Appendix C: Sheol Quotes
The Old Testament word that gets translated as “hell” in the King James Bible is sheol. This same word is frequently translated as “grave.” The translators made judgment calls based upon who was going to sheol.
What does the Hebrew word “sheol” truly mean? The Jewish translators who first translated the Old Testament into Greek (the Septuagint) translated it into the Greek word “hades.” Hades was the Greek god of the underworld, and the word later denoted the underworld itself. In Greek mythology all of the dead went to the underworld, save those who were immortal (descended from gods). A closer Greek equivalent to the Christian idea of “hell” is tartarus, the lowest region of hades, where most of the Titans are imprisoned.
But did the ancient Jewish translators mean to endorse a Greek-like view of the afterlife when they translated “sheol” as “hades?” Or is Sheol simply the inverse of Heaven; i.e., the realm below the surface, underground as it were. (“Heaven” refers to both the sky and supernatural realms above.)
Perhaps context can resolve the matter. I have searched all the quotations in the Old Testament which contain sheol in the New American Standard Bible (which leaves this word untranslated), and then copied the same scriptures from the King James Bible below. I have placed the word “Sheol” in square brackets where the New American Standard Bible has it. Note how it is translated both as “grave” and as “hell.” “Underground” seems to me to work for both contexts. Especially note the passages from Deuteronomy, Amos and Jonah.
Genesis 37
34. And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.
35. And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave [Sheol] unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.
36. And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, and captain of the guard.
Genesis 42
37. And Reuben spake unto his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again.
38. And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave [Sheol].
Genesis 44
28. And the one went out from me, and I said, Surely he is torn in pieces; and I saw him not since:
29. And if ye take this also from me, and mischief befall him, ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave [Sheol].
30. Now therefore when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad be not with us; seeing that his life is bound up in the lad's life;
31. It shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will die: and thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave [Sheol].
32. For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father, saying, If I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to my father for ever.
33. Now therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brethren.
34. For how shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with me? lest peradventure I see the evil that shall come on my father.
Numbers 16
28. And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the Lord hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind.
29. If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the Lord hath not sent me.
30. But if the Lord make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit [Sheol]; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the Lord.
31. And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them:
32. And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods.
33. They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit [Sheol], and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation.
Deuteronomy 32
21. They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.
22. For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell [Sheol], and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.
23. I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them.
1 Samuel 2
1. And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the Lord, mine horn is exalted in the Lord: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation.
2. There is none holy as the Lord: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.
3. Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.
4. The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength.
5. They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble.
6. The Lord killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave [Sheol], and bringeth up.
7. The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up.
8. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and he hath set the world upon them.
9. He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.
10. The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the Lord shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.
2 Samuel 22
1. And David spake unto the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul:
2. And he said, The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;
3. The God of my rock; in him will I trust: He is my shield, and the Horn Of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence.
4. I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
5. When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of ungodly men made me afraid;
6. The sorrows of hell [cords of Sheol] compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me;
7. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears.
8. Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because he was wroth.
9. There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.
1 Kings 2
1. Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying,
2. I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man;
3. And keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself:
4. That the Lord may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel.
5. Moreover thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet.
6. Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to the grave [Sheol] in peace.
7. But shew kindness unto the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eat at thy table: for so they came to me when I fled because of Absalom thy brother.
8. And, behold, thou hast with thee Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim, which cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim: but he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I sware to him by the Lord, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword.
9. Now therefore hold him not guiltless: for thou art a wise man, and knowest what thou oughtest to do unto him; but his hoar head bring thou down to the grave [Sheol] with blood.
Job 7
6. My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent without hope.
7. O remember that my life is wind: mine eye shall no more see good.
8. The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no more: thine eyes are upon me, and I am not.
9. As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave [Sheol] shall come up no more.
10. He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more.
11. Therefore I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
Job 11
6. And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is! know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth.
7. Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?
8. It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell [Sheol]; what canst thou know?
9. The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea.
10. If he cut off, and shut up, or gather together, then who can hinder him?
Job 14
7. For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.
8. Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground;
9. Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant.
10. But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the Ghost, and where is he?
11. As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up:
12. So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.
13. O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave [Sheol], that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!
14. If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.
15. Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands.
16. For now thou numberest my steps: dost thou not watch over my sin?
17. My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and thou sewest up mine iniquity.
18. And surely the mountain falling cometh to nought, and the rock is removed out of his place.
19. The waters wear the stones: thou washest away the things which grow out of the dust of the earth; and thou destroyest the hope of man.
