Proverbs 27:20

20 Sheol and Abaddon will not be satisfied, and the eyes of a person will not be satisfied [either].

Proverbs 27:20 Meaning and Commentary

Proverbs 27:20

Hell and destruction are never full
The grave, as the word used often signifies; and which may be called "destruction", because bodies laid in it are soon corrupted and destroyed; and though bodies are cast into it and devoured by it, it is ready for more; it is one of the four things which never have enough. The place where Gog is said to be buried is called Hamongog, the multitude of Gog, ( Ezekiel 39:11 ) ; and by the Septuagint there Polyandrion, which is the name the Greeks give to a burying place, because many men are buried there; and with the Latins the dead are called Plures F15, the many, or the more; and yet the grave is never satisfied with them, ( Proverbs 30:16 ) . Or hell, the place of everlasting damnation and destruction, is meant, which has received multitudes of souls already, and where there is room for more, nor will it be full until the last day; so the eyes of man are never satisfied;
as not the eyes of his body with seeing corporeal objects, but still are desirous of seeing more, and indeed everything that is to be seen, and are never glutted, ( Ecclesiastes 1:8 ) ; so neither the eyes of the carnal mind, or the lusts of it, which are insatiable things, let the objects of them be what they will; as in an ambitious man, a covetous person, or an unclean one.


FOOTNOTES:

F15 Plauti Trinum, Act. 2. Sc. 2. v. 14.

Proverbs 27:20 In-Context

18 He who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit, and he who guards his master will be honored.
19 As the waters [reflect] {face to face}, so the heart of a person [reflects] the person.
20 Sheol and Abaddon will not be satisfied, and the eyes of a person will not be satisfied [either].
21 A crucible [is] for the silver, and a furnace for the gold, but a man [is tested by] the mouth of him who praises him.
22 If you crush a fool in the mortar with the pestle {along with} the crushed grain, it will not drive folly from upon him.

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. A term for the place where the dead reside, i.e., the Underworld
  • [b]. Poetic synonym for "Sheol." Only mentioned in the ot in relation to Sheol, the grave, or death.
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.