Job 26:6
in Job 26Sheol is naked before God, and Abaddon has no covering.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Sheol is naked before God, And Abaddon hath no covering.
KJV
Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering.
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This verse in Job 26
Commentary
11 notes on this verseHell is naked before Him, and destruction hath no covering. Which same Paul likewise saith, But all things are naked and opened unto His eyes. But by the title of 'hell' and 'perdition' he denoted the devil and all the associates of his condemnation; but Who that One is before whom 'hell is naked,' he goes on with telling.
This site's exposition
The dead tremble
on Job 26:5-6
The dead who tremble, "those beneath the waters", are the Hebrew rephaim, the shades of the underworld. "Sheol is naked before God, and Abaddon has no covering". Gill reads the pair as Job's opening move in the account of creation, from the deepest place to the height of the heavens.
This site's exposition
Sheol is naked before God
From verse 5 Job's account of God's power starts in the depths. Barnes takes Sheol as the abode of the dead, and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read Abaddon as the place of destruction, as at Revelation 9:11. Both lie open to God's eyes.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
One should not believe that divine providence extends only to judging men in this life, and not after death, as the friends of Job seemed to think. To disprove this he then says, "Hell is naked before him," as if to say: The things which …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
That is hell and destruction, which are said to be before the Lord ( Prov. xv. 11 ), and here to be naked before him, to which it is probable there is an allusion, Rev. xiv. 10 , where sinners are to be tormented in the presence of the holy angels (who attended the Shechinah) and in the presence of the Lamb.
Hell - Is in his presence, and under his providence. Hell itself, that place of utter darkness, is not hid from his sight. Destruction - The place of destruction.
Hell is naked before him,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Hell is naked before him - Sheol, the place of the dead, or of separate spirits, is always in his view. And there is no covering to Abaddon - the place of the destroyer, where destruction reigns, and where those dwell who are eternally separated from God. The ancients thought that hell or Tartarus was a vast space in the center, or at the very bottom of the earth.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
"Sheol" comes from a Hebrew root--"ask," because it is insatiable (Pr 27:20); or "ask as a loan to be returned," implying Sheol is but a temporary abode, previous to the resurrection; so for English Version "formed," the Septuagint and Chaldee translate; shall be born, or born again, implying the dead are to be given back from Sheol and born again into a new state [MAGEE].
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Pr 5:11). destruction--the abode of destruction, that is, of lost souls. Hebrew, Abaddon (Re 9:11). no covering--from God's eyes.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Hell - Hebrew שׁאול she'ôl, Sheol; Greek ᾅδης Hadēs Hades. The reference is to the abode of departed spirits - the nether world where the dead were congregated; see the notes at Job 10:21-22. It does not mean here, as the word hell does with us, a place of punishment, but the place where all the dead were supposed to be gathered together. Is naked before him - That is, be looks directly upon that world. It is hidden from us, but not from him. He sees all its inhabitants, knows all their employments, and sways a scepter over them all. And destruction - Hebrew אבדון 'ăbaddôn, Abaddon; compare Rev 9:11, “And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.” The Hebrew word means destruction, and then abyss, or place of destruction, and is evidently given here to the place where departed spirits are supposed to reside. The word in this form occurs only here and in Pro 15:11; Psa 88:11; Job 26:6, in all which places it is rendered destruction. The idea here is, not that this is a place where souls are destroyed, but that it is a place similar to destruction - as if all life, comfort, light, and joy, were extinguished. Hath no covering - There is nothing to conceal it from God. He looks down even on that dark nether world, and sees and knows all that is there. There is a passage somewhat similar to this in Homer, quoted by Longinus as one of unrivaled sublimity, but which by no means surpasses this. It occurs in the Iliad, xx. 61-66: Εδδεισεν δ ̓ ὑτένερθεϚ ἄναξ ἐνέρων Αιδωνεὺς, κ. τ. […]
The words behind it
6 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עָר֣וֹם | arom | [is] naked | H6174 → | 16 times |
| שְׁא֣וֹל | sheol | Sheol | H7585 → | 66 times |
| נֶגְדּ֑וֹ | negdo | before him | H5048 → | 151 times |
| וְאֵ֥ין | veein | and not | H369 → | 789 times |
| כְּ֝ס֗וּת | kesut | a covering | H3682 → | 8 times |
| לָֽאֲבַדּֽוֹן׃ | laavadon | [belongs] to <the> Abaddon | H11 → | 5 times |
עָר֣וֹם[is] naked
aromH6174 →16 times
שְׁא֣וֹלSheol
sheolH7585 →66 times
נֶגְדּ֑וֹbefore him
negdoH5048 →151 times
וְאֵ֥יןand not
veeinH369 →789 times
כְּ֝ס֗וּתa covering
kesutH3682 →8 times
לָֽאֲבַדּֽוֹן׃[belongs] to <the> Abaddon
laavadonH11 →5 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Hebrews 4:13Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 4:5
Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each…
- Psalms 33:13–15
The LORD looks down from heaven; He sees all the sons of men.
- Proverbs 15:3
The eyes of the LORD are in every place, observing the evil and the good.
- Ecclesiastes 12:14
For God will bring every deed into judgment, along with every hidden thing, whether good or evil.
- 1 Samuel 16:7
But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or height, for I have rejected him; the LORD does not see as man does. For man sees the outward appearance, but the…
- 1 Corinthians 4:5
Through
Psalms 139:8If I ascend to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there.
it leads to
- Obadiah 1:4
Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, even from there I will bring you down,” declares the LORD.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Amos 9:2–4
Though they dig down to Sheol, from there My hand will take them; and though they climb up to heaven, from there I will pull them down.
- Obadiah 1:4
Through
Proverbs 15:11Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD—how much more the hearts of men!
it leads to
- Psalms 44:21
would not God have discovered, since He knows the secrets of the heart?
- Psalms 44:21
About Job
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Job; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XVII; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.