Bible Verses about Hell: The Reality of Eternal Life

The Word of God offers a stark look at the reality of hell. It’s a real place that signifies more than the absence of God’s love, it’s an eternal punishment waiting for anyone who rejects salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. In this devotional, we’ll explore some eye-opening Bible Verses about Hell that are sure to ignite a flame inside of you.

Movies and TV shows glamourize hell. They depict a fun-loving place full of the “cool kids”. You remember them from high school, they dressed in all black, smoked, drank, cussed, did all of the things our parents taught us never to do, and got away with it all!

But the reality of hell isn’t anything like this. Instead of throwing a party and dancing in the flames, the people in hell are in eternal torment. No matter what they do they’ll never have a moment’s peace and they’ll be in complete agony for the rest of eternity.

The Bible is very clear about this chilling truth of hell that awaits anyone who faces the final judgment.

What does all of this talk about hell mean anyway? Is it your destiny to end up there? Or can you avoid it?

The Bible verses in this devotional will answer these questions and more. By the time you finish reading them, you’ll know exactly what God’s Word has to say on the topic of hell. So, let’s start with some of the most popular scriptures about hell…

Top Bible Verses about Hell

While hell is not the most pleasant subject for us to study, every Christian needs to understand the truth about this very real place and how it fits into God’s plan for our redemption. It’s not about scaring you, it’s just the opposite. By reading these scary Bible verses on hell you’ll see the hope of salvation and God’s saving grace in your life.

For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,
or let your Holy One see corruption.

Acts 2:27 ESV

The wicked shall return to Sheol,
all the nations that forget God.

Psalm 9:17 ESV

He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might

2 Thessalonians 1:9–10 NIV

For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment;

2 Peter 2:4 ESV

The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 13:41–42 ESV

You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?

Matthew 23:33 ESV

What did Jesus say about Hell Bible Verses?

Jesus spoke clearly about the reality of hell. Through His parables and sermons, He described hell as a place of everlasting punishment and anguish whle emphasizing the final judgment to come. Jesus used this vivid description of hell as a warning to anyone who chooses the path of sin and pointed out that it is the fate of anyone who turns away from the free gift of God’s grace.

Because our loving God gives us a choice. We can choose eternal life by accepting His Son, Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and receive salvation and the glory of heaven. Or we can choose not to put our trust in Jesus and receive eternal separation from Him and the despair of hell. It’s our choice to make. However, Jesus reminded us of the gravity of this decision and the everlasting implications it carries with it.

The following scary Bible Verses about Hell aren’t meant to frighten you but to underscore the seriousness of your choice.

If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

Matthew 5:29 NIV


And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.

Matthew 18:9 ESV



Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Matthew 10:28 NIV


From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence, and violent people have been raiding it.

Matthew 11:12 NIV


So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”

Matthew 13:49–50 New King James Version



And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

Matthew 16:18 NIV


Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

Matthew 25:41 NIV


And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.

Mark 9:43 ESV


And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell,

Mark 9:47 NIV

But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.

Matthew 5:22 NKJV


Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

Matthew 7:13-14 NKJV

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Bible Verses about Hell Lake of Fire

The book of Revelation introduces us to the ‘lake of fire’. It’s described as a lake of burning sulfur where the wicked will be tormented day and night forever and ever. It was prepared for Satan and his followers and was never intended for people. However, anyone who rejects salvation in Jesus Christ will ultimately share the same fate as the rebellious angels.

These Bible verses about the lake of fire may sound severe but they’re meant to steer us toward the truth of God’s love and the hope of heaven we find in Him.

And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.

Jude 1:6–7 ESV

And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.

Revelation 19:20 ESV

And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Revelation 20:13–15 ESV

But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.

Revelation 21:8 ESV

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Who Goes to Hell Bible Verses

Jesus died on the cross to pay the price for our sins. His sacrifice is our golden ticket to heaven, and faith in Him is the only way in. If you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you’ll receive salvation and life after death in heaven with Him.

However, hell is the destination for those who reject Jesus and the gift of God’s grace. If you don’t accept Jesus and choose the path of unbelief, you’ll be destined to eternal torment in the fires of hell.

While God desires all of us to be saved, His justice demands accountability. This is the hard truth that we must all face.

Let these Bible verses about who goes to hell encourage you to put your faith and trust in the Son of God, Jesus Christ today! And if you’re already saved by grace, they’ll encourage your faith even more!

And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.

Matthew 25:46 NIV

Psalm 139:7-8

Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

Psalm 139:7­­–8 NIV


There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

Romans 8:1–2 ESV

since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

2 Thessalonians 1:6-8 ESV

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Sinners Go To Hell Bible Verse

The Word of God lays out a clear and sobering message… the path of sin leads to hell and eternal damnation. But we don’t have to remain sinners condemned to the fiery pit of hell.

Understanding this verse about sin is our first step toward a deeper relationship with God. It’s a call to embrace His love and mercy. It tells us the only way to avoid the ultimate consequence of our sins, faith in Jesus. And its significance can’t be overstated because it is the core message of the gospel.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:23 ESV


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Bible Verses about Hell in the Old Testament

Most people believe that hell is a New Testament revelation. But its roots are deep in the Old Testament scriptures. Many passages reveal the severity of the final judgment and everlasting punishment while highlighting God’s love and grace.

From the fiery depths described in Proverbs to the stark warnings of the prophets Isaiah, Ezekiel and Daniel, the Old Testament underscores the seriousness of sin and its consequences. These verses on hell show a loving God who calls His people to righteousness, sometimes through strong depictions of judgment. This portrayal continues throughout both the Old and New Testaments underlining God’s consistent message about sin, judgment, and our need for redemption.

Death and Destruction lie open before the Lord
how much more do human hearts!

Proverbs 15:11 NIV



The path of life leads upward for the prudent,
that he may turn away from Sheol beneath.

Proverbs 15:24 ESV


If you strike him with the rod,
you will save his soul from Sheol.

Proverbs 23:14 ESV



The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.

Ezekiel 18:20 ESV


“For as the new heavens and the new earth
Which I will make shall remain before Me,” says the Lord,
“So shall your descendants and your name remain.
And it shall come to pass
That from one New Moon to another,
And from one Sabbath to another,
All flesh shall come to worship before Me,” says the Lord.

“And they shall go forth and look
Upon the corpses of the men
Who have transgressed against Me.
For their worm does not die,
And their fire is not quenched.

Isaiah 66:22-24 New King James Version


And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

Daniel 12:2 ESV

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Bible Verses about Hell in the New Testament

The New Testament continues to describe hell as a place of unending agony, a place that we as believers should warn others about. And the book of Revelations describes the contrast between heaven and hell. Let these verses inspire you to share your faith in Jesus with a lost soul and fill you with gratitude for the sacrifice of Jesus, our loving Savior today!

At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.

Luke 16:20–24 NIV

Matthew 10:28

But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

“He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’

Luke 16:26-28 NIV


Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.

Revelation 20:11-12 NIV


Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.

Revelation 12:10 NKJV


And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Revelation 12:17 New King James Version

He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean.

Revelation 19:13-14 NIV


And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.

Revelation 14:11 NIV


Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go, pour out the seven bowls of God’s wrath on the earth.

Revelation 16:1 NIV

These people are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead. They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.

Jude 1:12-13 NIV


It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Hebrews 10:31 NKJV

For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law.

Romans 2:12 ESV

While hell isn’t the most enjoyable topic to study, I pray each of these Bible verses about hell will encourage your journey of faith and remind you of the joy of your salvation today.

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