20. Thou prevailest for ever against him, and he passeth: thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away.
21. His sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them.
22. But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn.
Job 17
6. He hath made me also a byword of the people; and aforetime I was as a tabret.
7. Mine eye also is dim by reason of sorrow, and all my members are as a shadow.
8. Upright men shall be astonied at this, and the innocent shall stir up himself against the hypocrite.
9. The righteous also shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger.
10. But as for you all, do ye return, and come now: for I cannot find one wise man among you.
11. My days are past, my purposes are broken off, even the thoughts of my heart.
12. They change the night into day: the light is short because of darkness.
13. If I wait, the grave [Sheol] is mine house: I have made my bed in the darkness.
14. I have said to corruption, Thou art my father: to the worm, Thou art my mother, and my sister.
15. And where is now my hope? as for my hope, who shall see it?
16. They shall go down to the bars of the pit [Sheol], when our rest together is in the dust.
Job 21
7. Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power?
8. Their seed is established in their sight with them, and their offspring before their eyes.
9. Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them.
10. Their bull gendereth, and faileth not; their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf.
11. They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance.
12. They take the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ.
13. They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave [Sheol].
14. Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.
15. What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit should we have, if we pray unto him?
16. Lo, their good is not in their hand: the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
17. How oft is the candle of the wicked put out! and how oft cometh their destruction upon them! God distributeth sorrows in his anger.
18. They are as stubble before the wind, and as chaff that the storm carrieth away.
19. God layeth up his iniquity for his children: he rewardeth him, and he shall know it.
20. His eyes shall see his destruction, and he shall drink of the wrath of the almighty.
21. For what pleasure hath he in his house after him, when the number of his months is cut off in the midst?
22. Shall any teach God knowledge? seeing he judgeth those that are high.
23. One dieth in his full strength, being wholly at ease and quiet.
24. His breasts are full of milk, and his bones are moistened with marrow.
25. And another dieth in the bitterness of his soul, and never eateth with pleasure.
26. They shall lie down alike in the dust, and the worms shall cover them.
27. Behold, I know your thoughts, and the devices which ye wrongfully imagine against me.
28. For ye say, Where is the house of the prince? and where are the dwelling places of the wicked?
29. Have ye not asked them that go by the way? and do ye not know their tokens,
30. That the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction? they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath.
31. Who shall declare his way to his face? and who shall repay him what he hath done?
32. Yet shall he be brought to the grave, and shall remain in the tomb.
33. The clods of the valley shall be sweet unto him, and every man shall draw after him, as there are innumerable before him.
34. How then comfort ye me in vain, seeing in your answers there remaineth falsehood?
Job 24
14. The murderer rising with the light killeth the poor and needy, and in the night is as a thief.
15. The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight, saying, No eye shall see me: and disguiseth his face.
16. In the dark they dig through houses, which they had marked for themselves in the daytime: they know not the light.
17. For the morning is to them even as the shadow of death: if one know them, they are in the terrors of the shadow of death.
18. He is swift as the waters; their portion is cursed in the earth: he beholdeth not the way of the vineyards.
19. Drought and heat consume the snow waters: so doth the grave [Sheol] those which have sinned.
20. The womb shall forget him; the worm shall feed sweetly on him; he shall be no more remembered; and wickedness shall be broken as a tree.
21. He evil entreateth the barren that beareth not: and doeth not good to the widow.
22. He draweth also the mighty with his power: he riseth up, and no man is sure of life.
23. Though it be given him to be in safety, whereon he resteth; yet his eyes are upon their ways.
24. They are exalted for a little while, but are gone and brought low; they are taken out of the way as all other, and cut off as the tops of the ears of corn.
25. And if it be not so now, who will make me a liar, and make my speech nothing worth?
Job 26
5. Dead things are formed from under the waters, and the inhabitants thereof.
6. Hell [Sheol] is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering.
7. He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.
8. He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds; and the cloud is not rent under them.
Job 33
13. Why dost thou strive against him? for he giveth not account of any of his matters.
14. For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not.
15. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed;
16. Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction,
17. That he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man.
18. He keepeth back his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword [And his life from passing over into Sheol].
19. He is chastened also with pain upon his bed, and the multitude of his bones with strong pain:
20. So that his life abhorreth bread, and his soul dainty meat.
21. His flesh is consumed away, that it cannot be seen; and his bones that were not seen stick out.
22. Yea, his soul draweth near unto the grave, and his life to the destroyers.
23. If there be a messenger with him, an interpreter, one among a thousand, to shew unto man his uprightness:
24. Then he is gracious unto him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom.
25. His flesh shall be fresher than a child's: he shall return to the days of his youth:
26. He shall pray unto God, and he will be favourable unto him: and he shall see his face with joy: for he will render unto man his righteousness.
