Hades / Sheol

The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is often translated in English as “Hades” or “Sheol” is translated in the German Luther Bible 2017 (and pre-1912) as Totenreich or “realm (or: kingdom) of the dead” in these verses. (Source: Jost Zetzsche)

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Sheol .

Translation commentary on Proverbs 1:12

“Like Sheol let us swallow them”: The innocent persons captured in the ambush of the sinners will be killed and put in their graves. “Sheol” is the world of the dead, a land of gloom and darkness, a place of no return. It is commonly referred to as the “Pit” or the grave. “Swallow” is a common figure in the Hebrew for “consume,” “kill,” or “destroy.” Translators should make certain that readers do not take it in a literal sense.

“Alive and whole”: that is, alive and in good health. The sinners will play the role of Sheol and cause the innocent to be dragged down into the grave away from life and health.

The translation of verse 12 may require some adjustments to make certain that the picture is complete. Contemporary English Version does this by saying “They’re well and healthy now, but we’ll finish them off once and for all.” This translation replaces the images of “Sheol” and the “Pit” with the words “finish them off once and for all.” Compare Good News Translation, which has a similar rendering. If the translator wishes to keep the death image, it is possible to say, for example, “While they are still alive and well, we will send them to the land of the dead.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Proverbs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 1:12

1:12

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

12a let us swallow them alive like Sheol,

12b and whole like those descending into the Pit.

There is an ellipsis in 1:12b. In some languages, it may be necessary to supply the missing words. For example:

12b and ⌊let us swallow them⌋ whole like those descending into the Pit

1:12a–b

let us swallow them alive like Sheol, and whole like those descending into the Pit: This verse contains two parallel similes. In the similes, the criminals compare themselves to Sheol, which some English versions translate as “the grave.” The criminals are similar to the grave, because they will kill unsuspecting, healthy people just as certainly and quickly as the grave opens its mouth to swallow its victims.

alive…and whole: The word whole refers to people who are “healthy.” Together, the words alive and whole refer to people who are in good health and do not expect to die soon. Some versions combine and/or reorder these parallel parts. For example:

They may be alive and well… (Good News Translation)

In some languages, it may be redundant to say that a healthy person is alive. In that case, it may be better to leave alive implicit or to use another term that refers to good health. For example:

even if they are strong and healthy

like Sheol…the Pit: In translating these similes, be careful not to imply that people are buried in their graves while they are still alive. In some languages, a literal translation of these similes may be difficult to understand. Some other ways to express the meaning are:

• Make explicit the way in which the sinners are like the grave and the pit. For example:

Let’s kill them so fast that it will seem like the place of the dead had swallowed them alive.

• Translate the meaning without the figures of speech. For example:

They may be alive and well when we find them, but they’ll be dead when we’re through with them! (Good News Translation)

Notice that both of these options combine the parallel words Sheol and Pit into one expression. Express the meaning in a way that is clear and natural in your language.

1:12a

let us swallow them alive like Sheol: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Sheol refers to death or the grave or the place of the dead. Sheol is described here as a hungry monster that swallows people alive. In other words, they are alive at the time when he swallows them.

1:12b

like those descending into the Pit: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Pit normally means a hole that is dug in the ground or rock to hold water. But here it is a figurative synonym for the place of the dead.

descending: According to Jewish thinking, the place where the dead lived was deep under the surface of the earth. (Other verses with this same idea are 2:18a–b and 9:18b.) In some languages, it may not be natural to use a specific verb such as “descend.” If that is true in your language, you may be able to use a more general word. For example:

go into the pit (God’s Word)
-or-
go to the place of the dead

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