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."
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Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter as wife.
For you will not leave my soul in Sheol, neither will you allow your holy one to see corruption.
Sheol from beneath has moved for you to meet you at your coming. It stirs up the dead for you, even all the rulers of the earth. It has raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.
I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to Sheol with those who descend into the pit; and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, were comforted in the lower parts of the earth.
but the sons of the Kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.
and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and the gnashing of teeth.
Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; there is where the weeping and grinding of teeth will be.'
15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. For you travel around by sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much of a son of hell as yourselves.
And he who received the five talents came and brought another five talents, saying, 'Lord, you delivered to me five talents. See, I have gained another five talents.'
Then he will say also to those on the left hand, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels;
If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off.[note: idiom meaning to stop doing a sin] It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having your two hands to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire, 45 If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off.[note: idiom meaning to stop doing a sin] It is better for you to enter into life lame, rather than having your two feet to be cast into hell.
47 If your eye causes you to stumble, cast it out.[note: idiom meaning to stop doing a sin] It is better for you to enter into the Kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell,
'where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'
That servant, who knew his lord's will, and did not prepare, nor do what he wanted, will be beaten with many stripes, but he who did not know, and did things worthy of stripes, will be beaten with few stripes. To whomever much is given, of him will much be required; and to whom much was entrusted, of him more will be asked.
In hell, he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far off, and Lazarus at his bosom.
For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them down to the lower parts of hell, and committed them to chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;
Death and hell 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.)
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All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. He said, "For I will go down to Sheol to my son mourning." His father wept for him.
He said, "My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he only is left. If harm happens to him along the way in which you go, then you will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol."
If you take this one also from me, and harm happens to him, you will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol.'
it will happen, when he sees that the boy is no more, that he will die. Your servants will bring down the gray hairs of your servant, our father, with sorrow to Sheol.
But if the LORD make a new thing, and the ground open its mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain to them, and they go down alive into Sheol; then you shall understand that these men have despised the LORD."
So they, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into Sheol: and the earth closed on them, and they perished from among the assembly.
So they, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into Sheol: and the earth closed on them, and they perished from among the assembly.
before I go where I shall not return from, to the land of darkness and of the shadow of death; the land dark as midnight, of the shadow of death, without any order, where the light is as midnight.'"
They are high as heaven. What can you do? They are deeper than Sheol. What can you know?
Shall it go down with me to the gates of Sheol, or descend together into the dust?"
Drought and heat consume the snow waters, so does Sheol those who have sinned.
The wicked shall be turned back to Sheol, even all the nations that forget God.
For you will not leave my soul in Sheol, neither will you allow your holy one to see corruption.
LORD, you have brought up my soul from Sheol. You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.
Let me not be disappointed, LORD, for I have called on you. Let the wicked be disappointed. Let them be silent in Sheol.
But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. Selah.
For your loving kindness is great toward me. You have delivered my soul from the lowest Sheol.
The man who wanders out of the way of understanding shall rest in the assembly of the dead.
"The leach has two daughters: 'Give, give.' "There are three things that are never satisfied; four that do not say, 'Enough:' Sheol, the barren womb; the earth that is not satisfied with water; and the fire that doesn't say, 'Enough.'
"Thus says the Lord GOD: 'In the day when he went down to Sheol I caused a mourning: I covered the deep for him, and I restrained its rivers; and the great waters were stayed; and I caused Lebanon to mourn for him, and all the trees of the field fainted for him. I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to Sheol with those who descend into the pit; and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, were comforted in the lower parts of the earth. read more. They also went down into Sheol with him to those who are slain by the sword; yes, those who were his arm, that lived under his shadow in the midst of the nations.
but the sons of the Kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, you will go down to hell. For if the mighty works had been done in Sodom which were done in you, it would have remained until this day.
and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and the gnashing of teeth.
I also tell you that you are Peter, and on this Rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.
Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; there is where the weeping and grinding of teeth will be.'
You serpents, you offspring of vipers, how will you escape the judgment of hell?
Throw out the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to hell.
It happened that the beggar died, and that he was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died, and was buried.
He called out and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue. For I am in anguish in this flame.'
And he said to him, "Assuredly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
in which he also went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison,
and the Living one. I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. I have the keys of Death and of hell.
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).
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But if the LORD make a new thing, and the ground open its mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain to them, and they go down alive into Sheol; then you shall understand that these men have despised the LORD."
For a fire is kindled in my anger, and burns to the lowest Sheol, and devours the earth with its increase, and sets the foundations of the mountains on fire.
For a fire is kindled in my anger, and burns to the lowest Sheol, and devours the earth with its increase, and sets the foundations of the mountains on fire.
The border went up by the valley of the son of Hinnom to the side of the Jebusite southward (that is, Jerusalem); and the border went up to the top of the mountain that lies before the valley of Hinnom westward, which is at the farthest part of the valley of Rephaim northward.
But Adoni-Bezek fled; and they pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes.
He defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech.
Moreover he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.
He also made his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom; and he practiced sorcery, divination, and witchcraft, and consulted mediums, and spiritists: he worked much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
Zanoah, Adullam, and their villages, Lachish and its fields, Azekah and its towns. So they encamped from Beersheba to the valley of Hinnom.
They are high as heaven. What can you do? They are deeper than Sheol. What can you know?
"Oh that you would hide me in Sheol, that you would keep me secret, until your wrath is past, that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me.
The wicked shall be turned back to Sheol, even all the nations that forget God.
For you will not leave my soul in Sheol, neither will you allow your holy one to see corruption. You will show me the path of life. In your presence is fullness of joy. In your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.
As for me, I shall see your face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with seeing your form.
Surely goodness and loving kindness shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the LORD's house forever.
They are appointed as a flock for Sheol. Death shall be their shepherd. The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning. Their beauty shall decay in Sheol, far from their mansion.
If I ascend up into heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, you are there.
The wicked is brought down in his calamity, but in death, the righteous has a refuge.
Who knows the spirit of man, whether it goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, whether it goes downward to the earth?"
and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
Set me as a seal on your heart, as a seal on your arm; for love is strong as death. Jealousy is as cruel as Sheol. Its flashes are flashes of fire, a very flame of the LORD.
Therefore Sheol has enlarged its desire, and opened its mouth without measure; and their glory, their multitude, their pomp, and he who rejoices among them, descend into it.
And they will be gathered, a gathering in a dungeon, and shall be shut up in the prison; and after many days shall they be visited.
Your dead shall live. My dead bodies shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust; for your dew is like the dew of herbs, and the earth will cast forth the dead.
For his burning place has long been ready. Yes, for the king it is made ready. He has made its pyre deep and large with fire and much wood. The LORD's breath, like a stream of sulfur, kindles it.
The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick, and had recovered of his sickness. I said, "In the middle of my life I go into the gates of Sheol. I am deprived of the residue of my years." read more. I said, "I won't see the LORD in the land of the living. I will see man no more with the inhabitants of the world. My dwelling is removed, and is carried away from me like a shepherd's tent. I have rolled up, like a weaver, my life. He will cut me off from the loom. From day even to night you will make an end of me. I waited patiently until morning. He breaks all my bones like a lion. From day even to night you will make an end of me. I chattered like a swallow or a crane. I moaned like a dove. My eyes weaken looking upward. Lord, I am oppressed. Be my security." What will I say? He has both spoken to me, and himself has done it. I will walk carefully all my years because of the anguish of my soul. Lord, men live by these things; and my spirit finds life in all of them: you restore me, and cause me to live. Behold, for peace I had great anguish, but you have in love for my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption; for you have cast all my sins behind your back. For Sheol can't praise you. Death can't celebrate you. Those who go down into the pit can't hope for your truth. The living, the living, he shall praise you, as I do this day. The father shall make known your truth to the children. The LORD will save me. Therefore we will sing my songs with stringed instruments all the days of our life in the house of the LORD.
He enters into peace; they rest in their beds, each one who walks in his uprightness.
They have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I did not command, nor did it come into my mind.
and go forth to the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is by the entry of the gate Harsith, and proclaim there the words that I shall tell you; and say, 'Hear the word of the LORD, kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem: thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "Behold, I will bring evil on this place, which whoever hears, his ears shall tingle. read more. Because they have forsaken me, and have estranged this place, and have burned incense in it to other gods, that they did not know, they and their fathers and the kings of Judah; and have filled this place with the blood of innocents, and have built the high places of Baal, to burn their sons in the fire for burnt offerings to Baal; which I did not command, nor spoke it, neither came it into my mind: therefore, behold, the days come," says the LORD, "that this place shall no more be called Topheth, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The valley of Slaughter.
The whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields to the brook Kidron, to the corner of the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy to the LORD; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more forever."
Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
I will ransom them from the power of Sheol. I will redeem them from death. Death, where are your plagues? Sheol, where is your sting? "Compassion will be hidden from my eyes.
Though they dig into Sheol, there my hand will take them; and though they climb up to heaven, there I will bring them down.
But I tell you, that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment; and whoever shall say to his brother, 'You good-for-nothing.' shall be in danger of the council; and whoever shall say, 'You fool.' shall be in danger of the fire of hell.
And if your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you.[note: idiom meaning to stop doing a sin] For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off, and throw it away from you.[note: idiom meaning to stop doing a sin] For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.
And do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, you will go down to hell. For if the mighty works had been done in Sodom which were done in you, it would have remained until this day.
I also tell you that you are Peter, and on this Rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.
If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out, and cast it from you.[note: idiom meaning to stop doing a sin] It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the fire of hell.
You serpents, you offspring of vipers, how will you escape the judgment of hell?
Whoever will cause one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him if he was thrown into the sea with a millstone hung around his neck. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off.[note: idiom meaning to stop doing a sin] It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having your two hands to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire, read more. 45 If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off.[note: idiom meaning to stop doing a sin] It is better for you to enter into life lame, rather than having your two feet to be cast into hell.
47 If your eye causes you to stumble, cast it out.[note: idiom meaning to stop doing a sin] It is better for you to enter into the Kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell,
'where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.' For everyone will be salted with fire. read more. Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, with what will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another."
But I will warn you whom you should fear. Fear him, who after he has killed, has power to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.
In hell, he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far off, and Lazarus at his bosom.
And he said to him, "Assuredly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he shouted in the council, "Men and brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. Concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged." When he had said this, an argument arose between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. read more. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit; but the Pharisees confess all of these. A great clamor arose, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees part stood up, and contended, saying, "We find no evil in this man. What if a spirit spoke to him, or an angel?"
which our twelve tribes, earnestly serving night and day, hope to attain. Concerning this hope I am accused by the Jews, O King.
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will bring fruit from my work; yet I do not make known what I will choose. read more. But I am in a dilemma between the two, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.
but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the Good News.
but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the Good News.
But now they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed of them, to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. By faith, Abraham, being tested, offered up Isaac. Yes, he who had gladly received the promises was offering up his one and only son; read more. even he to whom it was said, "In Isaac will your seed be called;" concluding that God is able to raise up even from the dead. Figuratively speaking, he also did receive him back from the dead. By faith, Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even concerning things to come. By faith, Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. By faith, Joseph, when his end was near, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel; and gave instructions concerning his bones. By faith, Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that he was a beautiful child, and they were not afraid of the king's commandment. By faith, Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to share ill treatment with God's people, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a time; accounting the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he looked to the reward. By faith, he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible. By faith, he kept the Passover, and the sprinkling of the blood, that the destroyer of the firstborn should not touch them. By faith, they passed through the Red Sea as on dry land. When the Egyptians tried to do so, they were swallowed up. By faith, the walls of Jericho fell down, after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith, Rahab the prostitute, did not perish with those who were disobedient, having received the spies in peace. What more shall I say? For the time would fail me if I told of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets; who, through faith subdued kingdoms, worked out righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, grew mighty in war, and caused foreign armies to flee. Women received their dead by resurrection. Others were tortured, not accepting their deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection.
And the tongue is a fire. The world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature, and is set on fire by hell.
in which he also went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison,
For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them down to the lower parts of hell, and committed them to chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;
and the Living one. I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. I have the keys of Death and of hell.
They have over them as king the angel of the abyss. His name in Hebrew is "Abaddon," and in Greek, he has the name "Apollyon."
The sea gave up the dead who were in it. Death and hell gave up the dead who were in them. They were judged, each one according to his works. Death and hell 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.