27. He looketh upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not;
28. He will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light.
Psalms 6
2. Have mercy upon me, O Lord; for I am weak: O Lord, heal me; for my bones are vexed.
3. My soul is also sore vexed: but thou, O Lord, how long?
4. Return, O Lord, deliver my soul: oh save me for thy mercies' sake.
5. For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave [Sheol] who shall give thee thanks?
6. I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears.
7. Mine eye is consumed because grief; it waxeth old because of all mine enemies.
Psalms 9
16. The Lord is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah.
17. The wicked shall be turned into hell [return to Sheol], and all the nations that forget God.
18. For the needy shall not alway be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever.
19. Arise, O Lord; let not man prevail: let the heathen be judged in thy sight.
20. Put them in fear, O Lord: that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah.
Psalms 16
7. I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons.
8. I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
9. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.
10. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell [Sheol]; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
11. Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
Psalms 18
1. I will love thee, O Lord, my strength.
2. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
3. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
4. The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.
5. The sorrows of hell [cords of Sheol] compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.
6. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.
7. Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.
8. There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.
Psalms 30
1. I Will extol thee, O Lord; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.
2. O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.
3. O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave [Sheol]: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.
4. Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.
Psalms 31
14. But I trusted in thee, O Lord: I said, Thou art my God.
15. My times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me.
16. Make thy face to shine upon thy servant: save me for thy mercies' sake.
17. Let me not be ashamed, O Lord; for I have called upon thee: let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave [Sheol].
18. Let the lying lips be put to silence; which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.
19. Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!
Psalms 49
12. Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish.
13. This their way is their folly: yet their posterity approve their sayings. Selah.
14. Like sheep they are laid in the grave [Sheol]; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave [Sheol] from their dwelling.
15. But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave [Sheol]: for he shall receive me. Selah.
16. Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased;
17. For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him.
18. Though while he lived he blessed his soul: and men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself.
19. He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light.
20. Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.
Psalms 55
13. But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance.
14. We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.
15. Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell [Sheol]: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.
16. As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord shall save me.
17. Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.
18. He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me: for there were many with me.
19. God shall hear, and afflict them, even he that abideth of old. Selah. Because they have no changes, therefore they fear not God.
20. He hath put forth his hands against such as be at peace with him: he hath broken his covenant.
21. The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords.
22. Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
23. But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee.
Psalms 86
12. I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore.
13. For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell [Sheol].
14. O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them.
15. But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.
Psalms 88
1. O Lord God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee:
2. Let my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry;
3. For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave [Sheol].
4. I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength:
5. Free among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, whom thou rememberest no more: and they are cut off from thy hand.
6. Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps.
7. Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves. Selah.
Psalms 89
44. Thou hast made his glory to cease, and cast his throne down to the ground.
45. The days of his youth hast thou shortened: thou hast covered him with shame. Selah.
46. How long, Lord? wilt thou hide thyself for ever? shall thy wrath burn like fire?
47. Remember how short my time is: wherefore hast thou made all men in vain?
48. What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave [Sheol]? Selah.
49. Lord, where are thy former lovingkindnesses, which thou swarest unto David in thy truth?
50. Remember, Lord, the reproach of thy servants; how I do bear in my bosom the reproach of all the mighty people;
Psalms 116
1. I love the Lord, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications.
2. Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.
3. The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell [Sheol] gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.
4. Then called I upon the name of the Lord; O Lord, I beseech thee, deliver my soul.
5. Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.
6. The Lord preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me.
7. Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee.
8. For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.
9. I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living.
Psalms 139
1. O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.
2. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.
3. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
4. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.
5. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.
6. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.
7. Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
8. If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell [Sheol], behold, thou art there.
9. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
10. Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
11. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.
12. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.
13. For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.
Psalms 141
1. Lord, I cry unto thee: make haste unto me; give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto thee.
2. Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
3. Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.
4. Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practise wicked works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their dainties.
5. Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head: for yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities.
