Out of the brightness before him hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The "brightness before him" isn't just the natural lightning, but the overwhelming divine presence behind it, so intense it seems to part the very clouds, revealing a terrifying, fiery aspect of God's power. This isn't just a storm; it's God himself manifesting with a power so potent that it’s described as hail and coals of fire breaking through.
Out of the brightness before him hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.
English Standard Version (ESV)
David is describing a powerful storm that serves as a dramatic backdrop for God's intervention and deliverance. This imagery portrays God descending amidst thunder and lightning, with the storm's fury—hailstones and fiery coals—acting as manifestations of His awesome power against David's enemies. The surrounding verses detail God's actions in scattering enemies and rescuing David from overwhelming forces, emphasizing that this divine display of power was ultimately for his salvation.
When we think of God's presence, we might imagine peace and quiet. But Scripture often describes His arrival with breathtaking, even terrifying, displays of power. This verse shows us just how dramatic that can be.
Psalms 18 paints a picture of God descending in a fearsome storm to rescue David. The "brightness before him" isn't just sunlight; it's the radiant, awe-inspiring presence of God Himself, so intense it pierces the darkness.
A Divine Entrance
The "thick clouds" that usually obscure the sky are described as passing away or being penetrated by this divine light. It’s not just a storm happening near God; it's a storm that is God manifesting His power and glory. The "hailstones and coals of fire" aren't random weather; they are instruments of His majestic, powerful, and even wrathful appearance, serving notice that the Creator is on the scene.
We often see storms as simply natural events. But what if the hailstones and fire are more than just weather? This verse suggests a deeper purpose behind nature's most violent displays.
The "hailstones and coals of fire" in this verse are not presented as mere meteorological events. They are depicted as elements that burst forth from God's brightness, almost like extensions of His power.
Instruments of Judgment and Power
Commentaries suggest these elements can represent God's judgment and His overwhelming power. The "coals of fire" could signify God's fierce wrath, while "hailstones" suggest a destructive force raining down. This imagery serves to magnify God’s might and the effectiveness of His intervention. When God acts, even the elements of nature are His instruments, responding to His presence and will.
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Understand the original words
nogah · Hebrew Noun
A term used to describe the overwhelming and often awe-inspiring manifestation of God’s glory, holiness, or power. It is frequently associated with the 'glory of the LORD' (Shekinah) which is too brilliant for human eyes to behold directly.
Psalm 18 vividly portrays God's power through a terrifying storm, drawing parallels to the devastating hail and fire that accompanied the Exodus. This imagery highlights God's fierce protection over David during his intense struggles, emphasizing His dramatic intervention when human strength failed.
c. 1446 BC
The Exodus from Egypt
During the Israelites' flight from Egypt, God unleashed a devastating plague of hail and fire upon the Egyptians, a powerful display of divine wrath accompanying their liberation.
c. 1010 BC
David's Reign as King
David is established as the king of Israel, facing numerous conflicts and dangers from enemies both within and outside the nation.
c. 1000 BC
David's Flight from Saul
Facing persecution from King Saul, David experienced intense periods of danger and pursuit, leading him to cry out to God for deliverance.
c. 1000 BC— this verse
David's Deliverance from Enemies
David describes a dramatic rescue from overwhelming enemies, attributing his survival to God's direct intervention during his time of extreme peril.
This passage describes a violent storm with hail and fire, directly echoing the imagery of hailstones and coals of fire in Psalms 18:12, highlighting God's powerful and destructive presence during judgment.
2 Samuel 22:13This is a parallel account of David's life where the imagery is similar, showing a direct literary connection and reinforcing the description of God's appearance in a powerful, fiery storm.
Ezekiel 1:13This verse describes living creatures with appearances like coals of fire and like lightning, connecting the celestial fire imagery to divine beings and God's majestic presence.
Matthew 24:27Jesus uses the imagery of lightning flashing from east to west to describe His future coming, drawing a parallel to the sudden, bright, and powerful manifestations of God seen in Psalms 18:12.
Revelation 10:1This passage depicts a mighty angel descending with a rainbow around his head, clothed with a cloud, and with a face like the sun and feet like pillars of fire, further associating divine glory with light, fire, and atmospheric phenomena.
ellicottPsalms 18:12: "At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire."
(12) At the brightness. —This is obscure. Literally, From the brightness before him his clouds passed through (Heb., avar —LXX., διῆλθον ; Vulg., transierunt ) hail and fiery coals. In Samuel it is “From the brightness before him flamed fiery coals,” which is the description we should expect, and, doubtless, gives the sense we are to attach to our text. Through the dark curtain of cloud…
barnesPsalms 18:12: "At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire."
At the brightness that was before him - From the flash - the play of the lightnings that seemed to go before him. His thick clouds passed - or, vanished. They seemed to pass away. The light, the flash, the blaze, penetrated those clouds, and seemed to dispel, or to scatter them. The whole heavens were in a blaze, as if there were no clouds, or as if the clouds were all driven away. The…
The "brightness before him" isn't just the natural lightning, but the overwhelming divine presence behind it, so intense it seems to part the very clouds, revealing a terrifying, fiery aspect of God's power. This isn't just a storm; it's God himself manifesting with a power so potent that it’s described as hail and coals of fire breaking through.
David is describing a powerful storm that serves as a dramatic backdrop for God's intervention and deliverance. This imagery portrays God descending amidst thunder and lightning, with the storm's fury—hailstones and fiery coals—acting as manifestations of His awesome power against David's enemies. The surrounding verses detail God's actions in scattering enemies and rescuing David from overwhelming forces, emphasizing that this divine display of power was ultimately for his salvation.
David is describing a powerful storm that serves as a dramatic backdrop for God's intervention and deliverance. This imagery portrays God descending amidst thunder and lightning, with the storm's fury—hailstones and fiery coals—acting as manifestations of His awesome power against David's enemies. The surrounding verses detail God's actions in scattering enemies and rescuing David from overwhelming forces, emphasizing that this divine display of power was ultimately for his salvation.
"Out of the brightness before him hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds." — The "brightness before him" isn't just the natural lightning, but the overwhelming divine presence behind it, so intense it seems to part the very clouds, revealing a terrifying, fiery aspect of Go…
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Last reviewed October 2026