As explained by the verse in context, "coals of fire" further distinguishes God's children from those not numbered among His family, those who are enemies of His children and thus, enemies of Him.
As 1000silverlings wrote: "Indeed, the Greek for "burning coals" is our English word anthrax, so might be whence comes our saying "a pox upon him",lol. At any rate I think the burning coals are meant to represent God's wrath."
Amen.
But, hey, if you want to think tossing burning coals of fire on someone's head is an act of kindness in order to keep them warm and toasty, that's your campfire prerogative.
No. That was you. You ignored the preceding verses that set the context.
As explained by the verse in context...
In your fabricated context maybe, but not the context in which it was handed down.
"coals of fire" further distinguishes God's children from those not numbered among His family, those who are enemies of His children and thus, enemies of Him
Apparently, you assume that any enemy of yours is automatically an enemy of God. Is your judgment really that good? More to the point, is everyone else's? If the enemy in question is also a member of your church, who gets the coals?
Indeed, the Greek for "burning coals" is our English word anthrax...
Sooo... because we use the Greek word for "coals" to identify a disease that produces skin lesions that look like coals, you think that somehow proves that Paul was talking about putting a pox on someone. Is that right?
Just out of curiosity, what's the Hebrew word for "burning coals"?