made his voice resound.

New Revised Standard Version
The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice: hailstones and coals of fire.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And LORD JEHOVAH thundered in Heaven and The Highest gave his voice: hailstones and coals of fire.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
The LORD also thundered in the heavens, And the Most High gave forth His voice; Hailstones and coals of fire.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
The Lord also thundered from heaven, and the Highest uttered his voice.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The LORD is My Rock
12From the brightness of His presence His clouds advanced—hailstones and coals of fire. 13The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded— hailstones and coals of fire. 14He shot His arrows and scattered the foes; He hurled lightning and routed them.…

Cross References
Exodus 9:23
So 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.

1 Samuel 7:10
As the Philistines drew near to fight against Israel, Samuel was offering up the burnt offering. But that day the LORD thundered loudly against the Philistines and threw them into such confusion that they fled before Israel.

Job 37:4-5
Then there comes a roaring sound; He thunders with His majestic voice. He does not restrain the lightning when His voice resounds. / God thunders wondrously with His voice; He does great things we cannot comprehend.

Isaiah 30:30
And the LORD will cause His majestic voice to be heard and His mighty arm to be revealed, striking in angry wrath with a flame of consuming fire, and with cloudburst, storm, and hailstones.

Revelation 4:5
From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder. Before the throne burned seven torches of fire. These are the seven spirits of God.

2 Samuel 22:14
The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.

Ezekiel 10:5
The sound of the wings of the cherubim could be heard as far as the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty when He speaks.

Revelation 11:19
Then the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple. And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a great hailstorm.

Psalm 29:3-4
The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders; the LORD is heard over many waters. / The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is majestic.

Job 40:9
Do you have an arm like God’s? Can you thunder with a voice like His?

Revelation 16:18
And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake the likes of which had not occurred since men were upon the earth—so mighty was the great quake.

Isaiah 29:6
you will be visited by the LORD of Hosts with thunder and earthquake and loud noise, with windstorm and tempest and consuming flame of fire.

Jeremiah 25:30
So you are to prophesy all these words against them and say to them: ‘The LORD will roar from on high; He will raise His voice from His holy habitation. He will roar loudly over His pasture; like those who tread the grapes, He will call out with a shout against all the inhabitants of the earth.

Matthew 24:27
For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

Psalm 77:18
Your thunder resounded in the whirlwind; the lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked.


Treasury of Scripture

The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire.

thundered

Psalm 78:48
He gave up their cattle also to the hail, and their flocks to hot thunderbolts.

Psalm 104:7
At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away.

Exodus 20:18
And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.

Highest

Psalm 29:3,4
The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters…

Ezekiel 10:5
And the sound of the cherubims' wings was heard even to the outer court, as the voice of the Almighty God when he speaketh.

coals

Psalm 120:3,4
What shall be given unto thee? or what shall be done unto thee, thou false tongue? …

Psalm 140:10
Let burning coals fall upon them: let them be cast into the fire; into deep pits, that they rise not up again.

Deuteronomy 32:24
They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction: I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust.

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Psalm 18
1. David praises God for his manifold and marvelous blessings














The LORD thundered from heaven
This phrase emphasizes the divine power and majesty of God. The Hebrew word for "thundered" is "ra'am," which conveys a sense of awe-inspiring power and authority. In ancient Near Eastern cultures, thunder was often associated with the voice of a deity, signifying divine intervention or communication. The imagery of God thundering from heaven underscores His supreme authority over creation and His ability to intervene in human affairs with overwhelming force. This reflects the biblical theme of God as a mighty warrior who fights on behalf of His people, as seen throughout the Psalms and other Old Testament texts.

the voice of the Most High resounded
The "voice of the Most High" refers to God's sovereign and commanding presence. The term "Most High" is translated from the Hebrew "Elyon," a title that denotes God's supremacy over all other powers and authorities. The resounding voice signifies not only God's power but also His active involvement in the world. In biblical literature, God's voice is often depicted as a powerful force that brings about change, whether in creation, judgment, or deliverance. This phrase reassures believers of God's active role in their lives and His ability to speak into their circumstances with authority and purpose.

hailstones and coals of fire
This vivid imagery of "hailstones and coals of fire" serves as a metaphor for God's judgment and wrath against His enemies. In the ancient world, hailstones were seen as instruments of divine punishment, as evidenced in the plagues of Egypt (Exodus 9:23-24). The mention of "coals of fire" further intensifies the image, suggesting a consuming and purifying force. Together, these elements symbolize the destructive power of God's judgment against wickedness and His protection of the righteous. This imagery is consistent with other biblical passages where natural phenomena are used to depict God's intervention in human history, reminding believers of His ultimate justice and sovereignty.

(13) In the heavens.--The version in Samuel is from the heavens," which is better. For the thunder as God's voice see Psalm 29:3, and Note.

Verse 13. - The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice. With the lightning came, necessarily, thunder, rolling along the heavens, and seeming like the voice of God (comp. Job 38:4, 5). Hail stones and coals of fire. The phrase is repeated for the sake of emphasis. The hail and the lightning are represented as conjointly the ministers of the Divine vengeance.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
The LORD
יְֽהוָ֗ה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

thundered
וַיַּרְעֵ֬ם (way·yar·‘êm)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7481: To tumble, be violently agitated, to crash, to irritate

from heaven;
בַּשָּׁמַ֨יִם ׀ (baš·šā·ma·yim)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 8064: Heaven, sky

the voice
קֹל֑וֹ (qō·lōw)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 6963: A voice, sound

of the Most High
וְ֭עֶלְיוֹן (wə·‘el·yō·wn)
Conjunctive waw | Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 5945: An elevation, lofty, as title, the Supreme

resounded—
יִתֵּ֣ן (yit·tên)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5414: To give, put, set

hailstones
בָּ֝רָ֗ד (bā·rāḏ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1259: Hail

and coals
וְגַֽחֲלֵי־ (wə·ḡa·ḥă·lê-)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 1513: An ember

of fire.
אֵֽשׁ׃ (’êš)
Noun - common singular
Strong's 784: A fire


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OT Poetry: Psalm 18:13 Yahweh also thundered in the sky (Psalm Ps Psa.)
Psalm 18:12
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