The Meaning of Proverbs 9:18 Explained

Proverbs 9:18

KJV: But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.

YLT: And he hath not known that Rephaim are there, In deep places of Sheol her invited ones!

Darby: But he knoweth not that the dead are there; that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.

ASV: But he knoweth not that the dead are there; That her guests are in the depths of Sheol.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

But he knoweth  not that the dead  [are] there; [and that] her guests  [are] in the depths  of hell. 

What does Proverbs 9:18 Mean?

Study Notes

hell
Heb. "Sheol,"
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 9:1-18 - Two Contrasted Invitations
There is an age-long competition between Wisdom and Folly, Virtue and Vice. The palace of Wisdom is very attractive-well built and well furnished. It is reared upon seven well-hewn marble pillars, in a quadrangular form, the entrance being left wide-open. An eternal mansion, it is stable and beautiful. Great preparations are made for the feast, which is open to all-in striking contrast to the private supper to which Vice allures the unwary youth. The beautiful owner also sends forth her maidens into the public thoroughfares to give free invitations to all who will accept them. See Matthew 22:1, etc.
Only to the simple or child-hearted, and not to the scorner, is the invitation addressed. Wisdom lets the scorner pass, because a word to him would only recoil on herself, and would add to his wickedness. To scoff at things which are holy and scorn the divine power is to risk the sin that is never forgiven. Such is the man who enters the feast without the wedding garment. [source]

Chapter Summary: Proverbs 9

1  The discipline
4  and the doctrine of wisdom
13  The custom
16  and error of folly

What do the individual words in Proverbs 9:18 mean?

But not he does know that the dead [are] there in the depths of hell [That] her guests [are] -
וְֽלֹא־ יָ֭דַע כִּֽי־ רְפָאִ֣ים שָׁ֑ם בְּעִמְקֵ֖י שְׁא֣וֹל קְרֻאֶֽיהָ פ

וְֽלֹא־  But  not 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
יָ֭דַע  he  does  know 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: דָּעָה 
Sense: to know.
כִּֽי־  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
רְפָאִ֣ים  the  dead  [are] 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: רְפָאִים  
Sense: ghosts of the dead, shades, spirits.
בְּעִמְקֵ֖י  in  the  depths 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: עָמֵק  
Sense: deep, unfathomable.
שְׁא֣וֹל  of  hell 
Parse: Noun, common singular
Root: שְׁאֹול  
Sense: sheol, underworld, grave, hell, pit.
קְרֻאֶֽיהָ  [That]  her  guests  [are] 
Parse: Verb, Qal, QalPassParticiple, masculine plural construct, third person feminine singular
Root: קָרָא  
Sense: to call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim.
פ  - 
Parse: Punctuation