When I was looking for a modern English Bible in the Public Domain, I found the World English Bible (WEB). It met my basic requirement, but I still had a concern: is it good? Then I decided to check its translation for 1 Corinthians 15 - a chapter that I was more familiar with. The following is the comparison of verse 55 among three different translations:

King James Version

O death, where is thy sting?
   O grave, where is thy victory?

New International Version

Where, O death, is your victory?
   Where, O death, is your sting?

World English Bible

Death, where is your sting?
   Hades, where is your victory?

I was very excited, WEB is accurate! No other translations can be more accurate than using Hades, because it is the original Greek word. Hades is equivalent to the Hebrew "sheol" used in the Old Testament. It means the state or place of departed souls. Here, Hades may refer to the soul awaiting for judgement. It is at the "gate" (Matthew 16:18) to either Heaven or hell. If the judgement is positive, death will be "swallowed up" (in previous verse) and Hades will enter Heaven with victory.

The printed versions of Greek New Testament can be classified into two text-types: Majority Text (Byzantine text-type) and Critical Text (Alexandrian text-type). Like the King James Version, World English Bible is based on the Majority Text, while NIV is based on the Critical Text. In the Majority Text, Hades appears 11 times in the New Testament, but only 10 times in the Critical Text. Their difference is in this very verse, where "Hades" in the Majority Text is replaced by "death" in the Critical Text. In my opinion, the use of the word "Hades" seems more appropriate.

In the King James Version, "Hades" was translated as "grave" in this verse, but as "hell" in all other instances. The reason why it was translated differently in this particular verse is probably because the sentence "O hell, where is thy victory?" does not make sense. However, it is still hard to understand how the grave can be associated with victory.

Frank Lee
Author, How Can the Soul Go To Heaven?

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