God’s Word Translation
Proverbs 27:20
20Hell and decay are never satisfied, and a person’s eyes are never 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
18Whoever takes care of a fig tree can eat its fruit, and whoever protects his master is honored. 19As a face is reflected in water, so a person is reflected by his heart. Hell and decay are never satisfied, and a person’s eyes are never satisfied. 21The crucible is for refining silver and the smelter for gold, but a person ⌞is tested⌟ by the praise given to him. 22If you crush a stubborn fool in a mortar with a pestle along with grain, ⌞even then⌟ his stupidity 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 bloodsucking leech has two daughters—“Give!” and “Give!” Three things are never satisfied. Four never say, “Enough!”:
- Habakkuk 2:5Also because wine is treacherous he is arrogant and never rests. He has a large appetite like the grave. He is like death—never satisfied. He gathers all the nations to himself. He collects all the people to himself.
- Proverbs 23:5Will you catch only a fleeting glimpse of wealth before it is gone? It makes wings for itself like an eagle flying into the sky.
- Ecclesiastes 1:8All of these sayings are worn-out phrases. They are more than anyone can express, comprehend, or understand.
- Ecclesiastes 2:10If something appealed to me, I did it. I allowed myself to have any pleasure I wanted, since I found pleasure in my work. This was my reward for all my hard work.
- Ecclesiastes 5:10Whoever loves money will never be satisfied with money. Whoever loves wealth will never be satisfied with more income. Even this is pointless.
- Ecclesiastes 6:7Everything that people work so hard for goes into their mouths, but their appetite is never satisfied.
- Jeremiah 22:17“But your eyes and your mind are set on nothing but dishonest profits. You kill innocent people and violently oppress your people.”
- 1 John 2:16Not everything that the world offers—physical gratification, greed, and extravagant lifestyles—comes from the Father. It comes from the world, and
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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