Sirach 51:5 (WEB)
out of the depth of the belly of Hades, from an unclean tongue, and from lying words—
As quoted in the map (KJV)
Sirach 51:5 (KJV)
From the depth of the belly of hell, from an unclean tongue, and from lying words.
Key words
- ἐκ βάθους κοιλίας ᾅδουek bathous koilias hadou · Greek
- 'from the depth of the belly of hell' — koilia is 'womb' as well as 'belly'; death is entering the womb of Hades.
Why it matters
Ben Sira thanks God for rescue 'from the depth of the womb of Hades.' Pitre cites it as the sharpest of the texts that picture the grave as a womb (p 137). If death is a return to the womb, then rising from the sealed tomb is a kind of birth — which is how Ephrem could say the seal of the tomb bore witness to the seal of the womb, and why Jesus risen is 'the firstborn among many brethren' (Romans 8:29).