Psalms 55:23

55:23 But you, O God, will bring them ¹  down to the deep Pit. ² 

Violent and deceitful people ³  will not live even half a normal lifespan. ⁴ 

But as for me, I trust in you.

Proverbs 28:10

28:10 The one who leads the upright astray in an evil way

will himself fall into his own pit, ⁵ 

but the blameless will inherit what is good. ⁶ 

Proverbs 28:17

28:17 The one who is tormented ⁷  by the murder ⁸  of another will flee to the pit; ⁹ 

let no one support him.

Revelation 20:15

20:15 If ¹⁰  anyone’s name ¹¹  was not found written in the book of life, that person ¹²  was thrown into the lake of fire.

Revelation 21:8

21:8 But to the cowards, unbelievers, detestable persons, murderers, the sexually immoral, and those who practice magic spells, ¹³  idol worshipers, ¹⁴  and all those who lie, their place ¹⁵  will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. ¹⁶  That ¹⁷  is the second death.”

[55:23]  ¹ tn The pronominal suffix refers to the psalmist’s enemies (see v. 19).

[55:23]  ² tn Heb “well of the pit.” The Hebrew term שַׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 16:10; 30:9; 49:9; 103:4).

[55:23]  ³ tn Heb “men of bloodshed and deceit.”

[55:23]  ⁴ tn Heb “will not divide in half their days.”

[28:10]  ⁵ sn The image of falling into a pit (a figure of speech known as hypocatastasis, involving implied comparison) is meant to say that the evil to which he guides people will ultimately destroy him.

[28:10]  ⁶ sn This proverb is teaching that those who corrupt others will be destroyed, usually by their own devices, but those who manage to avoid being corrupted will be rewarded. According to this proverb the righteous can be led astray (e.g., 26:27).

[28:17]  ⁷ tn The form is the Qal passive participle. The verb means “to oppress; to wrong; to extort”; here the idea of being “oppressed” would refer to the burden of a guilty conscience (hence “tormented”; cf. NAB, NRSV “burdened”). Some commentators have wanted to emend the text to read “suspected,” or “charged with,” or “given to,” etc., but if the motive is religious and not legal, then “oppressed” or “tormented” is preferred.

[28:17]  ⁸ sn The text has “the blood of a life”; blood will be the metonymy of effect for the murder, the shedding of blood.

[28:17]  ⁹ tn The verse is cryptic; it simply says that he will “flee to the pit.” Some have taken the “pit” to refer to the place of detention for prisoners, but why would he flee to that place? It seems rather to refer to death. This could mean that (1) since there is no place for him to go outside of the grave, he should flee to the pit (cf. TEV, NLT), or (2) he will be a fugitive until he goes to the grave (cf. NASB, NIV, NCV, NRSV, CEV). Neither one of these options is easily derived from the text. The verse seems to be saying that the one who is guilty of murder will flee, and no one should assist him. The meaning of “the pit” is unresolved.

[20:15]  ¹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[20:15]  ¹¹ tn The word “name” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[20:15]  ¹² tn Grk “he”; the pronoun has been intensified by translating as “that person.”

[21:8]  ¹³ tn On the term φαρμακεία (farmakeia, “magic spells”) see L&N 53.100: “the use of magic, often involving drugs and the casting of spells upon people – ‘to practice magic, to cast spells upon, to engage in sorcery, magic, sorcery.’ φαρμακεία: ἐν τῇ φαρμακείᾳ σου ἐπλανήθησαν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη ‘with your magic spells you deceived all the peoples (of the world)’ Re 18:23.”

[21:8]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “idolaters.”

[21:8]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “their share.”

[21:8]  ¹⁶ tn Traditionally, “brimstone.”

[21:8]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “sulfur, which is.” The relative pronoun has been translated as “that” to indicate its connection to the previous clause. The nearest logical antecedent is “the lake [that burns with fire and sulfur],” although “lake” (λίμνη, limnh) is feminine gender, while the pronoun “which” (ὅ, Jo) is neuter gender. This means that (1) the proper antecedent could be “their place” (Grk “their share,”) agreeing with the relative pronoun in number and gender, or (2) the neuter pronoun still has as its antecedent the feminine noun “lake,” since agreement in gender between pronoun and antecedent was not always maintained, with an explanatory phrase occurring with a neuter pronoun regardless of the case of the antecedent. In favor of the latter explanation is Rev 20:14, where the phrase “the lake of fire” is in apposition to the phrase “the second death.”