When I wrote this study, I wasn’t originally going to write about the topic of the soul at all. A reason for this is every single story ever written about “walking away from hell” includes the topic of the soul. So why repeat it? Upon review, however, I have to say this was a crucial data point in helping me to conclude that the eternal hell framework has no legs to stand on. As we carry on, I believe you will come to see what I mean. Assuming you are not already aware of the arguments found in this chapter.
As I have been growing in my understanding of the soul, I have to say it is a complex topic. It is so multifaceted. Yet, so much confusion arises from our Bible translations, which have then caused us to create traditions, which should never have been applied to the soul. I would say this topic is not quite the same battle ground as aiōnios and olam/olamim.
My impressions overall are this is a leg which the eternal hell framework needs to stand on, yet it needs to be avoided as much as possible in any discussion. It isn’t so much about the word soul but its “state and condition.” I have written about the soul in brief in my book Upgrading Earth, Appendix 3: A Cruel Character Assassination. My key statement paraphrased is:
The eternal hell framework needs the Greek philosophical concept of the soul being “immortal and pre-existent.” Because if it is immortal, it must then go somewhere immediately after death. This means either “heaven” or “hell.” What this creates is a person being judged officially before their given time at the Great White Throne judgement.1[1] Slaats, Jamie. “Appendix 3: A Cruel Character Assassination,” in Upgrading Earth – It was never meant to be saved, it was always meant to be upgraded! (TwelveGates E.U., 2020.) Accessed: Oct 01, 2021. https://upgradingearth.org/read/upgrading-earth/appendix-3-a-cruel-character-assassination/
My focus in this chapter is not so much what the soul is, but to reveal that biblically, the soul certainly is not, and has never been, immortal or spiritual. The soul is fully mortal and fleshly. It can die. Or as we read often, it sleeps.
In the briefest sense of reviewing the history of this tradition, I can say it stems from Platonism. It comes from Greek philosophy, which then permeated Christian thought. What is fascinating is that when we study the writings from the Greek church fathers, and to a large extent the Latin church fathers, most of them believed in the immortality and pre-existence of the soul. So those who stood on universal restoration also had been influenced by Greek philosophy, to a degree. Does this then make it a truth we should stand upon? Certainly not!
What I have learned from all of this is none of us have “all truth.” We all can have our eyes fully opened to one area of God’s truths, yet in another area be as blind as bats. My daily prayer is asking the Lord “where have you opened up my eyes to something important, and where are my eyes still blinded by the traditions and precepts of religion?” It is then most interesting to see that those most supporting universal restoration in the early church also had some blindness on the topic of the soul. Today, with all the data available to us regarding access to the Old Testament, we find we really need to return to a Hebrew concept of the soul, rather than the Greek.
5.1 Words Related to the Soul
First thing is first, what words are we dealing with here? As I began this analysis, it opened up my eyes to see, there really are some crazy things happening in our English translations regarding how these words are translated.
In Hebrew, we have nephesh (נֶפֶשׁ), and this is the Latin transliteration. It shows up as nepeš when we use the Society of Bible Literature (SBL) transliteration tools. We also see this for example, in most all online interlinear Bibles, one would not see the Latin form. So nephesh (נֶפֶשׁ / nepeš / H5315) is our foundational Hebrew word.
In Greek we have psuché (ψυχή) and this is the Latin transliteration. With the SBL, it is psychē. I could not find an explanation why the SBL transliteration changes the U to a Y but for any transliterations just keep this in mind. So psuché (ψυχή / psychē / G5590) is our foundational Greek word.
Along this journey of mine, I saw one statement came up often regarding translation. This was “language is nuanced, it is not possible to consistently translate one word for another every time. As the context will determine what the word should mean.” The problem with this statement is when speaking about the Bible, what usually happens is we then break the flow of the concept the word is meant to produce. This is particularly true when speaking about the concept of the nephesh, psuché, or soul.
As I have shared in chapter 2, there are several scholars and wonderful people who have worked on Bible translations who would disagree with the statement above. Most recently is Dr. David Bentley Hart. He states clearly in his translation notes that he aimed to keep consistent the translation of one Greek word for one English word.2[2] Bentley Hart, Dr. David. “Concluding Scientific Postscript,” in The New Testament: A Translation. (Yale University Press; Translation edition. Oct, 2017) One sees this specifically with the word psuché and aionios.
Last, we have a translation team that, as I have seen, seems to also think the same way. We have the seventy Judean elders who completed the Greek scriptures in 247 BC. In some of my personal analysis, what I have found is they have been extremely consistent with one Greek word representing one Hebrew word. Especially with the words of nephesh and psuché. Virtually 99% of all occurrences of nephesh in all its forms and functions are translated as psuché. It made me wonder if they could do this between Hebrew and Greek? Shouldn’t we be able to do the same thing in English?
We could set aside so much confusion, we could remove so many contradictions and most importantly, we could settle so many disagreements, if we could hold to this one principle of translation. We aim for one English word being used as consistent as possible to represent a single Hebrew or Greek concept behind the word.
