Proverbs 15:11
in Proverbs 15Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD—how much more the hearts of men!
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Sheol and Abaddon are before Jehovah; How much more then the hearts of the children of men!
KJV
Hell and destruction are before the Lord: how much more then the hearts of the children of men?
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This verse in Proverbs 15
Commentary
5 notes on this verseHell and destruction are before the Lord,.... Or "the grave" (a), which is the pit of destruction; where bodies being put, putrefy, and are destroyed by worms: this is known by the Lord, even the grave of everyone from the beginning; the graves of Adam, Abel, Abraham; he knows where their dust lies, and will raise it up again at the last day.
This site's exposition
Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way
on Proverbs 15:10-12
Correction is grievous to the man who has already forsaken the right way, and the one who hates reproof is warned plainly that he shall die, the proverb naming the stakes rather than softening them. Hell and destruction lie open before the Lord, so how much more the hearts of the children of men, an argument from the greater to the lesser that leaves no human heart hidden from him. The scorner completes the group by refusing correction outright, loving no one who reproves him and never once going near the wise for fear of what he might hear.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
Hell and destruction - שאול ואבדון sheol vaabaddon. Hades, the invisible world, the place of separate spirits till the resurrection: and Abaddon, the place of torment; are ever under the eye and control of the Lord.
YOU HAVE OFTEN smiled at the ignorance of heathens who bow themselves before gods of wood and stone. You have quoted the words of Scripture, and you have said, “Eyes have they but they see not; ears have they, but they hear not.” You have therefore argued that they could not be gods at all, because they could neither see nor hear, and you have smiled contemptuously at the men who could so debase their understandings as to make such things objects of adoration. May I ask you one question—but one? Your God can both see and hear: would your conduct be in any respect different, if you had a god such as those that the heathen worship? Suppose for one minute, that Jehovah, who is nominally adored in this land, could be (though it is almost blasphemy to suppose it) smitten with such a blindness, that he could not see the works and know the thoughts of man: would you then become more careless concerning him than you are now? I trow not. In nine cases out of ten, and perhaps in a far larger and sadder proportion, the doctrine of Divine Omniscience, although it is received and believed, has no practical effect upon our lives at all. The mass of mankind forget God: whole nations who know his existence and believe that he beholds them, live as if they had no God at all. Merchants, farmers, men in their shops, and in their fields, husbands in their families, and wives in the midst of their households, live as if there were no God; no eye inspecting them; no ear listening to the voice of their lips, and no eternal mind always treasuring up the recollection of their acts.
YOU HAVE OFTEN smiled at the ignorance of heathens who bow themselves before gods of wood and stone. You have quoted the words of Scripture, and you have said, “Eyes have they but they see not; ears have they, but they hear not.” You have therefore argued that they could not be gods at all, because they could neither see nor hear, and you have smiled contemptuously at the men who could so debase their understandings as to make such things objects of adoration. May I ask you one question—but one?
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
The grave and Destruction are opposite the Lord It is revealed to Him all that are therein.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Harsh discipline will come to him who forsakes the way Harsh suffering is ready for him who transgresses the way of the Holy One, blessed be He.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| שְׁא֣וֹל | sheol | Sheol | H7585 → | 66 times |
| וַ֭אֲבַדּוֹן | vaavadon | and Abaddon | H11 → | |
| נֶ֣גֶד | neged | [are] before | H5048 → | 151 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אַ֝֗ף | ʾaf | indeed? | H637 → | 134 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לִבּ֥וֹת | libot | [the] hearts of | H3826 → | 7 times |
| בְּֽנֵי־ | benei- | [the] children of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אָדָֽם׃ | ʾadam | humankind | H120 → | 551 times |
שְׁא֣וֹלSheol
sheolH7585 →66 times
וַ֭אֲבַדּוֹןand Abaddon
vaavadonH11 →
נֶ֣גֶד[are] before
negedH5048 →151 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אַ֝֗ףindeed?
ʾafH637 →134 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
לִבּ֥וֹת[the] hearts of
libotH3826 →7 times
בְּֽנֵי־[the] children of
benei-H1121 →4930 times
אָדָֽם׃humankind
ʾadamH120 →551 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
- Ecclesiastes 12:14
For God will bring every deed into judgment, along with every hidden thing, whether good or evil.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 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.
- 2 Corinthians 5:10
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad.
- Ecclesiastes 12:14
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
- Job 34:21–22
For His eyes are on the ways of a man, and He sees his every step.
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.
- Job 34:21–22
Through
Psalms 44:21would not God have discovered, since He knows the secrets of the heart?
it leads to
- Jeremiah 17:10
I, the LORD, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve.
- Jeremiah 17:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; Charles Spurgeon, The New Park Street Pulpit, Sermon No. 177: “God, the All-Seeing One” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament.