2 Samuel 22:9 (DRB)

Passage

A smoke went up from his nostrils, and a devouring fire out of his mouth: coals were kindled by it.

Nearby Context

2 Samuel 22:7 In my distress I will call upon the Lord, and I will cry to my God: and he will hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry shall come to his ears.

2 Samuel 22:8 The earth shook and trembled, the foundations of the mountains were moved, and shaken, because he was angry with them.

2 Samuel 22:9 A smoke went up from his nostrils, and a devouring fire out of his mouth: coals were kindled by it.

2 Samuel 22:10 He bowed the heavens, and came down: and darkness was under his feet.

2 Samuel 22:11 And he rode upon the cherubims, and flew: and slid upon the wings of the wind.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "smoke", "went", "nostrils", "devouring", "fire", "mouth", "coals", and "kindled". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "smoke" and "went", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "The earth shook and trembled the foundations..." into verse 10's "He bowed the heavens and came down...", so "smoke" and "went" belong inside that flow. In 2 Samuel context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "smoke" and "went" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.