Let us swallow them alive like Sheol (the place of the dead),
Even whole, as those who go down to the pit [of death];

Because they hated knowledge
And did not choose the fear of the Lord [that is, obeying Him with reverence and awe-filled respect],

For her house leads down to death
And her paths lead to the dead;

Her feet go down to death;
Her steps take hold of Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead),

Her house is the way to Sheol,
Descending to the chambers of death.

But he does not know that the spirits of the dead are there,
And that her guests are [already] in the depths of Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead).

Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) and Abaddon (the abyss, the place of eternal punishment) lie open before the Lord—
How much more the hearts and inner motives of the children of men.

The [chosen] path of life leads upward for the wise,
That he may keep away from Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) below.

A man who wanders from the way of understanding (godly wisdom)
Will remain in the assembly of the dead.

So that your trust and reliance and confidence may be in the Lord,
I have taught these things to you today, even to you.

You shall swat him with the reed-like rod
And rescue his life from Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead).

“They struck me, but I was not hurt!
They beat me, but I did not feel it!
When will I wake up?
I will seek more wine.”

If you [claim ignorance and] say, “See, we did not know this,”
Does He not consider it who weighs and examines the hearts and their motives?
And does He not know it who guards your life and keeps your soul?
And will He not repay [you and] every man according to his works?

Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me;
I will pay the man back for his deed.”

Sheol (the place of the dead) and Abaddon (the underworld) are never satisfied;
Nor are the eyes of man ever satisfied.

Sheol, and the barren womb,
Earth that is never satisfied with water,
And fire that never says, “It is enough.”