5.2 The Words for Soul Analysis
Regarding my study about the soul, I would say I went through two phases. The first phase was part of the overall analysis of the three interpretative frameworks. This took around two years to review. The outcome was clear. The soul is not immortal and never has been.
The second phase began late 2020 and early 2021. In Dr. E. W. Bullinger DD’s Companion Study Bible he has an Appendix, which lists every single occurrence of nephesh and psuché in the Old and New Testament. I used this appendix along with the Englishman’s Concordance and thought to take these scriptures and put them into Excel. I then acquired in text format about thirty different Bible versions and popped them into Excel and then did some analysis.
One of the key findings I have to say deeply disturbs me. In the majority of cases where nephesh or psuché exist in the original language, and the context is in relation to “the death of the nephesh or psuché,” translators translate these words as life or lives. There are some occurrences in the Old Testament where soul is used, however, you could probably count them on two hands. We will explore some of these as we progress through the chapter, as the impact on our understanding changes when we see these things. You can decide then for yourself, what you would like to believe or not about the soul.
5.2.1 The Old Testament
The Englishman’s Concordance along with Dr. Bullingers appendix 13 reveal that in the Old Testament nephesh is used 754 times. Upon reviewing my LXX Lexicon, I have found that in 752 of these cases, the LXX translates consistently the nephesh as psuché in Greek.
This is a table I put together on how often these two words are translated as soul, life/lives, or person in English. Most other occurrences were impossible for me to look up and determine.
What is perplexing to me is that the Greeks have a clear word for life, (zōē / ζωή / G2222) and to live (zaō / ζάω / G2198). There are several places in the Old Testament where psuché and zoé/zaó are in the same sentence. Clearly, they can’t mean the same thing, right? What we find, then, is the true value to the CLV and as well reviewing the SLT. What really surprised me was to find that the YLT and EBR in some key places translate nephesh as life where the “death of the soul” is clearly revealed.
Overall, in the analysis, what I have found was the KJV and NASB95 use fifty-two different words for nephesh, the NKJV uses sixty-four and the ESV uses eighty-four. Some of these words are tablets, decision, fatally, last, perfume, wish, willing, number, and some. These choices really make no sense in terms of conceptual understanding of what the nephesh is or could be within Hebrew thought. Contextually they might fit well in the verse, but conceptually they are worlds apart.
5.2.2 The New Testament
When we review psuché in the New Testament, this word occurs 104 times. Dr. Bullinger records in appendix 110 the following about this word. He states:
We must therefore, let Scripture be its own interpreter. Psuché exactly corresponds to the Hebrew nephesh (Appendix 13), as will be seen from the following passages: Mar 12:29; Mar_12:30, compared with Deu_6:4; Deu_6:5; Act_2:27 with Psa_16:10; Rom_11:3 with 1Ki_19:10; 1Co_15:45 with Gen_2:7. In all these places, psuché in the New Testament represents nephesh in the Old.3[3] Bullinger, E. W. “Appendix 110: The use of Psuché in The New Testament,” in The Companion Study Bible. (Kregel, Burgundy edition, March 19, 1990). Accessed through e-sword reference library.
Here is what I have found in putting this together in Excel.
When I read the New Testament for the first time in the NTAT translation, I was shocked to discover some scriptures that connect the soul dying to Jesus. In most of these cases, the translations use life rather than soul. The analysis that I have done in Excel has led me to agree fully with the words of A. E. Knoch. He has written in the preface of the Concordant Greek Text the following:
Most versions [of the bible] always render zōē life, so that no one is at a loss to know the significance of the word. But how few know what soul means! That is because it is not uniformly translated. … If the Holy Spirit intended us to understand life in so many places where the original has soul, why was not the word for life used? … Even the word life has lost its distinct meaning by being used for soul. No one would tolerate such a translation as “the first man Adam was made a living life.” Why, then, translate “Take no thought for your life? (Luk 12:22). Why not “do not worry about the soul?”4[4] Knoch, Adolph Ernst. “The Concordant Method (A Sane Principle),” in Concordant Greek Text. (Concordant Publishing Concern 1975).
He says that it really hurts us when we don’t aim as best as possible to maintain one English word for one Hebrew or Greek word. This same method was something Julia E. Smith believed deeply in as well. She was fluent in Hebrew, Greek and Latin and aimed for such a consistency. On this topic, Dr. Bentley Hart, in his translation notes of the NTAT he makes an interesting statement on why he consistently uses soul. He states:
… what the original author considered a conceptual unity the translator should try not to convert into a multiplicity of distinct concepts; but I was prompted also by my desire that my translation reflect the text’s origin in an age when the very idea of physical life was still not only inseparable from, but even identical to, the idea of the soul—when, that is, the principle of organic life and the principle of thought, sensation and spiritual personality were understood as one and the same principle. And this seems to me a doubly important consideration in light of what I take to be some of the defective theological scholarship of the past (especially within certain Protestant critical traditions of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries).5[5] Bentley Hart, Dr. David. “Translating Certain Words An Irregular Glossary,” in The New Testament: A Translation. (Yale University Press; Translation edition. Oct, 2017). Point 15.
