Luke 9:54
Translations
King James Version (KJV)
And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, will you that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?
American King James Version (AKJV)
And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, will you that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?
American Standard Version (ASV)
And when his disciples James and John saw this , they said, Lord, wilt thou that we bid fire to come down from heaven, and consume them?
Basic English Translation (BBE)
And when his disciples, James and John, saw this, they said, Lord, may we send fire from heaven and put an end to them?
Webster's Revision
And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elijah did?
World English Bible
When his disciples, James and John, saw this, they said, "Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from the sky, and destroy them, just as Elijah did?"
English Revised Version (ERV)
And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we bid fire to come down from heaven, and consume them?
Clarke's Luke 9:54 Bible Commentary
That we command fire - Vengeance belongs to the Lord. What we suffer for his sake, should be left to himself to reprove or punish. The insult is offered to him, not to us. See the note on Mark 3:17.
Barnes's Luke 9:54 Bible Commentary
James and John - They were called Boanerges - sons of thunder - probably on account of their energy and power in preaching the gospel, or of their vehement and rash zeal - a remarkable example of which we have in this instance, Mark 3:17.
Wilt thou ... - The insult had been offered to Jesus, their friend, and they felt it; but their zeal was rash and their spirit bad. Vengeance belongs to God: it was not theirs to attempt it.
Fire from heaven - Lightning, to consume them.
As Elias did - By this they wished to justify their zeal. Perhaps, while they were speaking, they saw Jesus look at them with disapprobation, and to vindicate themselves they referred to the case of Elijah. The case is recorded in 2 Kings 1:10-12.
Wesley's Luke 9:54 Bible Commentary
9:54 As Elisha did - At or near this very place, which might put it into the minds of the apostles to make the motion now, rather than at any other time or place, where Christ had received the like affront.
