Reference: Hell
American
The Hebrews SHEOL, and the Greek HADES, usually translated hell, often signify the place of departed spirits, Ps 16:10; Isa 14:9; Eze 31:16. Here was the rich man, after being buried, Lu 16:23. The above and many other passages in the Old Testament show the futility of that opinion which attributes to the Hebrews an ignorance of a future state.
The term hell is most commonly applied to the place of punishment in the unseen world, and is usually represented in the Greek New Testament by the word Gehenna, valley of Hinnom. See HINNOM. In 2Pe 2:4, the rebellious angels are said, in the original Greek, to have been cast down into "Tartarus," this being the Grecian name of the lowest abyss of Hades. Other expressions are also used, indicating the dreadfulness of the anguish there to be endured. It is called "outer darkness," "flame," "furnace of fire," "unquenchable fire," "fire and brimstone," etc., Mt 8:12; 13:42; 22:13; 25:20,41; Mr 9:43-48; Jg 1:13; Re 20:14. The misery of hell will consist in the privation of the vision and love of God, exclusion from every source of happiness, perpetual sin, remorse of conscience in view of the past, malevolent passions, the sense of the just anger of God, and all other sufferings of body and soul which in the nature of things are the natural results of sin, or which the law of God requires as penal inflictions. The degrees of anguish will be proportioned to the degrees of guilt, Mt 10:15; 23:14; Lu 12:47-48. And these punishments will be eternal, like the happiness of heaven. The wrath of God will never cease to abide upon the lost soul, and it will always be "the wrath to come."
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Othniel son of Kenaz, the younger brother of Caleb, captured it, and he gave to him Acsah his daughter as a wife.
for you will not abandon my soul to Sheol; you will not give your faithful one to see [the] grave.
Sheol below is getting excited over you, to meet {you when you come}; it arouses [the] dead spirits for you, all of [the] leaders of [the] earth. It raises all of [the] kings of [the] nations from their thrones.
From the sound of its downfall I caused nations to shake when I made it go down to Sheol, with [the people] going down to [the] grave, and [so] in [the] world below all of the trees of Eden, [the] choice and the best of Lebanon, {all the well-watered trees} were comforted!
But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!"
Truly I say to you, it will be more bearable for the region of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town!
and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!
Then the king said to the servants, 'Tie him up {hand and foot} [and] throw him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!'
And the one who had received the five talents came up [and] brought five more talents, saying, 'Master, you handed over to me five talents. See, I have gained five more talents!'
Then he will also say to those on [his] left, 'Depart from me, [you] accursed ones, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels!
And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off! It is better [for] you to enter into life crippled than, having two hands, to go into hell--into the unquenchable fire!
And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off! It is better [for] you to enter into life lame than, having two feet, to be thrown into hell!
And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out! It is better [for] you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than, having two eyes, to be thrown into hell, 'where their worm does not die and the fire is not extinguished.'
And that slave who knew the will of his master and did not prepare or do according to his will {will be given a severe beating}. But the one who did not know and did [things] deserving blows {will be given a light beating}. And from everyone to whom much has been given, much will be demanded, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will ask him [for] even more.
And in Hades he lifted up his eyes [as he] was in torment [and] saw Abraham from a distance, and Lazarus {at his side}.
For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but held [them] captive in Tartarus with chains of darkness [and] handed [them] over to be kept for judgment,
And Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death--the lake of fire.
Easton
derived from the Saxon helan, to cover; hence the covered or the invisible place. In Scripture there are three words so rendered:
(1.) Sheol, occurring in the Old Testament sixty-five times. This word sheol is derived from a root-word meaning "to ask," "demand;" hence insatiableness (Pr 30:15-16). It is rendered "grave" thirty-one times (Ge 37:35; 42:38; 44:29,31; 1Sa 2:6, etc.). The Revisers have retained this rendering in the historical books with the original word in the margin, while in the poetical books they have reversed this rule.
In thirty-one cases in the Authorized Version this word is rendered "hell," the place of disembodied spirits. The inhabitants of sheol are "the congregation of the dead" (Pr 21:16). It is (a) the abode of the wicked (Nu 16:33; Job 24:19; Ps 9:17; 31:17, etc.); (b) of the good (Ps 16:10; 30:3; 49:15; 86:13, etc.).
Sheol is described as deep (Job 11:8), dark (Job 10:21-22), with bars (Job 17:16). The dead "go down" to it (Nu 16:30,33; Eze 31:15-16,17).
(2.) The Greek word hades of the New Testament has the same scope of signification as sheol of the Old Testament. It is a prison (1Pe 3:19), with gates and bars and locks (Mt 16:18; Re 1:18), and it is downward (Mt 11:23; Lu 10:15).