Let’s now look at some of these key scriptures. You can be the judge of what you understand out of them in terms of the concept of the soul and immortality.
5.3 All Moving Creatures Are Living Souls
The very first verse of scripture which uses the nephesh is not even a verse that includes us as humans in it. We read first in Genesis 1:20-21 the following.
02 וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֔ים יִשְׁרְצ֣וּ הַמַּ֔יִם שֶׁ֖רֶץ נֶ֣פֶשׁ חַיָּ֑ה וְעוֹף֙ יְעוֹפֵ֣ף עַל־הָאָ֔רֶץ עַל־פְּנֵ֖י רְקִ֥יעַ הַשָּׁמָֽיִם׃
WLC-T: 20 er elohim yishretsu hammayim sherets nephesh chayyah we’oph ye’opheph al-ha’arets al-penei reqia’ hashshamayim.
LXX: 20 Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ θεός Ἐξαγαγέτω τὰ ὕδατα ἑρπετὰ ψυχῶν ζωσῶν καὶ πετεινὰ πετόμενα ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς κατὰ τὸ στερέωμα τοῦ οὐρανοῦ. καὶ ἐγένετο οὕτως.
LXX-T: 20 Kai eipen ho theos Exagagetō ta hydata herpeta psychōn zōsōn kai peteina petomena epi tēs gēs kata to stereōma tou ouranou. kai egeneto houtōs.
BSB: 20 Then God said, “Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens.”
NIV: 20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.”
CLV: 20 And Elohim said: Let the waters swarm with the swarming thing, the living soul, and let the flyer fly above the earth on the face of the atmosphere of the heavens. And it came to be so.
EBR: 20 And God said—Let the waters swarm with an abundance of living soul, and, birds, shall fly over the earth, over the face of the expanse of the heavens.
SLT: 20 And God will say the waters shall breed abundantly creeping things, the living soul, and birds shall fly over the earth, over the face of the firmament of the heavens.
In this verse, we have together the Greek words life (zōsōn) and soul (psychōn). As we read further in Genesis 1:30, we find these two words in the same sentence once again. Essentially, anything that moves be it an animal, a human, or a fish, all are considered living souls. We read in Genesis 1:30.
03 וּֽלְכָל־חַיַּ֣ת הָ֠אָרֶץ וּלְכָל־ע֨וֹף הַשָּׁמַ֜יִם וּלְכֹ֣ל׀ רוֹמֵ֣שׂ עַל־הָאָ֗רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־בּוֹ֙ נֶ֣פֶשׁ חַיָּ֔ה אֶת־כָּל־יֶ֥רֶק עֵ֖שֶׂב לְאָכְלָ֑ה וַֽיְהִי־כֵֽן׃
WLC-T: 30 ulekhol-chayyath ha’arets ulekhol-oph hashshamayim ulekhol romes al-ha’arets asher-bo nephesh chayyah eth-kol-yereq esev le’okhlah wayehi-khen
LXX: 30 καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς θηρίοις τῆς γῆς καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς πετεινοῖς τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ παντὶ ἑρπετῷ τῷ ἕρποντι ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ὃ ἔχει ἐν ἑαυτῷ ψυχὴν ζωῆς, πάντα χόρτον χλωρὸν εἰς βρῶσιν. καὶ ἐγένετο οὕτως.
LXX-T: 30 kai pasi tois thēriois tēs gēs kai pasi tois peteinois tou ouranou kai panti herpetō tō herponti epi tēs gēs, ho echei en heautō psychēn zōēs, panta chorton chlōron eis brōsin. kai egeneto houtōs.
BSB: 30 And to every beast of the earth and every bird of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth—everything that has the breath of life in it—I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.
NIV: 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
CLV: 30 And to every animal of the earth, to every flyer of the heavens, and to every creeper on the earth in which there is a living soul, I have given all green herbage for food. And it came to be so.
EBR: 30 and to every living thing of the land—and to every bird of the heavens, and to every thing that moveth on the land, wherein is a living soul, every green herb for food. And it wins so.
SLT: 30 And to every living thing of the earth, and to all the birds of the heavens and to every thing creeping upon the earth, in which is a living soul, every green herb for food: and it shall be so.
Have you ever seen this before? Overall, I see the context of Genesis 1:20 and 1:30 quite similar, yet the translations of nephesh chayyah (zoen psuché) are radically different. I can only ask why? In English, a “living creature” compared to “breath of life” for the same two words are worlds apart in conceptual understandings? Don’t you think? Finally, as we progress into Genesis 2, we read verse 7, which is now fully talking about the creation of humans.
