Amplified Bible
Proverbs 27:20
20Sheol (the place of the dead) and Abaddon (the underworld) are never satisfied; Nor are the eyes of man ever satisfied.
Proverbs 27:20 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.
- New International Version (NIV)Death and Destruction are never satisfied, and neither are human eyes.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied, and never satisfied are the eyes of man.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Hell and Destruction are never full; So the eyes of man are never satisfied.
Context of Proverbs 27:20
18He who tends the fig tree will eat its fruit, And he who faithfully protects and cares for his master will be honored. 19As in water face reflects face, So the heart of man reflects man. Sheol (the place of the dead) and Abaddon (the underworld) are never satisfied; Nor are the eyes of man ever satisfied. 21The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold [to separate the impurities of the metal], And each is tested by the praise given to him [and his response to it, whether humble or proud]. 22Even though you pound a [hardened, arrogant] fool [who rejects wisdom] in a mortar with a pestle like grain, Yet his foolishness will not leave him.
Read all of Proverbs 27Proverbs 27:20 word by word
שְׁא֣וֹל וַ֭אֲבַדּוֹ לֹ֣א תִשְׂבַּ֑עְנָה וְעֵינֵ֥י הָ֝אָדָ֗ם לֹ֣א תִשְׂבַּֽעְנָה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 27:20
- Proverbs 30:15The leech has two daughters, “Give, give!” There are three things that are never satisfied, Four that do not say, “It is enough”:
- Habakkuk 2:5Moreover, wine is treacherous and betrays the arrogant man, So that he does not stay at home. His appetite is large like Sheol, And he is like death, never satisfied. He gathers to himself all nations And collects to himself all peoples [as if he owned them].
- Proverbs 23:5When you set your eyes on wealth, it is [suddenly] gone. For wealth certainly makes itself wings Like an eagle that flies to the heavens.
- Ecclesiastes 1:8All things are wearisome and all words are frail; Man cannot express it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor is the ear filled with hearing.
- Ecclesiastes 2:10Whatever my eyes looked at with desire I did not refuse them. I did not withhold from my heart any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor; and this was my reward for all my labor.
- Ecclesiastes 5:10He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its gain. This too is vanity (emptiness).
- Ecclesiastes 6:7All the labor of man is for his mouth [for self-preservation and enjoyment], and yet the desire [of his soul] is not satisfied.
- Jeremiah 22:17“But your eyes and your heart Are only intent on your own dishonest gain, On shedding innocent blood, On oppression and extortion and violence.”
- 1 John 2:16For all that is in the world—the lust and sensual craving of the flesh and the lust and longing of the eyes and the boastful pride of life [pretentious confidence in one’s resources or in the stability of earthly things]—these do not come from the Father, but are from the world.
Commentaries on Proverbs 27:20
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20Hell and destruction are never full - How hideous must the soul of a covetous man be, when God compares it to hell and perdition! The eyes of man are never satisfied - As the grave can never be filled up with bodies, nor perdition with souls; so the restless desire, the lust of power, riches, and splendor, is never satisfied. Out of this ever unsatisfied desire spring all the changing fashions, the varied amusements, and the endless modes of getting…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20Hades, the world of the dead, and Destruction (Death, the destroying power, personified) have been at all times and in all countries thought of as all-devouring, insatiable (compare the marginal reference). Yet one thing is equally so, the lust of the eye, the restless craving which grows with what it feeds on Ecclesiastes 1:8.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 20Verse 20 Two things are here said to be never satisfied, death and sin. The appetites of the carnal mind for profit or pleasure are always desiring more. Those whose eyes are ever toward the Lord, are satisfied in him, and shall for ever be so.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20Sheol and Abaddon: See study note on Proverbs 15:11. People never find true satisfaction in money, power, or pleasure.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. Men's cupidity is as insatiable as the grave.Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 27:20
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Proverbs 27
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
Amplified Bible — © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631
Commentaries