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 7:27

“Her house is the way to Sheol”: Compare this line to 2.18 and 5.5. See also 9.18. It is not simply “Her house” as a building, but rather what takes place in her house. Accordingly, some translate “To go to her house is. . .” or “Visiting her in her house. . ..” For “Sheol” see 1.12. We may translate this line, for example, “When you go to her house you are on your way to the world of the dead,” “Go to her place and you will go on to your grave,” or “The road to her house is the road to the graveyard.”

“Going down to the chambers of death”: “Chambers of death” is an expression parallel to the name Sheol, similar to what is found in 2.18 and 5.5. “Chambers” renders a word meaning “rooms.” “Sheol” is here pictured as a house with many rooms. We may translate verse 27, for example, “Visit her house and you will go to the world of the dead, straight to your grave.” The teacher’s purpose in using such strong metaphorical language is to paint as vivid as possible a picture of the painful consequences of adultery.

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 7:27

7:27

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

27a Her house is the road to Sheol,

27b
descending to the chambers of death.

There is an ellipsis in 7:27b. In some languages, it may be necessary to supply the missing words from 7:27a. For example:

27b
⌊the road⌋ descending to the chambers of death.

7:27a

Her house is the road to Sheol: In Hebrew, the phrase road to Sheol is literally “ways of Sheol.” The plural “ways” may indicate that many roads lead from her house to Sheol, the world of the dead. Most English versions, however, do not specify the plural. This figurative language means that if a man enters her house, he begins a pattern of behavior that will lead him in one way or another to death. The Good News Translation expresses this well:

If you go to her house, you are on the way to the world of the dead. (Good News Translation)

7:27b

descending: The Hebrew verb translated as descending reflects the OT view of Sheol as a place located down inside the earth. The Good News Translation does not make this explicit.

7:27a–b

Sheol, descending to the chambers of death: Both of these phrases refer to Sheol, the world or place of the dead. The phrase translated here as chambers of death seems to describe the world of the dead as a house with many rooms, and the woman’s house is the entrance. However, in poetry, chambers may be a figure of speech (synecdoche) that refers to the whole place. So the Good News Translation has simply “death,” and the Contemporary English Version combines both phrases as “the world of the dead.”

For more information on how to translate “the grave” or “Sheol,” see the note on 1:12a.

General Comment on 7:27a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder the parallel parts. For example:

Her house is like a road that leads down to the place of the dead.

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