Let us swallow him up alive like hell, and whole as one that goeth down into the pit.
נִ֭בְלָעֵם כִּשְׁא֣וֹל חַיִּ֑ים וּ֝תְמִימִ֗ים כְּי֣וֹרְדֵי בֽוֹר׃
3 Church Fathers comment on this verse
The statements of the unrighteous found in Proverbs, “Let us put away the innocent without blame... We shall gather up every precious possession," can indeed be interpreted in relation to Christ and His Church without requiring intricate analysis. In a similar vein, our Lord Jesus portrays the wicked in the Gospel parable, saying, “This is the heir; let us go and kill him and take possession of his inheritance” (Matt. 21:38).
In the words of Solomon, the Lord instructs: My child, if those who do wrong entice you, do not consent. If they propose, ‘Join us, we will lie in wait to take a life, we will slay the innocent without cause, we will consume them as the grave does’. This passage foretells the anguish of the Savior.
We will consume him, persist in our wickedness, resembling a living abyss; that is, we shall eliminate him without delay, as one is overwhelmed by the earth during a calamity: the ground suddenly gives way beneath them and engulfs them alive in the realm of the dead. We will strike at an innocent soul without forethought, erasing his memory, and interring him while he is yet in the prime of life and vigor. We shall obliterate his memory from the earth, concealing his body in such a manner that others will futilely seek his resting place. At first, people will note his absence, discussing his disappearance and pondering what has happened to him, but eventually, they will forget him entirely as if he never existed.
Solomon urges the young man to resist the malevolent temptations of the wicked, who might entice him to join in their sinful acts under the guise of evading consequences and by cunningly concealing the outcomes of their wickedness. Let us consume him, continue the corrupt, as though we are a living abyss; let us remove him without hesitation, doing to him as is done to those who fall victim in a catastrophe: the earth unexpectedly opens before them, swallowing them alive in the domain of death. We will unintentionally assault a blameless individual, ensuring he is forgotten, and we will bury him while he is vibrant and strong. We will erase him from the earth’s memory, hiding his remains in such a way that seekers will find no trace of a grave. Initially, people will wonder where he has gone and what has become of him, but eventually, they will forget him completely as if he never existed. Solomon advises the young man not to succumb to the treacherous whispers of the wicked, even if they entice him to partake in their wrongdoing with promises of escape from judgment and the clever concealment of their nefarious deeds.
Passages read together with this verse.
THEOSIS