The righteous and the wicked are separated. The blessed dead are in that part of hades called paradise (Lu 23:43). They are also said to be in Abraham's bosom (Lu 16:22).
(3.) Gehenna, in most of its occurrences in the Greek New Testament, designates the place of the lost (Mt 23:33). The fearful nature of their condition there is described in various figurative expressions (Mt 8:12; 13:42; 22:13; 25:30; Lu 16:24, etc.). (See Hinnom.)
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And all his sons and daughters tried to console him, but he refused to be consoled. And he said, "No, I shall go down to my son, to Sheol, mourning." And his father wept for him.
But he said, "My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead and he alone remains. [If] harm meets him on the journey that you would take, you would bring down my gray head in sorrow to Sheol."
And if you take this one also from me, and he encounters harm, you will bring down my gray head in sorrow to Sheol.'
it shall happen [that] when he sees that the boy is gone, he will die. And your servants will bring down the gray head of your servant, our father, to Sheol with sorrow.
But if Yahweh creates something new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up and {all that belongs to them}, and they go down alive [to] Sheol, and you will know that these men have despised Yahweh."
They went down alive [to] Sheol, they and all that belonged to them, and the land covered over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly.
They went down alive [to] Sheol, they and all that belonged to them, and the land covered over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly.
Before I go--and I will not return-- to [the] land of darkness and deep shadow, to [the] land of darkness, like [the] darkness of a deep shadow and {chaos}, so that it shines forth like darkness.'"
{It is higher than the heaven}; what can you do? [It is] deeper than Sheol; what can you know?
Will they go down [to] the bars of Sheol? Or shall we descend together into the dust?"
Drought and heat snatch away [the] snow waters, [like] Sheol [snatches away] those [who have] sinned.
[The] wicked shall turn back to Sheol, all [the] nations forgetting God,
for you will not abandon my soul to Sheol; you will not give your faithful one to see [the] grave.
O Yahweh, you have brought my life up from Sheol. You preserved me alive from among those going down to [the] pit.
O Yahweh, let me not be put to shame, for I call on you. Let the wicked be put to shame. Let them [go] silently to Sheol.
Surely God will ransom my life from the {power} of Sheol, because he will receive me. Selah
because your loyal love [is] great toward me, and you will have delivered my life from Sheol below.
Whoever wanders from the way of understanding, in the assembly of the dead he will rest.
For the leech, [there are] two daughters; "Give, give!" [they cry]. As for three of these, they are not satisfied; as for four, they do not say enough. Sheol and barrenness of womb, the land is not satisfied [with] water, and fire does not say "enough!"
Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "On the day of its going down [to] Sheol, I caused mourning; I covered over it [with] the deep, and I withheld its rivers, and many waters were restrained, and I brought gloom over it; Lebanon and all of the trees of the field, they [had] fainted because of it. From the sound of its downfall I caused nations to shake when I made it go down to Sheol, with [the people] going down to [the] grave, and [so] in [the] world below all of the trees of Eden, [the] choice and the best of Lebanon, {all the well-watered trees} were comforted! read more. They also went down with it to Sheol to {those who died by the sword}, and its army [who] [had] lived in its shadow in the midst of nations.
But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!"
And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until today.
and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!
And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it!
Then the king said to the servants, 'Tie him up {hand and foot} [and] throw him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!'
Serpents! Offspring of vipers! How will you escape from the condemnation to hell?
And throw the worthless slave into the outer darkness--in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!'
And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No! You will be brought down to Hades!
Now it happened that the poor man died, and he was carried away by the angels to {Abraham's side}. And the rich man also died and was buried.
And he called out [and] said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he could dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am suffering pain in this flame!'
And he said to him, "Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise."
in which also he went [and] proclaimed to the spirits in prison,
and the one who lives, and I was dead, and behold, I am living {forever and ever}, and I hold the keys of death and of Hades.
Fausets
Representing two distinct words: Gehenna and Hades (Greek), Sheol (Hebrew). Gehenna) is strictly "the valley of Hinnom" (Jos 15:8; Ne 11:30); "the valley of the children of Hinnom" (2Ki 23:10); "the valley of the son of Hinnom" (2Ch 28:3); "the valley of dead bodies," or Tophet, where malefactors' dead bodies were cast, S. of the city (Jer 31:40). A deep narrow glen S. of Jerusalem, where, after Ahaz introduced the worship of the fire gods, the sun, Baal, Moloch, the Jews under Manasseh made their children to pass through the fire (2Ch 33:6), and offered them as burntofferings (Jer 7:31; 19:2-6). So the godly Josiah defiled the valley, making it a receptacle of carcass and criminals' corpses, in which worms were continually gendering.