7 וַיִּיצֶר֩ יְהוָ֨ה אֱלֹהִ֜ים אֶת־הָֽאָדָ֗ם עָפָר֙ מִן־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה וַיִּפַּ֥ח בְּאַפָּ֖יו נִשְׁמַ֣ת חַיִּ֑ים וַֽיְהִ֥י הָֽאָדָ֖ם לְנֶ֥פֶשׁ חַיָּֽה׃
WLC-T: 7 wayyitser yhwh elohim eth-ha’adam aphar min-ha’adamah wayyippach be’appaiw nishmath chayyim wayehi ha’adam lenephesh chayyah
LXX: 7 καὶ ἔπλασεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον χοῦν ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς καὶ ἐνεφύσησεν εἰς τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ πνοὴν ζωῆς, καὶ ἐγένετο ὁ ἄνθρωπος εἰς ψυχὴν ζῶσαν.
LXX-T: kai eplasen ho theos ton anthrōpon choun apo tēs gēs kai enephysēsen eis to prosōpon autou pnoēn zōēs, kai egeneto ho anthrōpos eis psychēn zōsan.
BSB: 7 Then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.
ESV: 7 … and the man became a living creature.
NIV: 7 … and the man became a living being.
KJV: 7 … and man became a living soul.
CLV: 7 … and the human became a living soul.
EBR: 7 … and man became a living soul.
SLT: 7 … and man shall be for a living soul.
Reviewing this verse on the biblehub.com, we find all the modern translations translate the nephesh as either a living person, creature or being. Yet most of the of the classic translations and the early modern translations translate it as living soul.
Logically, I have to ask myself, if it is possible for us to have this translated as a living soul by the KJV, CLV, EBR and SLT versions, why the variance in all the other translations? Could it be here we are seeing some real translation bias taking place in order to uphold the interpretation regarding the eternal hell framework? I mean, if an animal also is a soul or we could even say, has a soul? Wouldn’t it mean they too are, in fact, immortal and can’t die? It means as well they are tripartite right. What then happens to their souls upon death? Where does an animal’s soul go? Heaven or Hell? Something very interesting to consider.
Therefore, what we see is through consistency of translation, all things moving and with the Spirit of life in the world, are living souls.
5.4 The Soul is Mortal and Dies
I want to now look at some scriptures which really highlight the consistency of the Greek LXX translation. I think this reveals how consistent the flow is into what the New Testament writers were trying to say about the psuché. I will take two scriptures from the Old Testament, and several from the New Testament, which deal with the death of the soul. Or one could say the death of the living soul.
5.4.1 Ezekiel 13:19
91 וַתְּחַלֶּלְ֨נָה אֹתִ֜י אֶל־עַמִּ֗י בְּשַׁעֲלֵ֣י שְׂעֹרִים֮ וּבִפְת֣וֹתֵי לֶחֶם֒ לְהָמִ֤ית נְפָשׁוֹת֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר לֹֽא־תְמוּתֶ֔נָה וּלְחַיּ֥וֹת נְפָשׁ֖וֹת אֲשֶׁ֣ר לֹא־תִֽחְיֶ֑ינָה בְּכַ֨זֶּבְכֶ֔ם לְעַמִּ֖י שֹׁמְעֵ֥י כָזָֽב׃ ס
WLC-T: 19 wattechallelnah othi el-ammi besha’alei se’orim uviphthothei lechem lehamith nephashoth asher lo-themuthenah ulechayyoth nephashoth asher lo-thicheyeinah bekhazzevkhem le’ammi shome’ei khazav s
LXX: 19 καὶ ἐβεβήλουν με πρὸς τὸν λαόν μου ἕνεκεν δρακὸς κριθῶν καὶ ἕνεκεν κλασμάτων ἄρτου τοῦ ἀποκτεῖναι ψυχάς, ἃς οὐκ ἔδει ἀποθανεῖν, καὶ τοῦ περιποιήσασθαι ψυχάς, ἃς οὐκ ἔδει ζῆσαι, ἐν τῷ ἀποφθέγγεσθαι ὑμᾶς λαῷ εἰσακούοντι μάταια ἀποφθέγματα.
LXX-T: 19 kai ebebēloun me pros ton laon mou heneken drakos krithōn kai heneken klasmatōn artou tou apokteinai psychas, has ouk edei apothanein, kai tou peripoiēsasthai psychas, has ouk edei zēsai, en tō apophthengesthai hymas laō eisakouonti mataia apophthegmata.
BSB/ESV: 19 You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, putting to death souls who should not die and keeping alive souls who should not live, by your lying to my people, who listen to lies.
NIV: 19 You have profaned me among my people for a few handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. By lying to my people, who listen to lies, you have killed those who should not have died and have spared those who should not live.
NASB95: 19 For handfuls of barley and fragments of bread, you have profaned Me to My people to put to death some who should not die and to keep others alive who should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies.
CLV: 19 You are profaning Me to My people for handfuls of barley and morsels of bread, putting to death souls who should not die and keeping alive souls who should not live, when you lie to My people who hearken to the lie.
