The fire of the LORD fell: In the Old Testament fire is frequently associated with God’s presence (Exo 3.2) or his punishment of people (2 Kgs 1.10). In Jdg 6.21 a fire from God consumes a sacrifice. The sense of the words the fire of the LORD may not be clear if translated literally. Here it may be better to say something like “the fire that the LORD sent.” The original readers would probably have understood the fire of the LORD to be lightning, but translators should not be more specific here than the Hebrew text is.

To state that the fire of the LORD fell may give the impression that the event was accidental or haphazard. But the clear intent of the text is to show that Yahweh acted in response to Elijah’s prayer to show his power. For this reason it may be advisable to make the LORD the subject of the sentence by stating more actively that he “sent fire down” as Good News Translation does. Contemporary English Version makes the scene more dramatic by adding an adverb as follows: “The LORD immediately sent fire.” The Hebrew text of verses 38-39 says that the fire fell, and as a result, the people “fell” on their faces. While the same Hebrew verb is used in these two verses, it may not be possible to preserve this connection in the receptor language.

Some scholars consider the words and the stones, and the dust to be a scribal addition to the original text, and indeed these words are omitted in some Greek manuscripts. For this reason New Jerusalem Bible does not translate this part of the verse. Perhaps a scribe omitted these words because people do not usually think of stones and dust being consumed by fire. But translators should follow the Masoretic Text here.

Licked up the water: The basic meaning of the Hebrew verb translated licked up is “to eat.” In this context the meaning is that the fire completely dried up the water.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .