Psalms 106:18
in Psalms 106Then fire blazed through their company; flames consumed the wicked.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And 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.
⋯
This verse in Psalms 106
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAnd a fire was kindled in their company; the flame burned up the wicked. The Levites who were with Korah perished by fire, which was a most fitting death for those who intruded into the priesthood, and so offered strange fire. God has more than one arrow in his quiver, the fire can consume those whom the earthquake spares. These terrible things in righteousness are mentioned here to show the obstinacy of the people in continuing to rebel against the Lord. Terrors were as much lost upon them as mercies had been; they could neither be drawn nor driven.
This site's exposition
In the camp they envied Moses
on Psalms 106:16-18
In the camp they envied Moses and Aaron. The psalm names the sin, envy of the men God had appointed, and leaves Korah unnamed. Numbers 16 gives the two judgments this psalm keeps, the earth swallowing Dathan and Abiram's company and fire consuming the men who offered incense.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"And the fire was kindled in their company; the flame burnt up the sinners" [Psalm 106:18]. This word is not in Scripture usually applied to those, who, although they live righteously, and in a praiseworthy manner, are not without sin. Rather, as there is a difference between those who scorn and scorners, between men who murmur and murmurers, between men who are writing and writers, and so forth; so Scripture is wont to signify by sinners such as are very wicked, and laden with heavy loads of sins.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
(2.) Those that would usurp the ecclesiastical authority in things pertaining to God suffered the vengeance of heaven, for fire came out from the Lord and consumed them, and the pretending sacrificers were themselves sacrificed to divine justice. The flame burnt up the wicked; for though they vied with Aaron, the saint of the Lord, for holiness ( Num. xvi.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And a fire was kindled in their company,.... This seems to be the company of Korah, or however a part of it, the two hundred and fifty men that had censers, and so were of the Levitical race, as Korah was; this fire came from the Lord out of heaven. The flame burned up the wicked; the two hundred and fifty men with censers, Num 16:35, this was an emblem of that fire which shall consume those that hurt the witnesses; or of that vengeance of eternal fire which wicked men will suffer for ever.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
All the congregation took part with Dathan, Korah, &c., and their accomplices (Nu 16:41). Aaron the saint--literally, "the holy one," as consecrated priest; not a moral attribute, but one designating his office as holy to the Lord. The rebellion was followed by a double punishment: (1) of the non-Levitical rebels, the Reubenites, Dathan and Abiram, &c.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
The earth opened up, etc. It appears that [the Psalmist] bestowed honor upon the sons of Korah [by refraining] from mentioning their father. He attributed the sin to Dathan and Abiram.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
6 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתִּבְעַר־ | vativar- | and it burned | H1197 → | 94 times |
| אֵ֥שׁ | ʾesh | fire | H784 → | 378 times |
| בַּעֲדָתָ֑ם | baadatam | among company their | H5712 → | 149 times |
| לֶ֝הָבָ֗ה | lehavah | flame | H3852 → | 19 times |
| תְּלַהֵ֥ט | telahet | it burned up | H3857 → | 11 times |
| רְשָׁעִֽים׃ | reshaim | [the] wicked [people] | H7563 → | 263 times |
וַתִּבְעַר־and it burned
vativar-H1197 →94 times
אֵ֥שׁfire
ʾeshH784 →378 times
בַּעֲדָתָ֑םamong company their
baadatamH5712 →149 times
לֶ֝הָבָ֗הflame
lehavahH3852 →19 times
תְּלַהֵ֥טit burned up
telahetH3857 →11 times
רְשָׁעִֽים׃[the] wicked [people]
reshaimH7563 →263 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Hebrews 12:29“For our God is a consuming fire.”
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 4:24
For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
- Deuteronomy 9:3
But understand that today the LORD your God goes across ahead of you as a consuming fire; He will destroy them and subdue them before you. And you will drive them out and annihilate…
- Hebrews 10:27
but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume all adversaries.
- Isaiah 66:15
For behold, the LORD will come with fire—His chariots are like a whirlwind—to execute His anger with fury and His rebuke with flames of fire.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:8
in blazing fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
- Deuteronomy 4:24
Through
Numbers 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…
it leads to
- Numbers 8:19
And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the Israelites, to perform the service for the Israelites at the Tent of Meeting and to make atonement…
- Leviticus 10:6
Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not let your hair become disheveled and do not tear your garments, or else you will die, and the LORD will be…
- 1 Chronicles 27:24
Joab son of Zeruiah began to count the men but did not finish. For because of this census wrath came upon Israel, and the number was not entered in the Book of the Chronicles…
- Numbers 8:19
About Psalms
This page draws on Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 106; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 5; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.