This is quite a powerful statement from the Lord. It is clear, souls can die, and souls can live. In reviewing most of the translations, what we find is in majority of the classic translations except the NKJV, they use the word soul here. The modern versions, except the BSB and ESV, exclude translating nephesh as soul in this verse. All the early moderns and the literal translations use soul as found on biblehub.com.
5.4.2 Ezekiel 18:4, 20a, 27
4 הֵ֤ן כָּל־הַנְּפָשׁוֹת֙ לִ֣י הֵ֔נָּה כְּנֶ֧פֶשׁ הָאָ֛ב וּכְנֶ֥פֶשׁ הַבֵּ֖ן לִי־הֵ֑נָּה הַנֶּ֥פֶשׁ הַחֹטֵ֖את הִ֥יא תָמֽוּת׃ ס a02 הַנֶּ֥פֶשׁ הַחֹטֵ֖את הִ֣יא תָמ֑וּת בֵּ֞ן לֹא־יִשָּׂ֣א׀ 72 וּבְשׁ֣וּב רָשָׁ֗ע מֵֽרִשְׁעָתוֹ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשָׂ֔ה וַיַּ֥עַשׂ מִשְׁפָּ֖ט וּצְדָקָ֑ה ה֖וּא אֶת־נַפְשׁ֥וֹ יְחַיֶּֽה׃
WLC-T: 4 hen kol-hannephashoth li hennah kenephesh ha’av ukhenephesh habben li-hennah hannephesh hachoteth hi thamuth s 20a hannephesh hachoteth hi thamuth ben lo-yissa 27 uveshuv rasha’ merish’atho asher asah wayya’as mishpat utsedaqah hu eth-naphsho yechayyeh
LXX: 4 ὅτι πᾶσαι αἱ ψυχαὶ ἐμαί εἰσιν· ὃν τρόπον ἡ ψυχὴ τοῦ πατρός, οὕτως καὶ ἡ ψυχὴ τοῦ υἱοῦ, ἐμαί εἰσιν· ἡ ψυχὴ ἡ ἁμαρτάνουσα, αὕτη ἀποθανεῖται. — 20a ἡ δὲ ψυχὴ ἡ ἁμαρτάνουσα ἀποθανεῖται 27 καὶ ἐν τῷ ἀποστρέψαι ἄνομον ἀπὸ τῆς ἀνομίας αὐτοῦ, ἧς ἐποίησεν, καὶ ποιήσῃ κρίμα καὶ δικαιοσύνην, οὗτος τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἐφύλαξεν
LXX-T: 4 hoti pasai hai psychai emai eisin; hon tropon hē psychē tou patros, houtōs kai hē psychē tou huiou, emai eisin; hē psychē hē hamartanousa, hautē apothaneitai. — 20a hē de psychē hē hamartanousa apothaneitai 27 kai en tō apostrepsai anomon apo tēs anomias autou, hēs epoiēsen, kai poiēsē krima kai dikaiosynēn, houtos tēn psychēn autou ephylaxen
BSB: 4 Behold, every soul belongs to Me; both father and son are Mine. The soul who sins is the one who will die. 20a The soul who sins is the one who will die. 27 But if a wicked man turns from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will save his life.
NIV: 4 For everyone belongs to me, the parent as well as the child—both alike belong to me. The one who sins is the one who will die. 20a The one who sins is the one who will die. 27 But if a wicked person turns away from the wickedness they have committed and does what is just and right, they will save their life.
KJV: 4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. 20a The soul that sinneth, it shall die. 27 Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.
CLV: 4 Behold, all souls, they are Mine! The soul of the father even as the soul of the son, they are Mine! The soul that is sinning, it shall die. 20a The soul that is sinning, it shall die; 27 And when the wicked one turns back from his wickedness which he committed and is executing right judgment and justice, he shall keep alive his soul.
YLT: 4 Lo, all the souls are Mine, As the soul of the father, So also the soul of the son—they are Mine, The soul that is sinning—it doth die. 20a The soul that doth sin—it doth die. 27 And in the turning back of the wicked From his wickedness that he hath done, And he doth judgment and righteousness, He his soul doth keep alive.
As old and imperfect as the KJV is, I find it remarkable how often it reveals things still more clearly than our modern-day translations. If one only ever read the NIV, you would completely miss any hint at the soul being something that could die in these verses. I like the NASB95, but we can see that in three verses within the same chapter they translate it three different ways which for me is remarkable? The ESV and BSB are almost identical in translation and are consistent, but then the ESV in verse 27 translates it as his, which is perplexing?
5.4.3 Matthew 16:25
BGB: 25 ὃς γὰρ ἐὰν θέλῃ τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ σῶσαι, ἀπολέσει αὐτήν· ὃς δ’ ἂν ἀπολέσῃ τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ, εὑρήσει αὐτήν.
