This verse is very similar to verse 10. There are, however, some small but significant differences: (1) In verse 10 Elijah answers the commanding officer; here he answers them, referring to the whole group. (2) Here, there is a definite article with the word for God in the expression a man of God, while this is not the case in the earlier verse. No translation, however, reflects this distinction. (3) The fire that came down from heaven is specified as the fire of God in this case (New Jerusalem Bible “lightning”); the corresponding place in verse 10 has simply “fire” without any further qualification. While the second difference is probably insignificant and need not be reproduced in translation, translations should reflect the other two differences noted above.

The Septuagint reads “answered him” instead of answered them (Masoretic Text). In certain languages the logic of the discourse may require “answered him” (American Bible, New American Bible).

The Septuagint also reads “fire” instead of the fire of God, and many interpreters have followed the Greek. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives a {B} rating to the Hebrew text and suggests that the Greek translation shows the tendency to make the wording agree with verse 10. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament further suggests that the writer calls this fire the fire of God in order to emphasize the violent nature of the punishment since the second captain, unlike the first captain in verse 9, did not have the courage to approach Elijah but simply shouted to him from a distance. This interpretation, of course, assumes that the ancient Greek, which reads “he went up,” does not have the original reading in verse 11. Since the Hebrew word rendered of God sometimes is used to express the superlative degree, American Bible translates the fire of God as “an awesome fire.”

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