6. When their judges are overthrown in stony places, they shall hear my words; for they are sweet.
7. Our bones are scattered at the grave's [Sheol] mouth, as when one cutteth and cleaveth wood upon the earth.
8. But mine eyes are unto thee, O God the Lord: in thee is my trust; leave not my soul destitute.
9. Keep me from the snares which they have laid for me, and the gins of the workers of iniquity.
10. Let the wicked fall into their own nets, whilst that I withal escape.
Proverbs 1
10. My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.
11. If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:
12. Let us swallow them up alive as the grave [Sheol]; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:
13. We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:
14. Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:
15. My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:
Proverbs 5
1. My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding:
2. That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.
3. For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil:
4. But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.
5. Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell [Sheol].
6. Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.
Proverbs 7
25. Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths.
26. For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her.
27. Her house is the way to hell [Sheol], going down to the chambers of death.
Proverbs 9
13. A foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing.
14. For she sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city,
15. To call passengers who go right on their ways:
16. Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,
17. Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.
18. But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell [Sheol].
Proverbs 15
9. The way of the wicked is an abomination unto the Lord: but he loveth him that followeth after righteousness.
10. Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way: and he that hateth reproof shall die.
11. Hell [Sheol] and destruction are before the Lord: how much more then the hearts of the children of men?
12. A scorner loveth not one that reproveth him: neither will he go unto the wise.
Proverbs 15
23. A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!
24. The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell [Sheol] beneath.
25. The Lord will destroy the house of the proud: but he will establish the border of the widow.
Proverbs 23
13. Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.
14. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell [Sheol].
15. My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine.
Proverbs 27
19. As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man.
20. Hell [Sheol] and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.
21. As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise.
Proverbs 30
15. The horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is enough:
16. The grave [Sheol]; and the barren womb; the earth that is not filled with water; and the fire that saith not, It is enough.
17. The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it.
Ecclesiastes 9
9. Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun.
10. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave [Sheol], whither thou goest.
11. I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
Song of Solomon 8
5. Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? I raised thee up under the apple tree: there thy mother brought thee forth: there she brought thee forth that bare thee.
6. Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave [Sheol]: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.
7. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.
Isaiah 5
12. And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the operation of his hands.
13. Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst.
14. Therefore hell [Sheol] hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.
15. And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled:
16. But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness.
Isaiah 7
10. Moreover the Lord spake again unto Ahaz, saying,
11. Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God; ask it either in the depth [deep as Sheol], or in the height above.
12. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord.
13. And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?
Isaiah 14
5. The Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers.
6. He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth.
7. The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing.
8. Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us.
9. Hell [Sheol] from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.
10. All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?
11. Thy pomp is brought down to the grave [Sheol], and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.
12. How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13. For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
15. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell [Sheol], to the sides of the pit.
16. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;
17. That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?
18. All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house.
Isaiah 28
14. Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
15. Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell [Sheol] are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
16. Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
17. Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
18. And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell [Sheol] shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
19. From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.
20. For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it.
Isaiah 38
9. The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick, and was recovered of his sickness:
10. I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave [Sheol]: I am deprived of the residue of my years.
11. I said, I shall not see the Lord, even the Lord, in the land of the living: I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world.
12. Mine age is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd's tent: I have cut off like a Weaver my life: he will cut me off with pining sickness: from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me.
13. I reckoned till morning, that, as a lion, so will he break all my bones: from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me.
14. Like a crane or a swallow, so did I chatter: I did mourn as a dove: mine eyes fail with looking upward: O Lord, I am oppressed; undertake for me.
15. What shall I say? he hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done it: I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul.
16. O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit: so wilt thou recover me, and make me to live.
17. Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.
18. For the grave [Sheol] cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.
19. The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth.
20. The Lord was ready to save me: therefore we will sing my songs to the stringed instruments all the days of our life in the house of the Lord.
21. For Isaiah had said, Let them take a lump of figs, and lay it for a plaister upon the boil, and he shall recover.
22. Hezekiah also had said, What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?
Isaiah 57
7. Upon a lofty and high mountain hast thou set thy bed: even thither wentest thou up to offer sacrifice.
8. Behind the doors also and the posts hast thou set up thy remembrance: for thou hast discovered thyself to another than me, and art gone up; thou hast enlarged thy bed, and made thee a covenant with them; thou lovedst their bed where thou sawest it.
9. And thou wentest to the king with ointment, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thy messengers far off, and didst debase thyself even unto hell [Sheol].
10. Thou art wearied in the greatness of thy way; yet saidst thou not, There is no hope: thou hast found the life of thine hand; therefore thou wast not grieved.
11. And of whom hast thou been afraid or feared, that thou hast lied, and hast not remembered me, nor laid it to thy heart? have not I held my peace even of old, and thou fearest me not?