BGB-T: 25 hos gar ean thelē tēn psychēn autou sōsai, apolesei autēn; hos d’ an apolesē tēn psychēn autou heneken emou, heurēsei autēn
BSB: 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. (NIV, NASB95 and ESV are almost all identical)
YLT/LSV: 25 for whoever may will to save his life will lose it, and whoever may lose his life for My sake will find it;
GODBEY: 25 … to save his soul shall lose it: … lose his soul for my sake shall find it.
WORRELL: 25 … to save his soul shall lose it, … lose his soul for My sake shall find it;
CLV: 25 … to save his soul shall be destroying it. Yet whoever should be destroying his soul on My account shall be finding it.
NTAT: 25 … to save his soul will lose it; and whoever loses his soul for my sake will find it.
5.4.4 John 10:11, 15
BGB: 11 Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλός. ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλὸς τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ τίθησιν ὑπὲρ τῶν προβάτων· 15 καθὼς γινώσκει με ὁ Πατὴρ κἀγὼ γινώσκω τὸν Πατέρα, καὶ τὴν ψυχήν μου τίθημι ὑπὲρ τῶν προβάτων.
BGB-T: 11 Egō eimi ho poimēn ho kalos. ho poimēn ho kalos tēn psychēn autou tithēsin hyper tōn probatōn; 15 kathōs ginōskei me ho Patēr kagō ginōskō ton Patera, kai tēn psychēn mou tithēmi hyper tōn probatōn.
BSB/NIV/ESV: 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. 15 just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father. And I lay down My life for the sheep.
GODBEY: 11 … lays down His life for the sheep. 15 … and I lay down My soul for the sheep.
WORRELL: 11 … lays down his soul for the sheep. 15 … and I lay down My soul for the sheep.
CLV: 11 I am the Shepherd ideal. The ideal shepherd is laying down his soul for the sake of the sheep. 15 … And My soul am I laying down for the sake of the sheep.
NTAT: 11 … The shepherd, the one who is good, lays down his soul for the sake of the sheep. 15 … and I lay down my soul for the sake of the sheep.
I really love the EBR and YLT translations, yet it surprised me to find they don’t even remain consistent on the word psuché. What do you see or feel when you read these words from Jesus saying He is laying down His soul for you? It differs greatly from saying He is laying down His life. Of course, He too was a living soul. So clearly life is in Him. But when we come to better understand the law of atonement, we realize that it really was Him as a living, breathing soul that died for us. It was soul for soul.
What do you think it does to the concept of the immortal soul if we consistently translated these verses as soul rather than life? Remember, the Greeks have a different word for life. Why didn’t Matthew and John use zoen rather than psuché? It is because of its specific linkage to the meaning and word nephesh.
5.4.5 James 5:20
This is a verse which I simply could not ignore and leave out in this conversation as it is as clear as day the soul can die.
BGB: 20 γινωσκέτω* ὅτι ὁ ἐπιστρέψας ἁμαρτωλὸν ἐκ πλάνης ὁδοῦ αὐτοῦ σώσει ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἐκ θανάτου καὶ καλύψει πλῆθος ἁμαρτιῶν.
BGB-T: 20 ginōsketō* hoti ho epistrepsas hamartōlon ek planēs hodou autou sōsei psychēn autou ek thanatou kai kalypsei plēthos hamartiōn.
BSB: 20 consider this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
NIV: 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
NLT: 20 you can be sure that whoever brings the sinner back from wandering will save that person from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins.
I have not included so many translations on this one as in fact, eighty percent of the translations use the word soul in this verse. We can see however, if one reads the NIV and the NLT, you will miss it fully that the soul is being saved from death. The ESV, NASB95, NASB20, CLV and NTAT all use soul on this one. This verse certainly doesn’t say we will save a soul from hell does it.
5.4.6 Revelation 8:9, 16:3
This is the last piece of scripture I want to review in this section. I think you will find this one as well particularly interesting. It wasn’t until I read the NTAT where I even discovered this gem of a verse connecting us back to the beginning in Genesis 1:20.
BGB: 8:9 καὶ ἀπέθανεν τὸ τρίτον τῶν κτισμάτων τῶν ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ, τὰ ἔχοντα ψυχάς, καὶ τὸ τρίτον τῶν πλοίων διεφθάρησαν. 16:3 Καὶ ὁ δεύτερος ἐξέχεεν τὴν φιάλην αὐτοῦ εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν· καὶ ἐγένετο αἷμα ὡς νεκροῦ, καὶ πᾶσα ψυχὴ ζωῆς ἀπέθανεν, τὰ ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ.
BGB-T: 8:9 kai apethanen to triton tōn ktismatōn tōn en tē thalassē, ta echonta psychas, kai to triton tōn ploiōn diephtharēsan. 16:3 Kai ho deuteros execheen tēn phialēn autou eis tēn thalassan; kai egeneto haima hōs nekrou, kai pasa psychē zōēs apethanen, ta en tē thalassē.