A perpetual fire was kept to consume this putrefying matter; hence it became the image of that awful place where all that are unfit for the holy city are cast out a prey to the ever gnawing "worm" of conscience from within and the "unquenchable fire" of torments from without. Mr 9:42-50, "their worm dieth not." implies that not only the worm but they also on whom it preys die not; the language is figurative, but it represents corresponding realities never yet experienced, and therefore capable of being conveyed to us only by figures. The phrase "forever and ever " (eis tous aionas aioonoon) occurs 20 times in New Testament: 16 times of God, once of the saints' future blessedness, the three remaining of the punishment of the wicked and of the evil one: is it likely it is used 17 times of absolute eternity, yet three times of limited eternity?
The term for "everlasting" (aidiois) in Jg 1:6, "the angels who kept not their first estate He hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day," is from a word meaning absolutely "always" (aei). Gehenna is used by our Lord Jesus (Mt 5:29-30; 10:28; 23:15,33; Lu 12:5); with the addition "of fire," Mt 5:22; 18:9; Mr 9:47; and by James (Jas 3:6). Our present meaning of "hell" then applies to Gehenna, but not to the other word Hades or Sheol. "Hell" formerly did apply when the KJV of the Bible was written; it then meant "hole," "hollow," or unseen place.
Sheol comes from a root "to make hollow," the common receptacle of the dead below the earth (Nu 16:30; De 32:22), deep (Job 11:8), insatiable (Isa 5:14; Song 8:6). "Hell," Hades, often means the "grave" (Job 14:13). In the Old Testament time, when as yet Christ had not "abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel" (2Ti 1:10), death and the intermediate state represented by Hades suggested thoughts of gloom (as to Hezekiah, Isa 38:9-20), lit up however with gleams of sure hope from God's promises of the resurrection (Ps 16:10-11; 17:15; Isa 26:19; Ho 13:14; Da 12:2). Hints too occur of the spirit's being with God in peace in the intermediate state (Ec 3:21; 12:7; Ps 23:6; 139:8; Isa 57:2).
The passages which represent Hades and the grave as a place where God can no longer be praised mean simply that the physical powers are all suspended, so that God's peruses can be no longer set forth on earth among the living. The anomalous state in which man is unclothed of the body is repulsive to the mind, and had not yet the clear gospel light to make it attractive as Paul viewed it (Php 1:21-23; 2Co 5:6-8). To the bad Hades was depicted as a place of punishment, where God's wrath reached to the depths (De 32:22; Am 9:2; Ps 9:17; 49:14; Isaiah 14). Thus, the unseen state even in Old Testament was regarded as having a distinction between the godly and the ungodly; Pr 14:32, "the wicked is driven away in his wickedness, but the righteous hath hope in his death"; so Psalm 1.
This is further confirmed by the separation of the rich man and Lazarus, the former in "hell" (Hades), the latter in "Abraham's bosom" (Lu 16:23), and in the penitent thief's soul going to be with Jesus in "paradise," the word implying the recovery in heavenly bliss of the paradise lost by Adam (Lu 23:43). "Tartarus," the pagan Greek term for the place of enchainment of the Titans, rebels against God, occurs in 2Pe 2:4 of the lost angels; the "deep," or "abyss," or "bottomless pit," (abussos) Lu 8:31; Re 9:11. The firm faith and hope of an abiding heavenly city is unequivocally attributed to the patriarchs (Heb 11:16-35);. so all the believing Israelites (Ac 26:7; 23:6-9). Hades, "hell," is used for destruction (Mt 11:23; 16:18). Jesus has its keys, and will at last consign it to the lake of fire which is the second death; implying that Christ and His people shall never again be disembodied spirits.
Re 1:18; 20:13-14; I can release at will from the unseen world of spirits, the anomalous state wherein the soul is severed from the body. The "spirits in prison" (1Pe 3:19) mean the ungodly antediluvians shut up in this earth, one vast prison, and under sentence of death and awaiting execution (Isa 24:22); not the prison of Hades. (See SPIRITS IN PRISON.) It is solemnly significant of the certainty of hell that He who is Love itself has most plainly and fully warned men of it, that they may flee from it. Tophet, the scene of human immolations by fire to Moloch amidst sounds of drums (tof) to drown the cries of the victims, symbolized the funeral pyre of Sennacherib's Assyrian army, and finally the lake of fire that shall burn for ever the lost (Isa 30:33). (See TOPHET.)
In an Assyrian tablet of the goddess Ishtar, daughter of Sin, the moon goddess, Hades is described as having seven gates," the house of the departed, the house from within which is no exit, the road the course of which never returns, the place within which they long for light, where dust is their nourishment and their food mud, light is never seen, in darkness they dwell, spirits like birds fill its vaults, over the door and its bolts is scattered dust!" What a contrast to the gospel (2Ti 1:10).