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So they, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into Sheol: and the earth closed on them, and they perished from among the assembly.
He defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech.
He defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech.
The wicked shall be turned back to Sheol, even all the nations that forget God.
For you will not leave my soul in Sheol, neither will you allow your holy one to see corruption.
Let death come suddenly on them. Let them go down alive into Sheol. For wickedness is in their dwelling, in the midst of them.
Her house is the way to Sheol, going down to the chambers of death.
For his burning place has long been ready. Yes, for the king it is made ready. He has made its pyre deep and large with fire and much wood. The LORD's breath, like a stream of sulfur, kindles it.
and the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses of the kings of Judah, which are defiled, shall be as the place of Topheth, even all the houses on whose roofs they have burned incense to all the host of heaven, and have poured out drink offerings to other gods."'"
He said, "I called because of my affliction to the LORD. He answered me. Out of the belly of Sheol I cried. You heard my voice.
But I tell you, that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment; and whoever shall say to his brother, 'You good-for-nothing.' shall be in danger of the council; and whoever shall say, 'You fool.' shall be in danger of the fire of hell.
And if your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you.[note: idiom meaning to stop doing a sin] For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off, and throw it away from you.[note: idiom meaning to stop doing a sin] For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.
And do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, you will go down to hell. For if the mighty works had been done in Sodom which were done in you, it would have remained until this day.
As therefore the tares are gathered up and burned with fire; so will it be at the end of the age.
and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and the gnashing of teeth.
I also tell you that you are Peter, and on this Rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.
If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out, and cast it from you.[note: idiom meaning to stop doing a sin] It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the fire of hell.
You serpents, you offspring of vipers, how will you escape the judgment of hell?
Then he will say also to those on the left hand, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels;
If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off.[note: idiom meaning to stop doing a sin] It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having your two hands to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire,
But I will warn you whom you should fear. Fear him, who after he has killed, has power to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.
In hell, he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far off, and Lazarus at his bosom.
because you will not leave my soul in hell, neither will you allow your Holy One to see decay.
he foreseeing this spoke about the resurrection of the Messiah, that neither was he left in hell, nor did his flesh see decay.
And the tongue is a fire. The world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature, and is set on fire by hell.
For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them down to the lower parts of hell, and committed them to chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;
These are wells without water, and mists driven by a storm; for whom the blackness of darkness has been reserved.
Angels who did not keep their first domain, but deserted their own dwelling place, he has kept in everlasting bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day.
wild waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the blackness of darkness has been reserved forever.
and the Living one. I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. I have the keys of Death and of hell.
And behold, a pale horse, and he who sat on it, his name was Death. Hell followed with him. Authority over one fourth of the earth, to kill with the sword, with famine, with death, and by the wild animals of the earth was given to him.
The beast was taken, and with him the false prophet who worked the signs in his sight, with which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.
The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet are also. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
The sea gave up the dead who were in it. Death and hell gave up the dead who were in them. They were judged, each one according to his works. Death and hell were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. read more. If anyone was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire.
But for the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their part is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, 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
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All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. He said, "For I will go down to Sheol to my son mourning." His father wept for him.
He said, "My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he only is left. If harm happens to him along the way in which you go, then you will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol."
"Oh that you would hide me in Sheol, that you would keep me secret, until your wrath is past, that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me.
And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, you will go down to hell. For if the mighty works had been done in Sodom which were done in you, it would have remained until this day.
In hell, he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far off, and Lazarus at his bosom.
he foreseeing this spoke about the resurrection of the Messiah, that neither was he left in hell, nor did his flesh see decay.
"Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting?"
The sea gave up the dead who were in it. Death and hell gave up the dead who were in them. They were judged, each one according to his works.
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, ??????? ??? ????????"
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He defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech.
He also made his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom; and he practiced sorcery, divination, and witchcraft, and consulted mediums, and spiritists: he worked much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
They spend their days in prosperity. In an instant they go down to Sheol.
The wicked shall be turned back to Sheol, even all the nations that forget God. For the needy shall not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the poor perish forever.
Her feet go down to death. Her steps lead straight to Sheol.
But he doesn't know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.
Punish him with the rod, and save his soul from Sheol.
In hell, he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far off, and Lazarus at his bosom.