BSB: 8:9 A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. 16:3 The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing died that was in the sea. (ESV is almost identical)
BLB: 8:9 and a third of the creatures having life in the sea died, … 16:3 … and it became blood, as of one dead; and every living soul that was in the sea died.
NIV: 8:9 a third of the living creatures in the sea died, … 16:3 … and it turned into blood like that of a dead person, and every living thing in the sea died.
NASB95: 8:9 and a third of the creatures which were in the sea and had life, died; … 16:3 … and it became blood like that of a dead man; and every living thing in the sea died.
CLV: 8:9 and a third of the creatures in the sea, which have a soul, died, … 16:3 … And it became blood as if of a dead man. And every living soul died which is in the sea.
WORRELL: 8:9 and the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, that had souls, died; … 16:3 … and it became blood, as of a dead man; and every living soul died, the things in the sea.
SLT: 8:9 And the third of the creatures which in the sea, died, those having souls; … 16:3 … and it was blood as of a dead body: and every living soul died in the sea.
NTAT: 8:9 And within the sea one third of the creatures that had souls died, … 16:3 And the second poured out his libation-dish into the sea, and it became blood, like that of a dead man, and every life’s soul—the things in the sea—died.
While it is a mixed bag as to if Revelation 16:3 uses soul in the verse or not, most modern translations don’t. It is verse 8:9, which is usually translated as life and hides that the word psuché is underneath. It was an eye-opening thing to see that Dr. David Bentley Hart maintained to translate it as soul. As in fact, I had never read this verse fully in the CLV until I saw this in the NTAT.
5.5 What is the Soul?
I want to share now one fascinating tidbit of information, which I have to say really shocked me in my understanding of the soul. There has been much written over the millennia about “what the soul is.” Having said this, is there in fact anything in the Bible which seems to make it crystal clear? Or at least, brings clarity to us in ways we never knew were already there? I will let you be the judge as to if what I share awakens in us a deeper understanding of the so-called soul.
We will review two pieces of scripture as in fact, it is only revealed four times in the entire Bible (Gen 9:4, Lev 17:11,14 and Deut 12:23). First, let’s look at Deuteronomy 12:23 as we find it in virtually all Bible translations.
BSB: 23 Only be sure not to eat the blood, because the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life with the meat.
Upon first reading this, we might think, ok? Well, our life is in the blood. That seems clear, right? Scientifically, this is also affirmed. When we die, the blood drains from us and our life leaves us. Our natural being dies. However, not all is as it seems. Now let us look at this piece of scripture further.
32 רַ֣ק חֲזַ֗ק לְבִלְתִּי֙ אֲכֹ֣ל הַדָּ֔ם כִּ֥י הַדָּ֖ם ה֣וּא הַנָּ֑פֶשׁ וְלֹא־תֹאכַ֥ל הַנֶּ֖פֶשׁ עִם־הַבָּשָֽׂר׃
WLC-T: 23 raq chazaq leviltiy akhol haddam ki haddam hu hannaphesh welo-thokhal hannephesh im-habbasar
LXX: 23 πρόσεχε ἰσχυρῶς τοῦ μὴ φαγεῖν αἷμα, ὅτι τὸ αἷμα αὐτοῦ ψυχή· οὐ βρωθήσεται ἡ ψυχὴ μετὰ τῶν κρεῶν,
LXX-T: 23 proseche ischyrōs tou mē phagein haima, hoti to haima autou psychē; ou brōthēsetai hē psychē meta tōn kreōn,
We see the earlier quoted words come into play from A. E. Knoch. In this piece of scripture, the nephesh and psuché are clearly being used, yet all of our translations translate it as life. I have found only the CLV, the SLT, the Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB) and the Douay-Rheims translate the Hebrew and Greek words here as soul.
CLV: 23 But be steadfast by no means to eat the blood, for the blood, it is the soul, and you shall not eat the soul with the flesh.
SLT: 23 Only be striving not to eat the blood, for the blood it is the soul; and thou shalt not eat the soul with the flesh
JUB: 23 Only be sure not to eat the blood; for the blood is the soul (or the life), and thou art not to eat the soul with its flesh.
Let me now ask you what I think is an intriguing question. Is your blood immortal? Our blood is in fact a relevant life-force, but it is the spirit that charges it. When our spirit and breath leave us, the blood can’t survive, and we as living souls die. Our emotions die, the feelings we have die, the flesh dies. In a complete sense, it all dies when we stop breathing as that means the oxygen to the blood stops being received, which keeps us alive. As a living soul, we then die.
Having said all of this, I also know that various views of death in the Bible relate death to sleep. My intension here is not to discuss the nature of death being represented as sleeping. It is more that the soul can die in a natural sense. It seems as well; we aren’t to eat the soul with the flesh either. It is certainly being revealed the soul is not immortal, even on a metaphysical level in the scriptures. Now let’s look at Leviticus 17:11. First, what we read in most all standard translations.
BSB: 11 For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make an atonement for your souls upon the altar, since it is the lifeblood that makes atonement.