See Verses Found in Dictionary
But if Yahweh creates something new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up and {all that belongs to them}, and they go down alive [to] Sheol, and you will know that these men have despised Yahweh."
For a fire was kindled by my anger, and it burned {up to the depths of Sheol}, and it devoured [the] earth and its produce, and it set afire the foundation of [the] mountains.
For a fire was kindled by my anger, and it burned {up to the depths of Sheol}, and it devoured [the] earth and its produce, and it set afire the foundation of [the] mountains.
Then the border goes up [by] the Valley of Ben Hinnom to the slope of the Jebusites from [the] south (that [is], Jerusalem); and the border goes up to the top of the mountain that [lies] opposite the valley of Hinnom to the west, which is at the end of the valley of Rephaim to the north;
And Adoni-bezek fled, but they pursued after him; they caught him and cut off {his thumbs and big toes}.
He defiled the Topheth which [is] in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom, {to prevent} anyone causing his sons or his daughters to pass through the fire for Molech.
And he himself burned incense in the valley of Ben-Hinnom and burned his sons in the fire, according to the detestable [practices] of the nations whom Yahweh drove out before the Israelites.
And he himself burned his sons in the fire in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom. And he practiced sorcery and divination, and he engaged in witchcraft and dealt with mediums and spiritists. And he did much evil in the eyes of Yahweh, to provoke him to anger.
Zanoah, Adullam and {their settlements}, Lachish and its fields, and Azekah and {its settlements}. So they camped from Beersheba up to [the] Valley [of] Hinnom.
{It is higher than the heaven}; what can you do? [It is] deeper than Sheol; what can you know?
"{O that} you would conceal me in Sheol, [that] you would hide me {until your wrath is past}, [that] you would appoint a set time for me and remember me.
[The] wicked shall turn back to Sheol, all [the] nations forgetting God,
for you will not abandon my soul to Sheol; you will not give your faithful one to see [the] grave. You will make known to me [the] path of life. In your presence [is] fullness of joy. At your right hand [are] pleasures forever.
[By contrast,] I in righteousness shall see your face. Upon awakening I will be satisfied [seeing] your form.
Surely goodness and loyal love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will stay in the house of Yahweh {for a very long time}.
Like sheep they are destined to Sheol; death will shepherd them. But the upright will rule over them in the morning, and their forms [will be for] Sheol to consume, [far from] his lofty abode.
If I ascend to heaven, there you [are], and if I make my bed [in] Sheol, look! [There] you [are].
By his evildoing, the wicked will be overthrown, and the righteous will find refuge in his death.
For no one knows [whether] the spirit of a human ascends [to heaven] and [whether] the spirit of the beast descends to the ground!
And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the breath returns to God who gave it.
Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; for love [is] strong as death; passion [is] fierce as Sheol; its flashes [are] flashes of fire; [it is] a blazing flame.
Therefore Sheol has enlarged its throat, and it has opened wide its mouth without limit, and her nobles will go down, and her multitude, her tumult and those who revel in her.
And they will be gathered [in] a gathering, [like] a prisoner {in} a pit. And they will be shut {in} a prison and be punished {after} many days.
Your dead shall live; {their corpses} shall rise. Wake up and sing for joy, dwellers of [the] dust, for your dew [is] {celestial dew}, and the earth will give birth to dead spirits.
For Topheth has been prepared from yesterday; indeed, it is made ready for the king. He makes its pile of wood deep and wide; he makes fire and wood {abundant}. The breath of Yahweh burns in it like a stream of sulfur.
A writing of Hezekiah, king of Judah, when he was sick and had recovered from his sickness: I was the one who said, "I must go in the quiet of my days; I am summoned through the gates of Sheol [for] the rest of my years." read more. I said, "I shall not see Yah! Yah in the land of the living! I shall no more look at humankind among [the] inhabitants of [the] world. My dwelling place is pulled up and removed from me like the tent of my shepherd; I have rolled up my life like weaver. He cuts me off from [the] thrum; from day to night you bring me to an end. I lie down until morning; like lion, so he breaks all my bones; from day to night you bring me to an end. Like a horse or a crane, so I chirp; I moan like dove. My eyes are weak toward the height. Lord, I have oppression; lend me support! What can I say? For he has spoken to me, and he himself has done [it]. I will walk slowly all my years because of the bitterness of my soul. Lord, they live by them, and the life of my spirit belongs to all among them. And restore me to health and keep me alive! Look! Bitterness was bitter to me for peace. And you were the one who loved my life from [the] pit of destruction, for you have cast all my sins behind your back. For Sheol cannot praise you; death [cannot] praise you. Those who go down [to the] pit cannot hope for your faithfulness. [The] living, [the] living one praises you like me today; a father will make your faithfulness known to children. Yahweh, save me, and we will play my music [on] stringed instruments all the days of our lives at the temple of Yahweh."
he enters [into] peace; they will rest on their beds, walking straight ahead of him.
