Proverbs 1:12

12 Like Sheol,[a] we will swallow them alive and whole, {like those who descend to the pit}.[b]

Proverbs 1:12 Meaning and Commentary

Proverbs 1:12

Let us swallow them up alive as the grave
The innocent person, and those that are with him, his servants; our gang is so numerous that we can very easily dispatch him and all his attendants, and bury them out of sight at once, as if they were swallowed up alive in a grave, and so no more to be seen or heard of; and consequently we shall be in the utmost safety and security, there being no traces of what is done, nor any left to make a relation of it, or to give any information of us, or to pursue us;

and whole, as those that go down into the pit;
who though whole and in perfect health, shall in a moment be destroyed and cast into the pit, being first plundered of all the riches they have about them; for this swallowing them up alive and whole, which is an allusion to a beast of prey swallowing up another creature all at once, not only intends their cruelty in taking away life, but their rapaciousness in seizing upon their substance.

Proverbs 1:12 In-Context

10 My child, if sinners entice you, do not consent.
11 If they say, "Come with us! We shall lie in wait for blood; we shall ambush the innocent without cause.
12 Like Sheol, we will swallow them alive and whole, {like those who descend to the pit}.
13 We shall find all precious wealth, we shall fill our houses [with] booty,
14 you shall throw your lot in our midst, there will be one purse for all of us."

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. A term for the place where the dead reside, i.e., the Underworld
  • [b]. Literally "like the descenders of a pit"
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.