The Meaning of Proverbs 1:12 Explained

Proverbs 1:12

KJV: Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:

YLT: We swallow them as Sheol -- alive, And whole -- as those going down to the pit,

Darby: let us swallow them up alive as Sheol, and whole, as those that go down into the pit;

ASV: Let us swallow them up alive as Sheol, And whole, as those that go down into the pit;

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Let us swallow them up  alive  as the grave;  and whole,  as those that go down  into the pit: 

What does Proverbs 1:12 Mean?

Study Notes

grave
Heb. "Sheol," .
hell
Sheol is, in the O.T., the place to which the dead go.
(1) Often, therefore, it is spoken of as the equivalent of the grave, merely, where all human activities cease; the terminus toward which all human life moves (e.g. Genesis 42:38 grave Job 14:13 grave Psalms 88:3 grave
(2) To the man "under the sun," the natural man, who of necessity judges from appearances, sheol seems no more than the grave-- the end and total cessation, not only of the activities of life, but of life itself. Ecclesiastes 9:5 ; Ecclesiastes 9:10
(3) But Scripture reveals sheol as a place of sorrow 2 Samuel 22:6 ; Psalms 18:5 ; Psalms 116:3 ; in which the wicked are turned Psalms 9:17 and where they are fully conscious; Isaiah 14:9-17 ; Ezekiel 32:21 see, especially, Jonah 2:2 what the belly of the great fish was to Jonah that sheol is to those who are therein). The sheol of the O.T. and hades of the N.T. (See Scofield " Luke 16:23 ") are identical.

Context Summary

Proverbs 1:1-19 - "the Beginning Of Knowledge"
Notice the perfect balance of each clause, and the duplication of the one thought in the two clauses of each verse.
Wisdom as used in this book is more than intellectual learning or cleverness. It represents a moral quality, the result of a pure and a true life. We are conscious that many simple-minded people, who have little enough book-learning, are remarkable for sagacious advice, insight into character, the wise reading of events, an intuitive knowledge-all based on the fear of God. The headlines of Scotch copy-books used to be taken from this book. Certain it is that the young who ponder and practice these maxims can hardly fail of a successful career. [source]

Chapter Summary: Proverbs 1

1  The use of the proverbs
7  An exhortation to fear God, and believe his word
10  to avoid the enticing of sinners
20  Wisdom complains of her contempt
24  She threatens her contemners

What do the individual words in Proverbs 1:12 mean?

let us swallow them like Sheol alive and whole like those who go down to the Pit
נִ֭בְלָעֵם כִּשְׁא֣וֹל חַיִּ֑ים וּ֝תְמִימִ֗ים כְּי֣וֹרְדֵי בֽוֹר

נִ֭בְלָעֵם  let  us  swallow  them 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect Cohortative if contextual, first person common plural, third person masculine plural
Root: בָּלַע 
Sense: to swallow down, swallow up, engulf, eat up.
כִּשְׁא֣וֹל  like  Sheol 
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, common singular
Root: שְׁאֹול  
Sense: sheol, underworld, grave, hell, pit.
חַיִּ֑ים  alive 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: חַי 
Sense: living, alive.
וּ֝תְמִימִ֗ים  and  whole 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adjective, masculine plural
Root: תָּמִים  
Sense: complete, whole, entire, sound.
כְּי֣וֹרְדֵי  like  those  who  go  down  to 
Parse: Preposition-k, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct
Root: יָרַד  
Sense: to go down, descend, decline, march down, sink down.
בֽוֹר  the  Pit 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: בֹּור 
Sense: pit, well, cistern.