And they built the high place of Topheth, which [is] in [the] Valley of Ben Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I have not commanded, and it did not come into my mind.
and go out to the Valley of Ben Hinnom, which [is at] the entrance of the Gate of the Potsherd, and proclaim there the words that I speak to you. And you shall say, 'Hear the word of Yahweh, O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel: "Look, I [am] about to bring disaster upon this place so that {everyone who hears it}, his ears will ring. read more. Because they have forsaken me, and they have defaced this place, and they have made smoke offerings in it to other gods whom they have not known, they, nor their ancestors, nor the kings of Judah, and they have filled up this place [with the] blood of [the] innocent, and they have built the high places of Baal, to burn their children in the fire, burnt offerings to Baal, which I commanded not, and I ordered not, and it did not come to my {mind}. "{Therefore} look, days [are] about to come," {declares} Yahweh, "when this place will no longer be called Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, {but} the Valley of the Slaughter.
And the whole of the valley [of] the corpses, and the ashes, and all the cultivated fields up to the wadi of Kidron, up to the corner of the Gate of the Horses [toward the] east [will be] holy to Yahweh. It will not be uprooted, and it will not be overthrown again {forever}."
And many from [those] sleeping {in the dusty ground} will awake, some to {everlasting life} and some to disgrace and {everlasting contempt}.
Should I redeem them from {the power} of Sheol? Should I deliver them from death? Where [are] your plagues, Death? Where [is] your destruction, Sheol? Compassion is hidden from my eyes.
If they dig into Sheol, from there my hand will take them, and [even] if they climb up [to] heaven, from there I will bring them down.
But I say to you that everyone who is angry at his brother will be subject to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, 'Stupid fool!' will be subject to the council, and whoever says, 'Obstinate fool!' will be subject to fiery hell.
And if your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw [it] from you! For it is better for you that one of your members be destroyed than your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw [it] from you! For it is better for you that one of your limbs be destroyed than your whole body go into hell.
And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul, but instead be afraid of the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until today.
And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it!
And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw [it] from you! It is better for you to enter into life one-eyed than, having two eyes, to be thrown into fiery hell!
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees--hypocrites!--because you travel around the sea and the dry [land] to make one convert, and when he becomes [one], you make him twice as much a son of hell [as] you [are]!
Serpents! Offspring of vipers! How will you escape from the condemnation to hell?
"And whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it is better for him if instead {a large millstone} is placed around his neck and he is thrown into the sea. And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off! It is better [for] you to enter into life crippled than, having two hands, to go into hell--into the unquenchable fire!
And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off! It is better [for] you to enter into life lame than, having two feet, to be thrown into hell!
And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out! It is better [for] you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than, having two eyes, to be thrown into hell,
And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out! It is better [for] you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than, having two eyes, to be thrown into hell, 'where their worm does not die and the fire is not extinguished.' read more. For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt [is] good, but if the salt becomes deprived of its salt content, by what can you make it salty? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with one another."
And they began imploring him that he would not order them to depart into the abyss.
But I will show you whom you should fear: fear the one who has authority, after the killing, to throw [you] into hell! Yes, I tell you, fear this one!
And in Hades he lifted up his eyes [as he] was in torment [and] saw Abraham from a distance, and Lazarus {at his side}.
And he said to him, "Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise."
Now [when] Paul realized that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he shouted out in the Sanhedrin, "Men [and] brothers! I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees! I am being judged concerning the hope and the resurrection of the dead!" And [when] he said this, a dispute developed between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. read more. (For the Sadducees say there is no resurrection or angel or spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge [them] all.) And there was loud shouting, and some of the scribes from the party of the Pharisees stood up [and] contended sharply, saying, "We find nothing wrong with this man! But [what] if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?"
to which our twelve tribes hope to attain as [they] earnestly serve [him] night and day. Concerning this hope I am being accused by the Jews, O king!
