lost souls and other insights from the First Book of Psalms - Afterlife

In lost souls and other insights from the First Book of Psalms Jefferson Vann shares some insights from his new translation of Psalm 1-41.

The Old Testament Book of Psalms is divided into five books. I have completed my initial translation of Book One (Psalms 1-41) today, and I want to share some of my discoveries.

two words for “bless”

The book begins and ends with a blessing. The King James version begins 1:1 with “Blessed is the man…” and 41:13 with “Blessed be the LORD.” You cannot tell it from the KJV, but there are actually two different Hebrew words used here. The blessing associated with the wise man in 1:1 is ‘asherey (אַשְׁרֵי). I have rendered this word as “fortunate” in my translation.

Psalm 1:1 That person is fortunate who does not walk at the advice of wicked ones and on the sinners’ road he does not stand and in the critics’ chair he does not sit.

Psalm 2:12 Get things in order with the Son or he will be angry and you will be destroyed on your journey, because his anger may ignite at any moment. All who take refuge in him are fortunate.

Psalm 32:1 How fortunate is the one whose crime is forgiven, whose mistake is covered!

Psalm 32:2 How fortunate is a person whom Yahveh does not charge with violation and in whose breath is no deceit!

Psalm 33:12 Fortunate is the nation whose God is Yahveh – the people he has chosen to be his own possession!

Psalm 34:8 Taste and see that Yahveh is good. How fortunate is the person who takes refuge in him!

Psalm 40:4 How fortunate is anyone who has put his trust in Yahveh and has not turned to the proud or to those who run after lies!

Psalm 41:1 Fortunate is one who has insight about of the poor; Yahveh will save him in a day of adversity.

The other word – barach (בָּרַךְ) can also be translated as “make fortunate” but is used as an expression of worship to God as well.

Psalm 5:12 Because you, Yahveh, make the righteous one fortunate; you cover him with favor like a shield.

Psalm 10:3 Because the wicked one brags about his throat’s lusts; the one who is greedy ‘blesses’ while despising Yahveh.

Psalm 16:7 I will bless Yahveh who consults with me – even at night when my thoughts trouble me.

Psalm 41:13 Blessed be Yahveh God of Israel, from this age up to the next age. Amen and amen.

lost “souls”

The Hebrew word nefesh (נֶפֶשׁ) rendered “soul” appears 77 times in this book, but you might miss it in some of the modern translations. It has become popular to read the word as a pronoun. This results in a number of passages significant to the human mortality issue being ignored. Therefore, I have chosen to restore some of these “lost souls” in my translation.

Psalm 16:10 Because you will not abandon my soul to Sheol; you will not allow your faithful one to see decay.

Psalm 22:29 All who prosper on land will eat and bow down; all those who go down to the dust will kneel before him– even the one who cannot preserve his soul.

Psalm 26:9 Do not destroy my soul along with sinners, or my life along with men of bloodshed

Psalm 30:3 Yahveh, you brought my soul up from Sheol; you spared me from among those going down to the Hole.

Psalm 31:13 I have heard the gossip of many; terror is on every side. When they conspired against me, they plotted to take my soul.

Psalm 33:19 to rescue their soul from death and to keep them alive during famine.

Psalm 35:4 Let those who intend to take my soul be disgraced and humiliated; let those who plan to harm me be turned back and ashamed.

Psalm 35:7 They hid their net for me for no reason; they dug a pit for my soul for no reason.

Psalm 38:12 Those who intend to kill my soul set traps, and those who want to harm me spoke out to destroy me; they plot treachery all day long.

Psalm 40:14 Let those who seek my soul to destroy it be disgraced and confounded. Let those who treasure my harm be turned back and humiliated.

These passages show that the Old Testament knew nothing of a supposed immortal soul that could survive death. The soul is the human life, which can be killed and destroyed, plotted against and trapped.

In fact, the word נֶפֶשׁ originally was used of the throat. Because the throat was seen as the vehicle for the breath, it became associated with the life of a living breathing person. I found a few instances in Psalm 1-41 where the word throat is the best translation for נֶפֶשׁ.

Psalm 7:2 They are going to rip my throat apart like a lion, tearing me apart with no one to rescue me.

Psalm 7:5 may an enemy chase after and overtake my throat; may he trample me to the ground and leave my glory in the dirt. (Selah).

Psalm 10:3 Because the wicked one brags about his throat’s lusts; the one who is greedy ‘blesses’ while despising Yahveh.

Psalm 22:20 Rescue my throat from the sword, my abandoned throat from this dog’s hand.

Psalm 31:9 Be gracious to me, Yahveh, because I am in distress; my eyes, my throat and my belly are worn out from frustration.

Psalm 35:17 Lord, how long will you look on? Rescue my throat from their ravages; it is abandoned to the young lions.

Once the reader jettisons the unbiblical notion of a soul being immortal and indestructible, the real meaning of נֶפֶשׁ shines through. It is the life of a person – a completely mortal and endangered life which requires God’s protection and preservation.

human mortality

The present mortality of all human beings is a given in this book. It is the backdrop on the entire landscape. Not only are lost said to be leading temporary lives, but even those who trust in God’s rescue have a short life. There is no hint that anyone is going anywhere at death but the grave.

