9:18 the dead. Hebrew rephaim, of uncertain derivation. The word is used eight times in the Bible, all in Hebrew poetry, referring to the spirits of the departed.

Sheol. Lit. “the grave.” See 1:12; 5:5; 7:27 and notes. In Proverbs, Sheol is the fitting destination of fools not because it is a place of torment, as Hell is later described (Rev. 14:9–11), but simply because those who go there have lost the possibility of relationship with the living God. See also 2:18 and note.