Did Jesus’ Soul go to Hell? A Study of Acts 2:27 in the King James Bible
There is a common belief held by Roman Catholics and Protestants alike, which is actually quite ancient, stating that Jesus Christ went to an underground chamber in the center of the earth called “Abraham’s bosom”, out of which he led all of the departed saints into heaven after his resurrection. Acts 2:27 is one verse which is used to support this view. Quoting from Psalm 16:10, Peter says:
Acts 2:24–28 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. (25) For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: (26) Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: (27) Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. (28) Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.
Many defenders of the KJB, in attempting to defend the KJB’s consistent translation of Sheol and Hades as “hell”, have adopted this viewpoint. However, such a view is not very defensible from a Biblical standpoint, at least if we’re talking about the King James Bible’s standpoint, as it contradicts the clear teaching of scripture that all of God’s people have always gone to heaven after death, and the wicked have always gone to hell. A simple word search for “hell” in scripture will show that the Old Testament depicts hell as a place where a fire is kindled by God’s anger (Deuteronomy 32:22), hell is a place of sorrow, pain, and trouble (2 Samuel 22:6; Psalm 116:3), and is a place specifically designated for the wicked (Psalm 9:17; Proverbs 7:27, 9:18; Isaiah 14:9, 15) and we want to avoid going there (Proverbs 15:24, 23:14). There is simply no hint of a “good” part of hell anywhere in scripture, despite those who would like to appeal to a select handful of passages in an attempt to prove such a thing.
Some advocates of the Authorized Version, of the Independent Fundamentalist Baptist ilk, have attempted to resolve the issue by teaching that Christ’s soul really did go directly to hell after he died. Needless to say, this is not a very common view, and has been met with some harsh criticisms on all sides. While this is certianly one possible way to attempt to resolve the issue, I would like to offer an alternative explanation which is similar, but doesn’t see the need to go quite as far as that. I would like to suggest, quite simply, that Jesus’ soul was “in hell” on the cross, that is to say, while hanging on the cross, Jesus not only suffered physically, but inwardly as well, and as we will see from scripture, he suffered essentially everything which comes along with being in hell, all while being led to, and actually being placed upon, the cross. We will do this by simply looking at passages descriptive of hell, and then comparing them with verses describing what our Savior went through, both leading up to, and while being upon the cross. Definitions will also be provided to drive home the point.
It should be noted first, however, that David, as a prophet, spoke prophetically about Christ in all of the Psalms where he is speaking about himself. This is important because of the fact that David often uses the language of hell to describe sufferings that he was enduring while alive here on earth, observe:
Psalms 18:3–6 I will call upon the LORD , who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies. (4) The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. (5) The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me. (6) In my distress I called upon the LORD , and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.
David compares his temporal sufferings to those of hell, how much more does this apply to our Savior during his trial and crucifixion?
Psalms 116:1–4 I LOVE the LORD , because he hath heard my voice and my supplications. (2) Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live. (3) The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow. (4) Then called I upon the name of the LORD ; O LORD , I beseech thee, deliver my soul.
Thus we can see that David associated his temporal sufferings with the sufferings of hell, in a poetic way initially, and described his deliverance as his soul being delivered from hell, very similar to what we read in Psalm 16:10. Of course we know that these prophecies are ultimately fulfilled in Christ. With this in mind, let us compare some scriptures and see that Christ did in fact go through hell while suffering on the cross:
Matthew 23:33 (33) Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
Definition of damnation:
2. Condemnation.
Galatians 3:13 (13) Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written,
Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
Definition of curse:
3. Affliction; torment; great vexation. I will make this city a curse to all nations. Jer 26. 4. Condemnation; sentence of divine vengeance on sinners. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law. Gal 3.
Luke 16:23 (23) And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
Definition of torment:
1. Extreme pain; anguish; the utmost degree of misery, either of body or mind.
2. That which gives pain, vexation or misery.
Luke 22:44 (44) And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
Definition of agony:
1. In strictness, pain so extreme as to cause writhing or contortions of the body, similar to those made in the athletic contests in Greece. Hence, 2. Extreme pain of body or mind; anguish; appropriately, the pangs of death, and the sufferings of our Savior in the garden of Gethsemane.
Luke 22.