Psalm 30:9 “What gain would there be in my death, if I go down to the Pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your truth?

Psalm 39:5 Notice, you have made my days like the size of my fingers, and my life span is as nothing to you. Yes, every person takes a temporary stand. (Selah).

Psalm 39:11 You discipline a person with punishment for violation, consuming like a moth what is precious to him; yes, every person is temporary. (Selah).

Psalm 39:12 “Hear my prayer, Yahveh, and listen to my cry for help; do not be silent at my tears. For I am here with you as an alien, a temporary resident like all my ancestors.

permanent and temporary

I was also struck by the gospel message shines through in this book. Yes, I said the gospel message. You will find no promises of going to heaven at death in this book. But you will see a stark contrast between the ultimate fate of the saved and the ultimate fate of the lost. Those God rescues will be permanent. But those he does not rescue are temporary. They are on the road to destruction. They will come to an end. They will perish. They will disappear.

Psalm 1:6 Because Yahveh knows the journey of the righteous ones. But the wicked ones are on the road to destruction.

Psalm 7:9a Cause the evil of the wicked to come to an end, but make the righteous permanent.

Psalm 9:5 You have rebuked the nations: You have destroyed the wicked; you have erased their name permanently and continually.

Psalm 9:6 The enemy has come to perpetual ruin. You have uprooted the cities, and even the memory of them has perished.

Psalm 10:16 Yahveh is King permanently and continually; the nations will be destroyed from his land.

Psalm 21:4 He asked you for life, and you gave it to him– length of days permanently and continually.

Psalm 26:9 Do not destroy my soul along with sinners, or my life along with men of bloodshed

Psalm 37:9 because evildoers will be destroyed, but those who put their hope in Yahveh will inherit the land.

Psalm 37:18 Yahveh watches over the blameless all their days, and their inheritance will last permanently.

Psalm 37:20 But the wicked will perish; Yahveh’s enemies, like the glory of the pastures, will disappear– they will disappear like smoke.

Psalm 37:22 Those who are blessed by Yahveh will inherit the land, but those cursed by him will be destroyed.

Psalm 37:28 because Yahveh loves justice and will not abandon his faithful ones. They are kept safe permanently, but the children of the wicked will be destroyed.

Psalm 37:34 Wait for Yahveh and keep to his road, and he will exalt you to inherit the land. You will watch when the wicked are destroyed.

Psalm 37:38 But transgressors will all be eliminated; the future of the wicked will be destroyed.

The real hope of humanity is not surviving the grave. Everyone will be raised at Christ’s second coming for judgement. The real hope of the saved is surviving that judgement, because those who are not redeemed will suffer complete destruction in hell.

sky and land

I have already studied the words for sky (שָׁמַיִם) and land (אֶרֶץ) and I found my hypothesis correct when re-examining those words in this context. The word for land or ground should never be translated as “earth” because it simply refers to the land below us, not to the planet. The word for sky is usually best translated as sky, and not as heaven. The only exception to this rule in the First Book of Psalms is 20:6, which speaks of God looking down from “his holy heaven.” The normal use of the word sky (שָׁמַיִם) is to designate the place where the birds fly (8:8).

no spirits

I have also avoided using the word “spirit” because people do not tend to have the foggiest idea of what the word means. When they hear the word spirit they tend to think of an immaterial existence apart from the body. The latin noun spiritus means breath. The Greek term translated spirit in the New Testament is pneuma (πνεῦμα), which means the same thing. So, it should come to no surprise that when the Hebrew ruach ( רוּחַ) appears in this book, it is best translated breath, or wind.

Psalm 1:4 It isn’t like that with the wicked ones. Instead, they are like husks that will be blown away by the wind.

Psalm 11:6 Let him rain burning coals and sulfur on the wicked ones; let a scorching wind be the portion in their cup.

Psalm 18:10 He climbed onto a cherub and flew, soaring on the wings of the wind.

Psalm 18:15 The depths of the sea became visible, the foundations of the world were exposed, at your rebuke, Yahveh , at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.

Psalm 18:42 I pulverize them like dust before the wind; I empty them out like street mud.

Psalm 31:5 Into your hand I entrust my breath; you have redeemed me, Yahveh, God of truth.

Psalm 32:2 How fortunate is a person whom Yahveh does not charge with violation and in whose breath is no deceit!

Psalm 33:6 The skies were made by the word of Yahveh, and all the stars, by the breath of his mouth.

Psalm 34:18 Yahveh is near the brokenhearted; he saves those who are breathing dust.

Psalm 35:5 Let them be like chaff in the wind, with the angel of Yahveh driving them away.

It is imperative that we conditionalists continue the work of Bible translation. We should not settle for the present translations because they generally reflect a traditionalist bias.

Links to my other articles covering Psalm 1-41:

About Jefferson Vann

Jefferson Vann is a teacher, Bible translator, and avid blogger. "My hope is that everyone who reads my writings will have an opportunity to understand the gospel, and will know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior." He has written books on theology and Bible commentary. You can read more of Jeff's writing at Devotions | Jefferson Vann | Commands of Christ | Learning Koine Greek Together