🎵WEB · Psalms 18:13
What does Psalms 18:13 mean?
"Yahweh also thundered in the sky. The Most High uttered his voice: hailstones and coals of fire."
— Psalms 18:13 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
He rode on a cherub, and flew. Yes, he soared on the wings of the wind.
He made darkness his hiding place, his pavilion around him, darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
At the brightness before him his thick clouds passed, hailstones and coals of fire.
Yahweh also thundered in the sky. The Most High uttered his voice: hailstones and coals of fire.
He sent out his arrows, and scattered them; Yes, great lightning bolts, and routed them.
Then the channels of waters appeared. The foundations of the world were laid bare at your rebuke, Yahweh, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.
He sent from on high. He took me. He drew me out of many waters.
Explanation
Psalm 18:13 comes in the middle of a vivid poetic description of God intervening dramatically to rescue David from his enemies. In plain language, the verse pictures God's voice as thunder rolling across the sky, accompanied by hailstones and fiery coals — a scene of overwhelming power breaking into the natural world. It's not a literal weather report but poetic imagery drawn from storm phenomena familiar to ancient hearers, used to convey the terrifying majesty of God acting on behalf of his servant.
This psalm is attributed to David, and its heading tells us he sang it to the Lord "on the day Yahweh delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul." It's essentially a song of thanksgiving after years of being hunted and threatened, now recalling how God rescued him. The surrounding verses (7-15) describe a theophany — a dramatic appearance of God — using earthquake, smoke, fire, darkness, wind, and storm imagery reminiscent of how God appeared at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19). This kind of language was a recognized poetic convention in the ancient Near East and in Hebrew poetry for depicting God coming to judge or to save, showing his sovereignty over creation itself.
Theologically, the verse emphasizes God's transcendent power and his direct involvement in the affairs of his people. The thunder as God's "voice" reflects a biblical theme where nature itself testifies to and obeys its Creator (compare Psalm 29, which similarly describ
Compare translations
Go deeper with ScriptureCompanion AI
Ask questions about any verse, follow reading plans, write personal prayers, and track your daily habit — all grounded in verified scripture text.