Bible Strands
Proverbs 1:12
let us swallow them alive like Sheol, and whole like those descending into the Pit.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The speakers are the conspirators introduced in Proverbs 1:11, addressing one another at the moment they plan to ambush the innocent. They are positioned between the initial call to violence and the promised acquisition of plunder.
The words — נִבְלָעֵם (niv.la.'em) translates literally as "let us swallow them," and חַיִּים (chai.Yim) means "alive." The pairing frames the intended murder as immediate, total consumption rather than mere killing.
The thread — The "swallow alive" imagery reappears in Psalms 124:3 to describe the threat of complete destruction by hostile forces. Romans 3:13 later connects the grave motif to the deceptive and venomous speech of the wicked.
Why it lands — The text demands the reader recognize the ambushers' claim of absolute, inescapable power over their victims. It requires a clear rejection of their predatory logic before they can justify their actions with plunder.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:
Cross-references
- Psalms 28:1 Of David. To You, O LORD, I call; be not deaf to me, O my Rock. For if You remain silent, I will be like those descending to the Pit.
- Psalms 124:3 when their anger flared against us, then they would have swallowed us alive,
- Romans 3:13 “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The venom of vipers is on their lips.”
- Numbers 16:30 But if the LORD brings about something unprecedented, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them and all that belongs to them so that they go down alive into Sheol, then you will know that these men have treated the LORD with contempt.”
- Numbers 26:10 And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them along with Korah, whose followers died when the fire consumed 250 men. They serve as a warning sign.
- Psalms 5:9 For not a word they speak can be trusted; destruction lies within them. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.
- Psalms 35:25 Let them not say in their hearts, “Aha, just what we wanted!” Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up!”
- Psalms 56:1 For the choirmaster. To the tune of “A Dove on Distant Oaks.” A Miktam of David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath. Be merciful to me, O God, for men are hounding me; all day they press their attack.
- Psalms 57:3 He reaches down from heaven and saves me; He rebukes those who trample me. Selah God sends forth His loving devotion and His truth.
- Psalms 143:7 Answer me quickly, O LORD; my spirit fails. Do not hide Your face from me, or I will be like those who descend to the Pit.