For to me to live [is] Christ and to die [is] gain. But if [it is] to live in the flesh, this [is] fruitful work for me, and which I will prefer [I do] not know. read more. But I am hard pressed {between the two options}, having the desire to depart and to be with Christ, {for this is very much better}.
but has now been disclosed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought to light life and immortality through the gospel,
but has now been disclosed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought to light life and immortality through the gospel,
But now they aspire to a better [land], that is, a heavenly [one]. Therefore God is not ashamed of them, to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. By faith Abraham, [when he] was tested, offered Isaac, and the one who received the promises was ready to offer his one and only [son], read more. with reference to whom it was said, "In Isaac your descendants will be named," having reasoned that God [was] able even to raise [him] from the dead, from which he received him back also as a symbol. By faith also Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things that were going to happen. By faith Jacob, [as he] was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph and worshiped, [leaning] on the top of his staff. By faith Joseph, [as he] was dying, mentioned about the exodus of the sons of Israel and gave instructions about his bones. By faith Moses, [when he] was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw the child [was] handsome, and they were not afraid of the edict of the king. By faith Moses, [when he] was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing instead to be mistreated with the people of God [rather] than to experience the transitory enjoyment of sin, considering {reproach endured for the sake of Christ} greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the anger of the king, for he persevered as [if he] saw the invisible one. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, in order that the one who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them. By faith they crossed the Red Sea as if on dry land; the Egyptians, {when they made the attempt}, were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down [after they] had been marched around for seven days. By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, [because she] welcomed the spies in peace. And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, accomplished justice, obtained what was promised, shut the mouths of lions, extinguished the effectiveness of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong from weakness, became mighty in battle, put to flight enemy battle lines. Women received back their dead by resurrection. But others were tortured, not accepting release, in order that they might gain a better resurrection.
And the tongue [is] a fire! The world of unrighteousness, the tongue, is set among our members, defiling the whole body and setting on fire {the course of human existence}, being set on fire by hell.
in which also he went [and] proclaimed to the spirits in prison,
For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but held [them] captive in Tartarus with chains of darkness [and] handed [them] over to be kept for judgment,
and the one who lives, and I was dead, and behold, I am living {forever and ever}, and I hold the keys of death and of Hades.
They have [as] king over them the angel of the abyss, {whose name} in Hebrew [is] Abaddon, and in Greek he has the name Apollyon.
And the sea gave up the dead [who were] in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead [who were] in them, and each one was judged according to their deeds. And Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death--the lake of fire.
Hastings
Morish
In the A.V. this is the translation of
1. sheol, which is often translated, 'grave,' and three times it is 'pit.' It refers to an invisible place or state, which may have several applications, according to the connection of each passage. Korah and his company and their houses went down into 'sheol.' Nu 16:33. Jonah said, "Out of the belly of 'sheol' cried I" Jon 2:2. "The wicked shall be turned into sheol." Ps 9:17. "Let them go down quick into 'sheol,' for wickedness is in their dwellings." Ps 55:15; Pr 7:27. But for the redemption which faith looked for 'sheol' must have had to O.T. saints the character of eternal punishment, and so finally 'hades' will be cast into the lake of fire. The word also refers to the place of departed spirits. The Lord said, "Thou wilt not leave my soul in 'sheol.'" Ps 16:10. This signification corresponds with
2. ????, hades, which occurs where this last passage is quoted in Ac 2:27,31; and has the same meaning in other passages: Mt 11:23; 16:18; Lu 16:23; Re 1:18; 6:8; 20:13-14.
3. ??????, Gehenna, the Greek equivalent for two Hebrew words, signifying 'valley of Hinnom.' It was the place near Jerusalem where the Jews made their children pass through fire to heathen gods, and which was afterwards defiled. 2Ki 23:10. A continual fire made it a fit emblem of the place of eternal punishment. Mt 5:22,29-30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15,33; Mr 9:43,45,47; Lu 12:5; Jas 3:6. The above-named place of defilement and fire is also called in the O.T. TOPHET or TOPHETH. 2Ki 23:10; Isa 30:33; Jer 19:13.
4. ????????, 'to cast into Tartarus,' a term used by heathen writers for the 'deepest abyss of the infernal regions,' a place of extreme darkness. 2Pe 2:4: cf. 2Pe 2:17 and Jude 1:13.
Whatever figurative meaning there may be in the use of any of the above words, it is plain and certain from scripture that there is a place of everlasting punishment. It is awfully described as the LAKE OF FIRE, 'the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone.' Re 19:20; 20:10,15; 21:8. It was prepared for the devil and his angels, but into it the wicked also will be cast. Mt 13:40,42; 25:41; 2Pe 2:4; Jude 1:6, etc. See ETERNAL.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
They went down alive [to] Sheol, they and all that belonged to them, and the land covered over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly.
He defiled the Topheth which [is] in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom, {to prevent} anyone causing his sons or his daughters to pass through the fire for Molech.
He defiled the Topheth which [is] in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom, {to prevent} anyone causing his sons or his daughters to pass through the fire for Molech.
[The] wicked shall turn back to Sheol, all [the] nations forgetting God,
for you will not abandon my soul to Sheol; you will not give your faithful one to see [the] grave.
Let death deceive them. May they descend to Sheol alive, because evil [is] in their home [and] {heart}.
The ways of Sheol [are] her house, descending to chambers of death.