And now let us look at what is in the original texts and how the CLV, JUB and SLT translate it.
11 כִּ֣י נֶ֣פֶשׁ הַבָּשָׂר֮ בַּדָּ֣ם הִוא֒ וַאֲנִ֞י נְתַתִּ֤יו לָכֶם֙ עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּ֔חַ לְכַפֵּ֖ר עַל־נַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶ֑ם כִּֽי־הַדָּ֥ם ה֖וּא בַּנֶּ֥פֶשׁ יְכַפֵּֽר׃
WLC-T: 11 ki nephesh habbasar baddam hiw’ wa’ani nethattiw lakhem al-hammizbeach lekhapper al-naphshotheikhem ki-haddam hu bannephesh yekhapper
LXX: 11 ἡ γὰρ ψυχὴ πάσης σαρκὸς αἷμα αὐτοῦ ἐστιν, καὶ ἐγὼ δέδωκα αὐτὸ ὑμῖν ἐπὶ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου ἐξιλάσκεσθαι περὶ τῶν ψυχῶν ὑμῶν· τὸ γὰρ αἷμα αὐτοῦ ἀντὶ τῆς ψυχῆς ἐξιλάσεται.
LXX-T: 11 hē gar psychē pasēs sarkos haima autou estin, kai egō dedōka auto hymin epi tou thysiastēriou exilaskesthai peri tōn psychōn hymōn; to gar haima autou anti tēs psychēs exilasetai.
CLV: 11 for the soul of the flesh, it is in the blood, and I Myself have assigned it to you to make a propitiatory shelter over your souls on the altar; for the blood, because of the soul, it makes a propitiatory shelter.
SLT: 11 For the soul of the flesh it is in the blood; and I gave it to you upon the altar to expiate for your souls: for the blood shall expiate for the soul.
JUB: 11 For the soul (or life) of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you to reconcile your persons (or souls) upon the altar; therefore the same blood reconciles the person.
With this new understanding, I have found it makes more sense now why, in fact, the “blood of Christ” is so powerful in having atoned for our sin. I will speak more about the fullness of the law of atonement in a later chapter. However, what we find here is Jesus’ blood really has covered “all of humanity.” Nobody is left out. Nobody is set aside; nobody can be said to not have been atoned for. It really is Jesus fulfilling the law with the death of His living soul to atone for the living souls of all of humanity.
The soul, nephesh, psuché is the blood in our flesh. You can see it with your own eyes now in the Hebrew and Greek. This, for me, was something I could only discover when I read the CLV and SLT. I believe this fully destroys the philosophical nature of the soul and removes the concept of it being immortal which Greek philosophy added to it.
Last, I think this brings about an interesting connection to what the apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:50, “Now I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.” It seems Paul is telling us blood is unique to the Adamic nature and not the new spirit man we will be, when resurrected. I think this is something deep to consider when we read the words of Jesus in Luke 24:39 “See My hands and My feet, that I am He. Touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see Me having.” I find it intriguing these words were only recorded in the gospel of Luke and Jesus is speaking about what is essentially his new resurrected body. He leaves out any reference to the blood.
When we read the words of the apostle Paul “flesh and blood” can’t enter the kingdom, it certainly makes me believe our new resurrected bodies won’t have blood in them? This then makes it even more intriguing as to, if the soul is in the blood, what really is the eventual outcome of this concept of the soul in regard to our new resurrected bodies? This does a lot of damage to the concept of the immortal soul.
These are certainly interesting questions we can ponder on; wouldn’t you think? Maybe it is something to ask the Lord about in our times with Him if it piques your curiosity.
5.6 Conclusions
There is so much more I could write about on the topic of the soul. I realize it may seem like a lot to process. It may seem like a lot of repetition. But even when we don’t read and understand Greek or Hebrew, there is something to be said when we can visually see it before us. Not just someone telling you it is there, but really showing you; it is there.
If one wants to compare and contrast the differences between the three interpretative frameworks, you will certainly review the concept of the “immortal soul.” It can’t be ignored. The fact is, we simply don’t find in the Old or New Testaments any statement applying immortality to the soul, nephesh or psuché. I have found an excellent resource that speaks often about this topic of the soul, are the folks at the Bible Project. They stress often in their videos and podcasts; Greek philosophy has affected our understanding of the word nephesh and psuché.
The soul is mortal. The living soul is of the flesh, fleshly and soulish or soilish. As we read in 1 Corinthians 15:47-48. First is the natural, earthly, fleshly, and soulish man, then comes the spiritual once we put the soulish man to death. We do this by being buried with Christ through baptism and raising with Christ as a new creation man. Baptism represents our legal death of our soulish, Adamic nature.
So, what are your thoughts about the soul now? If we remove the concept and philosophy of the soul being immortal, do you think eternal hell framework still stands strong? Personally, I would say hands down unequivocally no! However, it is now up to you to decide what that means for you and your belief in hell.