"A little child is in this red-hot oven. Hear how it screams to
come out! See how it turns and twists itself about in the fire!
It beats its head against the roof of the oven. It stamps its little
feet on the floor. You can see on the face of this little child what
you see on the faces of all in hell--despair, desperate and horrible!"
from the Children's Apostle
On further investigation though, we learn that the above amounts to
nothing more than a propagandist scare-tactic of the worst kind. Consider
the OT uses of the word Sheol, where we get our Hell from in most common
versions:
| Scripture | KJV | Douay | NWT | NIV | MLB/NBV | Fenton | NLT | Brenton |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genesis 37:35 | grave | hell | sheol | grave | grave | grave | die | Hades |
| Genesis 42:38 | grave | hell | sheol | grave | death's realm | grave | grave | Hades |
| Genesis 44:29 | grave | hell | sheol | grave | Sheol | grave | grave | grave |
| Genesis 44:31 | grave | hell | sheol | grave | grave | grave | grave | grave |
| Num 16:30 | pit | hell | sheol | grave | Sheol | grave | grave | Hades |
| Num 16:33 | pit | hell | sheol | grave | Sheol | grave | grave | Hades |
| Deut 32:22 | hell | hell | sheol | realm of death | underworld | pit | grave | hell |
| 1 Sam 2:6 | grave | hell | sheol | grave | grave | grave | grave | grave |
| 2 Sam 22:6 | hell | hell | sheol | grave | grave | grave | grave | death |
| 1 Kings 2:6 | grave | hell | sheol | grave | grave | grave | die | grave |
| 1 Kings 2:9 | grave | hell | sheol | grave | grave | grave | death | grave |
| Job 7:9 | grave | hell | sheol | grave | underworld | grave | die | grave |
| Job 11:8 | hell | hell | sheol | grave | Sheol | grave | underworld | hell |
| Job 14:13 | hell | hell | sheol | grave | Sheol | grave | dead* | grave |
| Job 17:13 | grave | hell | sheol | grave | Sheol | grave | grave | Hades |
| Job 17:16 | pit | pit | sheol | death | Sheol | grave | grave | Hades |
| Job 21:13 | grave | hell | sheol | grave | Sheol | grave | grave | grave |
| Job 24:19 | grave | hell | sheol | grave | Sheol | grave | death | N/A |
| Job 26:6 | hell | hell | sheol | death | Sheol | grave | underworld | hell |
| Psalm 6:5 | grave | hell | sheol | grave | grave | grave | grave | Hades |
| Psalm 9:17 | hell | hell | sheol | grave | Sheol | pit | grave | Hades |
| Psalm 16:10 | hell | hell | sheol | grave | realm of the dead | grave | grave | hell |
| Psalm 18:5 | hell | hell | sheol | grave | Sheol | grave | grave | N/A |
| Psalm 30:3 | grave | hell | sheol | grave | Sheol | grave | grave | Hades |
| Psalm 31:17 | grave | hell | sheol | grave | realm of the dead | grave | grave | Hades |
| Psalm 49:14 | grave | hell | sheol | grave | Sheol | grave | grave | Hades |
| Psalm 49:14 | grave | hell | sheol | grave | Sheol | grave | grave | Hades |
| Psalm 55:15 | hell | hell | sheol | grave | Sheol | grave | grave | Hades |
| Psalm 86:13 | hell | hell | sheol | grave | lower world beyond | grave | death | hell |
| Psalm 88:3 | grave | hell | sheol | grave | death's portals | grave | death | Hades |
| Psalm 89:48 | grave | hell | sheol | grave | grave | grave | grave | Hades |
| Psalm 116:3 | hell | hell | sheol | grave | grave | grave | grave | hell |
| Psalm 139:8 | hell | hell | sheol | depths | underworld | grave | dead | grave |
| Psalm 141:7 | gravk | hell | sheol | grave | grave | nil | nil | pit |
| Prov 1:12 | grave | hell | sheol | grave | dead-realm | grave | grave | Hades |
| Prov 5:5 | hell | hell | sheol | grave | hell | grave | grave | grave |
| Prov 7:27 | hell | hell | sheol | grave | Sheol | grave | grave | hell |
| Prov 9:18 | hell | hell | sheol | grave | Sheol | grave | grave | hell |
| Prov 15:11 | hell | hell | sheol | death | Sheol | grave | death | hell |
| Prov 15:24 | hell | hell | sheol | grave | Sheol | grave | grave | hell |
| Prov 23:14 | pit | hell | sheol | death | Sheol | grave | death | death |
| Prov 27:20 | hell | hell | sheol | death | Sheol | grave | death | hell |
| Prov 30:16 | grave | hell | sheol | grave | Sheol | grave | grave | N/A |
| Eccl 9:10 | grave | hell | sheol | grave | Sheol | grave | grave | Hades |
| Cant. 8:6 | grave | hell | sheol | grave | Sheol | grave | grave | grave |
| Isa 5:14 | hell | hell | sheol | grave | Sheol | grave | grave# | hell |
| Isa 14:9 | hell | hell | sheol | grave | Sheol | grave | dead | hell |
| Isa 14:11 | grave | hell | sheol | grave | Sheol | grave | nil | Hades |
| Isa 14:15 | hell | hell | sheol | grave | Sheol | grave | dead | hell |
| Isa 28:15 | hell | hell | sheol | grave | Sheol | pit | grave | Hades |
| Isa 38:10 | grave | hell | sheol | death | grave | grave | dead | grave |
| Isa 38:18 | grave | hell | sheol | grave | grave | grave | dead | grave |
