Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD—how much more the hearts of men!
Parallel translations
- WEB Sheol and Abaddon are before Yahweh — 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?
- NKJV Hell and Destruction are before the Lord; So how much more the hearts of the sons of men.
- NASB Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the Lord, How much more the hearts of mankind!
- NLT Even Death and Destruction hold no secrets from the Lord. How much more does he know the human heart!
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
If even Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD, how much more do human hearts. Nothing is hidden from God.
Overview
This proverb reasons from the greater to the lesser: if the realm of the dead is fully exposed to God, surely He sees every human heart. It magnifies God's omniscience, reaching even into the most hidden places. This truth humbles us before the God who searches and knows us completely (Psalm 139:1-4).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Ps 44:21would not God have discovered, since He knows the secrets of the heart?
- Heb 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.
- Ps 139:8If I ascend to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there.
- 2 Chr 6:30be heard by You from heaven, Your dwelling place. And may You forgive and repay each man according to all his ways, since You know his heart—for You alone know the hearts of men—
- Job 26:6Sheol is naked before God, and Abaddon has no covering.
- Rev 2:23Then I will strike her children dead, and all the churches will know that I am the One who searches minds and hearts, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.
- Rev 1:18the Living One. I was dead, and behold, now I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of Death and of Hades.
- 1 Sam 16:7But 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 LORD sees the heart.”
- Jer 17:10I, the LORD, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve.
- Prov 27:20Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.
- Ps 7:9Put an end to the evil of the wicked, but establish the righteous, O righteous God who searches hearts and minds.
- John 21:17Jesus asked a third time, “Simon son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was deeply hurt that Jesus had asked him a third time, “Do you love Me?” “Lord, You know all things,” he replied. “You know I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.
- John 2:24–25But Jesus did not entrust Himself to them, for He knew them all.
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Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 15:11 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
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