Ezekiel 31
1. And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the third month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2. Son of man, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude; Whom art thou like in thy greatness?
3. Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature; and his top was among the thick boughs.
4. The waters made him great, the deep set him up on high with her rivers running round about his plants, and sent out her little rivers unto all the trees of the field.
5. Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees of the field, and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long because of the multitude of waters, when he shot forth.
6. All the fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all great nations.
7. Thus was he fair in his greatness, in the length of his branches: for his root was by great waters.
8. The cedars in the garden of God could not hide him: the fir trees were not like his boughs, and the chesnut trees were not like his branches; nor any tree in the garden of God was like unto him in his beauty.
9. I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches: so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied him.
10. Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because thou hast lifted up thyself in height, and he hath shot up his top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height;
11. I have therefore delivered him into the hand of the mighty one of the heathen; he shall surely deal with him: I have driven him out for his wickedness.
12. And strangers, the terrible of the nations, have cut him off, and have left him: upon the mountains and in all the valleys his branches are fallen, and his boughs are broken by all the rivers of the land; and all the people of the earth are gone down from his shadow, and have left him.
13. Upon his ruin shall all the fowls of the heaven remain, and all the beasts of the field shall be upon his branches:
14. To the end that none of all the trees by the waters exalt themselves for their height, neither shoot up their top among the thick boughs, neither their trees stand up in their height, all that drink water: for they are all delivered unto death, to the nether parts of the earth, in the midst of the children of men, with them that go down to the pit.
15. Thus saith the Lord God; In the day when he went down to the grave [Sheol] I caused a mourning: I covered the deep for him, and I restrained the floods thereof, and the great waters were stayed: and I caused Lebanon to mourn for him, and all the trees of the field fainted for him.
16. I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell [Sheol] with them that descend into the pit: and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth.
17. They also went down into hell [Sheol] with him unto them that be slain with the sword; and they that were his arm, that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the heathen.
18. To whom art thou thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? yet shalt thou be brought down with the trees of Eden unto the nether parts of the earth: thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord God.
Ezekiel 32
17. It came to pass also in the twelfth year, in the fifteenth day of the month, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
18. Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt, and cast them down, even her, and the daughters of the famous nations, unto the nether parts of the earth, with them that go down into the pit.
19. Whom dost thou pass in beauty? go down, and be thou laid with the uncircumcised.
20. They shall fall in the midst of them that are slain by the sword: she is delivered to the sword: draw her and all her multitudes.
21. The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell [Sheol] with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword.
22. Asshur is there and all her company: his graves are about him: all of them slain, fallen by the sword:
…
25. They have set her a bed in the midst of the slain with all her multitude: her graves are round about him: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword: though their terror was caused in the land of the living, yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit: he is put in the midst of them that be slain.
26. There is Meshech, Tubal, and all her multitude: her graves are round about him: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword, though they caused their terror in the land of the living.
27. And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised, which are gone down to hell [Sheol] with their weapons of war: and they have laid their swords under their heads, but their iniquities shall be upon their bones, though they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.
28. Yea, thou shalt be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised, and shalt lie with them that are slain with the sword.
29. There is Edom, her kings, and all her princes, which with their might are laid by them that were slain by the sword: they shall lie with the uncircumcised, and with them that go down to the pit.
Hosea 13
11. I gave thee a king in mine anger, and took him away in my wrath.
12. The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his sin is hid.
13. The sorrows of a travailing woman shall come upon him: he is an unwise son; for he should not stay long in the place of the breaking forth of children.
14. I will ransom them from the power of the grave [Sheol]; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave [Sheol], I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.
15. Though he be fruitful among his brethren, an east wind shall come, the wind of the Lord shall come up from the wilderness, and his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up: he shall spoil the treasure of all pleasant vessels.
16. Samaria shall become desolate; for she hath rebelled against her God: they shall fall by the sword: their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up.
Amos 9
1. I saw the Lord standing upon the altar: and he said, Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered.
2. Though they dig into hell [Sheol], thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down:
3. And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them:
4. And though they go into captivity before their enemies, thence will I command the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good.
Jonah 2
1. Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish's belly,
2. And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell [Sheol] cried I, and thou heardest my voice.
3. For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me.
4. Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.
5. The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.
6. I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my God.
7. When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.
8. They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.
9. But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.
10. And the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.
Habakkuk 2
4. Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
5. Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell [Sheol], and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people:
6. Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay!
7. Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them?
8. Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee; because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.
9. Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil!