Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering.
Parallel translations
- WEB Sheol is naked before God, and Abaddon has no covering.
- BSB Sheol is naked before God, and Abaddon has no covering.
- NKJV Sheol is naked before Him, And Destruction has no covering.
- NASB “Sheol is naked before Him, And Abaddon has no covering.
- NLT The underworld is naked in God’s presence. The place of destruction is uncovered.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Sheol and Abaddon lie open and uncovered before God. It matters because nothing, not even the place of destruction, is hidden from Him.
Overview
Job affirms that the realm of the dead and the place of destruction are naked before God, fully exposed to His sight. There is no hiding place anywhere in creation. This omniscience comforts believers and warns the wicked, for the God from whom nothing is concealed has provided in Christ a covering for sin (Ps. 32:1).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Ps 139:8If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
- Prov 15:11Hell and destruction are before the LORD: how much more then the hearts of the children of men?
- Heb 4:13Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
- Amos 9:2Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down:
- Job 28:22Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears.
- Job 41:11Who hath prevented me, that I should repay him? whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine.
- Job 11:8It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know?
- Ps 139:11If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.
- Ps 88:10Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and praise thee? Selah.
- Isa 14:9Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Job's cry for a mediator who can lay his hand on both God and man, and his confidence that 'my Redeemer lives' and will stand on the earth, reaches forward to Jesus the living Redeemer.
How Job 26:6 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.