For Topheth has been prepared from yesterday; indeed, it is made ready for the king. He makes its pile of wood deep and wide; he makes fire and wood {abundant}. The breath of Yahweh burns in it like a stream of sulfur.
And the houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be unclean like the place of Topheth, all the houses where they made smoke offerings upon their roofs to all the host of heaven, and [where] they poured out libations to other gods." '"
and said, "I called {from my distress} to Yahweh, and he answered me; from the belly of Sheol I cried for help-- you heard my voice.
But I say to you that everyone who is angry at his brother will be subject to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, 'Stupid fool!' will be subject to the council, and whoever says, 'Obstinate fool!' will be subject to fiery hell.
And if your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw [it] from you! For it is better for you that one of your members be destroyed than your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw [it] from you! For it is better for you that one of your limbs be destroyed than your whole body go into hell.
And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul, but instead be afraid of the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until today.
Thus just as the darnel is gathered and burned with fire, so it will be at the end of the age.
and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!
And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it!
And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw [it] from you! It is better for you to enter into life one-eyed than, having two eyes, to be thrown into fiery hell!
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees--hypocrites!--because you travel around the sea and the dry [land] to make one convert, and when he becomes [one], you make him twice as much a son of hell [as] you [are]!
Serpents! Offspring of vipers! How will you escape from the condemnation to hell?
Then he will also say to those on [his] left, 'Depart from me, [you] accursed ones, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels!
And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off! It is better [for] you to enter into life crippled than, having two hands, to go into hell--into the unquenchable fire!
And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off! It is better [for] you to enter into life lame than, having two feet, to be thrown into hell!
And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out! It is better [for] you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than, having two eyes, to be thrown into hell,
But I will show you whom you should fear: fear the one who has authority, after the killing, to throw [you] into hell! Yes, I tell you, fear this one!
And in Hades he lifted up his eyes [as he] was in torment [and] saw Abraham from a distance, and Lazarus {at his side}.
because you will not abandon my soul in Hades, nor will you permit your Holy One to experience decay.
[by] having foreseen [this], he spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was he abandoned in Hades nor did his flesh experience decay.
And the tongue [is] a fire! The world of unrighteousness, the tongue, is set among our members, defiling the whole body and setting on fire {the course of human existence}, being set on fire by hell.
For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but held [them] captive in Tartarus with chains of darkness [and] handed [them] over to be kept for judgment,
These [people] are waterless springs and mists driven by a hurricane, for whom the gloom of darkness has been reserved.
And [the] angels who did not keep to their own domain but deserted their proper dwelling place, he has kept in eternal bonds under deep gloom for the judgment of the great day,
wild waves of the sea foaming up their own shameful deeds, wandering stars, for whom the deep gloom of darkness has been reserved for eternity.
and the one who lives, and I was dead, and behold, I am living {forever and ever}, and I hold the keys of death and of Hades.
And I looked, and behold, a pale green horse, and the one seated on it {was named} Death, and Hades followed after him. And authority was granted to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill by the sword and by famine and by pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.
And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs before him, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who had worshiped his image. The two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulphur.
And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulphur, where the beast and the false prophet also [are], and they will be tormented day and night {forever and ever}.
And the sea gave up the dead [who were] in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead [who were] in them, and each one was judged according to their deeds. And Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death--the lake of fire. read more. And if anyone was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
But [as] for the cowards and unbelievers and detestable persons and murderers and sexually immoral people and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their share [is] in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death.
Smith
Hell.
In the Old Testament this is the word generally and unfortunately used by our translators to render the Hebrew Sheol. It really means the place of the dead, the unseen world, without deciding whether it be the place of misery or of happiness. It is clear that in many passages of the Old Testament Sheol can only mean "the grave," and is rendered in the Authorized Version; see, for example,
Ge 37:35; 42:38; 1Sa 2:6; Job 14:13
In other passages, however, it seems to Involve a notion of punishment, and is therefore rendered in the Authorized Version by the word "hell." But in many cases this translation misleads the reader. In the New Testament "hell" is the translation of two words, Hades and Gehenna. The word Hades, like Sheol sometimes means merely "the grave,"
or in general "the unseen world." It is in this sense that the creeds say of our Lord, "He went down into hell," meaning the state of the dead in general, without any restriction of happiness or misery. Elsewhere in the New Testament Hades is used of a place of torment,
etc.; consequently it has been the prevalent, almost the universal, notion that Hades is an intermediate state between death and resurrection, divided into two parts one the abode of the blest and the other of the lost. It is used eleven times in the New Testament, and only once translated "grave."