Isaiah 53:10–11 (10) Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. (11) He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
Definition of grief:
3. Cause of sorrow; that which afflicts.
Definition of travail: 1. To labor with pain; to toil. 2 Peter 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
Jude 1:13 Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.
Matthew 27:45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.
Christ also suffered spiritual separation from God:
Mark 15:34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
All of the above texts are consistent with what we already know about the nature of the cross of Christ. In the cross, there is not only a profound demonstration of the love of God, but also a very clear picture of the wrath of God toward sin. Scripture says that God the Father “made him to be sin for us” — this means that on the cross, our Lord stood in the full wrath of God on our behalf, and this is exactly what the punishment of hell is.
Thus we can see that there is no contradiction or “error” in the KJB for translating Sheol and Hades as “hell” in Psalm 16:10 or Acts 2:27; hell is an appropriate translation to express the affliction which Christ suffered and endured, and this usage of “hell” is also consistent with other Psalms of David which use similar language and are also prophetic of Christ. There is no need to infer from this that he descended into the place of torment for the wicked after his death, whether to go there to suffer or to go to the “good side” of hell.
One objection which I’ve heard to this interpretation is that Acts 2:31 more directly connects Jesus’s soul not being left in hell with his resurrection. This leads many to conclude that either “hell” ought to be taken more generically for “the grave”, or that Jesus actually locally descended into hell after his death.
However, if we simply examine the immediate context, it becomes clear, not only that Peter is referring to Christ’s sufferings upon the cross, but also the reason why the KJB translators chose to render the Greek word hades as hell.
Acts 2:23–24 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: (24) Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
Notice that verse 24 states God the Father had loosed Jesus from the pains of death. Now it is generally agreed that Jesus did not suffer after he died on the cross, aside from those who advocate for the idea of Jesus literally suffering in hell for three days and three nights. Jesus endured the pains of death on the cross. Yet Peter connects this “loosing” with Christ’s resurrection. Expositors have taken note of this, see John Gill’s comments on this verse:
this may be understood either of what Christ had done for his people by dying for them…or of what God did in raising Christ from the dead; he delivered him from the power of death, by which he was held in the grave, and which is expressed by a word which signifies pains and sorrows, even those of a woman in travail; which though he felt not now, he had gone through them; his low state in the grave was the effect of them; and these are said to be loosed when he was raised up, he being so entirely delivered from them, as that they should never come upon him more
Matthew Poole likewise makes the following observation:
though our Lord endured no more pain after he had said, It is finished, and had yielded up the ghost; yet whilst he was in the grave, being under the power of death, the pains of death are said to be loosed at his resurrection.
Matthew Henry likewise references this interpretation, and even cites Thomas Goodwin (called “Godwin”) who gives perhaps the most robust interpretation:
He describes his resurrection: God loosed the pains of death, because it was impossible that he should be holden of it; ōdinas — the sorrows of death; the word is used for travailing pains, and some think it signifies the trouble and agony of his soul, in which it was exceedingly sorrowful, even to the death; from these pains and sorrows of soul, this travail of soul, the Father loosed him when at his death he said, It is finished. Thus Dr. Godwin understands it: “Those terrors which made Heman’s soul lie like the slain (Psa_88:5, Psa_88:15) had hold of Christ; but he was too strong for them, and broke through them; this was the resurrection of his soul (and it is a great thing to bring a soul out of the depths of spiritual agonies); this was not leaving his soul in hell; as that which follows, that he should not see corruption, speaks of the resurrection of his body; and both together make up the great resurrection.”
Goodwin seems (in my estimation) to be a bit more accurate than Gill and Poole on this point, in understanding verse 24 as saying that God had first loosed Jesus from the pains of death, then resurrected him. This makes sense due to the perfect participle “having loosed”. For example, if I said “I went into work on Tuesday, having grabbed my morning cup of coffee”, my going into work took place subsequent to me first getting coffee. Likewise, in Acts 2:24, the use of the perfect participle indicates that the “loosing” of the pains of death took place prior to the resurrection.
The Dutch Annotations on the whole Bible (which was comissioned to be written at the Synod of Dordrecht in the 17th century) also acknowledges that this as a possible interpretation which other expositors had taken. We find in their commentary on Psalm 16:10:
in hell — i.e. in the grave; or you may understand with some, those hellish pains and pangs, which Christ hath undergone and suffer in our behalf. See of the Hebrew word Genesis 37.on verse 35.
