Bible word study · Translation differences
Hell vs Hades: five words, one English word
Short answer: Hades, the Greek word for the Hebrew Sheol, is the realm of the dead before the final judgment. Hell in most modern Bibles translates Gehenna, the place of final judgment. The King James Version uses "hell" for four different words (Sheol, Hades, Gehenna and Tartarus), which is why the two are often confused.
The infographic in text form
| Word | Language | Meaning | How often | Key verse |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheol שְׁאוֹל | Hebrew, Old Testament | The grave; the realm of the dead, where all the dead go, righteous and wicked | 65 times. The KJV says "hell" 31 times, "grave" 31 times and "pit" 3 times. | "For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell" Psalm 16:10 |
| Hades ᾅδης | Greek, New Testament | The New Testament word for Sheol: temporary, it ends at the judgment | 10 times | "And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments" Luke 16:23 · Acts 2:27 · Revelation 20:14 |
| Gehenna γέεννα | Greek, New Testament | The place of final judgment, named after the Valley of Hinnom outside Jerusalem, where children had been burned to idols | 12 times, 11 of them spoken by Jesus | "Fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" Matthew 10:28 · Jeremiah 7:31 |
| Tartarus ταρταρόω | Greek, New Testament | A prison for fallen angels, held "in chains of darkness" until the judgment | Once, as a verb: "cast into Tartarus" | "God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell" 2 Peter 2:4 |
| Lake of fire | English phrase, Revelation | The final destiny, "the second death". The beast, the false prophet, the devil, death and Hades, and everyone not written in the book of life are cast into it. | 5 verses | "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire" Revelation 19:20 · 20:10, 14–15 · 21:8 |
How translations render them
| Original word | King James Version | Most modern translations |
|---|---|---|
| Sheol | "hell", "grave" or "pit" | "Sheol" (ESV); "the grave" or "the realm of the dead" (NIV) |
| Hades | "hell" | "Hades" (ESV, NIV, NASB) |
| Gehenna | "hell" | "hell" (ESV, NIV, NASB, NLT) |
| Tartarus | "hell" | "hell", often with a footnote: "Greek Tartarus" |
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