The word most frequently used (occurring twelve times) in the New Testament for the place of future punishment is Gehenna or Gehenna of fire. This was originally the valley of Hinnom, south of Jerusalem, where the filth and dead animals of the city were cast out and burned; a fit symbol of the wicked and their destruction. [See HINNOM]
See Hinnom
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And all his sons and daughters tried to console him, but he refused to be consoled. And he said, "No, I shall go down to my son, to Sheol, mourning." And his father wept for him.
But he said, "My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead and he alone remains. [If] harm meets him on the journey that you would take, you would bring down my gray head in sorrow to Sheol."
"{O that} you would conceal me in Sheol, [that] you would hide me {until your wrath is past}, [that] you would appoint a set time for me and remember me.
And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until today.
And in Hades he lifted up his eyes [as he] was in torment [and] saw Abraham from a distance, and Lazarus {at his side}.
[by] having foreseen [this], he spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was he abandoned in Hades nor did his flesh experience decay.
Where, O death, [is] your victory? Where, O death, [is] your sting?
And the sea gave up the dead [who were] in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead [who were] in them, and each one was judged according to their deeds.
Watsons
HELL. This is a Saxon word, which is derived from a verb which signifies to hide or conceal. A late eminent Biblical critic, Dr. Campbell, has investigated this subject with his usual accuracy; and the following is the substance of his remarks. In the Hebrew Scriptures the word sheol frequently occurs, and uniformly, he thinks, denotes the state of the dead in general, without regard to the virtuous or vicious characters of the persons, their happiness or misery. In translating that word, the LXX have almost invariably used the Greek term ?????, hades, which means the receptacle of the dead, and ought rarely to have been translated hell, in the sense in which we now use it, namely, as the place of torment. To denote this latter object, the New Testament writers always make use of the Greek word ??????, which is compounded of two Hebrew words, Ge Hinnom, that is, "The Valley of Hinnom," a place near Jerusalem, in which children were cruelly sacrificed by fire to Moloch, the idol of the Ammonites, 2Ch 33:6. This place was also called Tophet, 2Ki 23:10, alluding, as is supposed, to the noise of drums, (toph signifying a drum,) there raised to drown the cries of helpless infants. As in process of time this place came to be considered as an emblem of hell, or the place of torment reserved for the punishment of the wicked in a future state, the name Tophet came gradually to be used in this sense, and at length to be confined to it. In this sense, also, the word gehenna, a synonymous term, is always to be understood in the New Testament, where it occurs about a dozen times. The confusion that has arisen on this subject has been occasioned not only by our English translators having rendered the Hebrew word sheol and the Greek word gehenna frequently by the term hell; but the Greek word hades, which occurs eleven times in the New Testament, is, in every instance, except one, translated by the same English word, which it ought never to have been. In the following passages of the Old Testament it seems, however, that a future world of wo is expressed by sheol: "They," the wicked, "spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to sheol," Job 21:13. "The wicked shall be turned into sheol, and all the nations that forget God," Ps 9:17-18. "Her feet go down to death, her steps take hold on sheol," Pr 5:5. "But he knoweth not that the ghosts are there, and that her guests are in the depths of sheol," Pr 9:18. "Thou shalt beat him with a rod, and shalt deliver his soul from sheol," Pr 23:14. Thus, as Stuart observes, in his "Essay on Future Punishment," while the Old Testament employs sheol, in most cases to designate the grave, the region of the dead, the place of departed spirits, it employs it also, in some cases, to designate along with this idea the adjunct one of the place of misery, place of punishment, region of wo. In this respect it accords fully with the New Testament use of hades. For though hades signifies the grave, and often the invisible region of separate spirits, without reference to their condition, yet, in Lu 16:23, "In hades ?? ?? ????, he lifted up his eyes, being in torments," it is clearly used for a place and condition of misery. The word hell is also used by our translators for gehenna, which means the world of future punishment, "How shall ye escape the damnation of hell, ??????? ??? ????????"
See Verses Found in Dictionary
He defiled the Topheth which [is] in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom, {to prevent} anyone causing his sons or his daughters to pass through the fire for Molech.
And he himself burned his sons in the fire in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom. And he practiced sorcery and divination, and he engaged in witchcraft and dealt with mediums and spiritists. And he did much evil in the eyes of Yahweh, to provoke him to anger.
They spend their days in prosperity, and in peace they go down to Sheol.
[The] wicked shall turn back to Sheol, all [the] nations forgetting God, for [the] needy shall not always be forgotten; the hope of the poor shall never perish.
Her feet go down [to] death; her steps take hold [of] Sheol.
But he does not know that the dead [are] there, in the depths of Sheol [are] her guests.
As for you, with the rod you shall beat him, and his life you will save from Sheol.
And in Hades he lifted up his eyes [as he] was in torment [and] saw Abraham from a distance, and Lazarus {at his side}.