And in their comments on Acts 2:27:
Sometimes it [the Hebrew and Greek words for “hell”] signifies hellish pains and distresses, 1 Sam. 2. 6. Psa. 18. 6.and 116. 3.in which signification some think that this word might be taken here, seeing Christ before his death suffered such pains in his soul.
I quote now some excerpts from Goodwin’s commentary on Ephesians, where he elaborates upon his interpretation of this text:
Now, what is meant by the pains of death here ? Let us examine that a little, for, if you mark it, the difficulty of his resurrection lies in the pains of death. After Christ was in the grave, — consider what I say, — there were no pains of death that held him, he had no pains in the grave after he was dead. What pains are they, then, that are here called the pains of death, which he was freed from, and then God raised him up, upon which he putteth the difficulty of his resurrection ?
The word in the Greek, uiimi, is the birth-throes of death. Isa. liii. 1 1 interpreteth it well ; ‘ He shall see,’ saith he, ‘ of the travail of his soul.’ They were the birth-throes which his soul had, which he must be loosed from and overcome, before lie is capable to be raised up by God. It is not an ordinary death he is to undergo, or ordinary sorrows of death that hinder his resurrection, but there are the birth-throes of death to be overcome. What are those birth-throes of death ? The travail of his soul. All our sins met in him, and the chastisement of our peace was upon him, as you have it in the 5th and 6th verses of the same Isa. liii. All those pangs that were in his soul — they tended to death, they would have carried his soul to bell, kept him from ever rising again, he had never come to glory; there fore they are called the pains of death — held him : yea, they would have held his soul had he not been God ; had not God upheld him, they would have carried his soul instantly away, and held him from ever being capable of rising up again.
Therefore, before he be capable of being raised, he must be freed from these pains of death ; therein lieth the difficulty of his resurrection. They are called the ‘ sorrows of death’ too ; not only of the first death, but of the second. I do not say he died the second death, the Scripture doth not say so. But that the sorrows of the second death took hold upon him, and upon his soul, to me is a certain truth. ‘ My soul,’ saith he, he points to what was it, ‘ is heavy unto death ; ‘ he doth not say, My soul dieth, but it is heavy unto the death ; it was at the point of death, when our sins and the wrath of God came in upon him.
-
Now, my brethren, in this death, and the pains of it, lieth the danger that Christ should never be raised up again, should never come to heaven ; for those pains of death would have fetched his soul away, and made all angels and men to have died the second death, never to have been raised, never to satisfy the wrath of God. They were sorrows of death ; deadly sorrows, as some interpret it, as he himself is called a man of sorrows, which is attri buted to none but to him, because none endured the sorrows he did, deadly sorrows : as it is called the ‘ abomination of desolation,’ that is, abominable desolation; so the sorrows of death, that is, deadly sorrows, hellish sorrows, infernal sorrows, if you will so express it ; for there was the cause of it, the wrath of God ; there was the substance of it.
-
There is a great deal of do what should be meant by ‘ leaving his soul in hell,’ and his ‘ Holy One not to see corruption,’ that is, his body. Say I, the 24th verse interpreteth it, ‘him hath God raised up,’ being freed from the sorrows of death, of the second death, the birth-throes of it ; God delivered his soul of it, left not his soul in hell ; then he raised up his body that it should not see corruption. Herein now lieth the difficulty of raising up our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, more than all the men in the world ; for if all the angels in heaven, and all the men in the world, had encountered with those sorrows of death he encountered with, they had never been raised up, for they could never have overcome them. Therefore saith the text here, the ‘ exceeding greatness of his power’ was shewn in raising up Christ from death to glory.
You can read the entire section here (beginning on page 431).
Thus, Acts 2:24–27 clearly shows that Peter interprets the “loosing of the pains of death” as Christ’s soul “not being left in hell” as prophesied by David in Psalm 16:10. Acts 2:31 therefore offers no difficulty for this understanding, and the KJB rendering of hades as hell in this verse is shown to be the correct rendering based upon the immediate context. Jesus had to first be loosed from his suffering which he endured while on the cross, in order to then be raised from the dead. Hence the logical connection that Peter makes between the two.