| Isa 57:9 | hell | hell | sheol | grave | Sheol | hell | dead | hell |
| Eze 31:15 | grave | hell | sheol | grave | realm of the dead | grave | grave | Hades |
| Eze 31:16 | hell | hell | sheol | grave | Sheol | grave | grave | Hades |
| Eze 31:17 | hell | hell | sheol | grave | realm of the dead | grave | grave | hell |
| Eze 32:21 | hell | hell | sheol | grave | Sheol | grave | grave | Hades |
| Eze 32:27 | grave | hell | sheol | grave | Sheol | grave | grave | Hades |
| Hosea 13:14 | grave | death | sheol | grave | Sheol | grave | grave | Hades |
| Hosea 13:14 | grave | hell | sheol | grave | Sheol | grave | grave | Hades |
| Amos 9:2 | hell | hell | sheol | grave | Sheol | grave | dead | hell |
| Jonah 2:2 | hell | hell | sheol | grave | Sheol | nil | dead | hell |
| Hab 2:5 | hell | hell | sheol | grave | grave | grave | death | grave |
A Dictionary of the Bible (1914), edited by William Smith, sates: "Hell . . . is the word generally and unfortunately used by our translators to render the Hebrew Sheol. It would perhaps have been better to retain the Hebrew word Sheol, or else render it always by 'the grave' or 'the pit'. . . . In the N[ew] T[estament], the word Hades, like Sheol, sometimes means merely 'the grave' . . . It is in this sense that the creeds say of our Lord 'He went down into hell,' meaning the state of the dead in general."
Collier's Encyclopedia (1986, Vol. 12, p. 28) says: "Since Sheol in
Old Testament times referred simply to the abode of the dead and suggested
no moral distinctions, the word 'hell,' as understood today, is not a happy
translation." Better versions simply transliterate the word into English
as "Sheol."
The Encyclopaedia Britannica (1971, Vol. 11, p. 276): "Sheol was located
somewhere 'under' the earth. . . . The state of the dead was one of neither
pain nor pleasure. Neither reward for the righteous nor punishment for
the wicked was associated with Sheol. The good and the bad alike, tyrants
and saints, kings and orphans, Israelites and gentiles-all slept together
without awareness of one another."
The Bible record shows that Sheol refers to mankind's common grave,
despite the changes it has taken in the minds of many others.
" For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything,
neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten....
Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no
work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Sheol (Hell, Douay/Brenton)
whither thou goest. (Ec 9:5, 10 ASV)
If Hell is such a bad place that is over looked by the Devil, then
why is it in front of God?
"Sheol (hell, KJV/Douay) and Abaddon are before Jehovah: How much more
then the hearts of the children of men!" Prov 15:11 ASV
"Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy
presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: If I make my bed
in Sheol (hell, KJV/Douay), behold, thou art there." Ps 139:7,8 ASV [See
also Amos 9:1, 2]
If Hell is such a bad place that is over looked by the Devil, then
why did Job pray to go there?
"Oh that thou wouldest hide me in Sheol (hell, KJV/Douay), That thou
wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, That thou wouldest appoint
me a set time, and remember me!" Job 14:12-15.
Throughout the Bible, Sheol is often associated with death , not some
afterlife. (1Sa 2:6; 2Sa 22:6; Ps 18:4, 5; 49:7-10, 14, 15; 88:2-6; 89:48;
Isa 28:15-18; also compare Ps 116:3, 7-10 with 2Co 4:13, 14.) It is "the
land of darkness" (Job 10:21) and a place of silence. (Ps 115:17)
Not something you expect from a place that constantly lit by fire where
people are tortured continuously
Regarding the word "Sheol," Brynmor F. Price and Eugene A. Nida noted: "The word occurs often in the Psalms and in the book of Job to refer to the place to which all dead people go. It is represented as a dark place, in which there is no activity worthy of the name. There are no moral distinctions there, so 'hell' (KJV) is not a suitable translation, since that suggests a contrast with 'heaven' as the dwelling-place of the righteous after death. In a sense, 'the grave' in a generic sense is a near equivalent, except that Sheol is more a mass grave in which all the dead dwell together. . . . The use of this particular imagery may have been considered suitable here [in Jonah 2:2] in view of Jonah's imprisonment in the interior of the fish."-A Translators Handbook on the Book of Jonah, 1978, p. 37.
When asked why the NIV (New International Version) translated Sheol
as "grave," Kenneth Barker gave this answer, "Sheol frequently occurs in
synonymous parallelism with Hebrew qeder, which clearly means grave....more
recent studies support the NIV."
The Accuracy of the NIV, p. 34