Bible Strands
Proverbs 15:11
Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD—how much more the hearts of men!
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The text is a wisdom maxim placed between warnings about rejecting correction (15:10) and the refusal of mockers to seek counsel (15:12). The author addresses the reader generally, contrasting the visibility of the underworld with the visibility of human interiority.
The words — שְׁא֣וֹל (Sheol) and אֲבַדּוֹן (Abaddon) are described as lying נֶ֣גֶד (before) יְהוָ֑ה (Yahweh). The Hebrew particle אַ֝֗ף (indeed/also) paired with כִּֽי\־ (for) introduces the comparative clause that the לִבּ֥וֹת (hearts) of בְּֽנֵי\־ (children of) men are equally exposed.
The thread — The theme of divine exposure of hidden places and inner life appears in Psalms 139:8, where Yahweh's presence extends into Sheol, and Psalms 44:21, which states God discovers the secrets of the heart. Hebrews 4:13 later applies this same principle to creation, noting nothing remains uncovered before God.
Why it lands — The text states that the underworld and human hearts are equally open to Yahweh's sight, demanding recognition that no inner life escapes divine awareness. It requires the reader to abandon pretense and accept that God's knowledge encompasses both the grave and the human heart.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Hell and destruction are before the Lord: how much more then the hearts of the children of men?
Cross-references
- Psalms 44:21 would not God have discovered, since He knows the secrets of the heart?
- Psalms 139:8 If I ascend to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there.
- Hebrews 4:13 Nothing 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.
- 2 Chronicles 6:30 be 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 26:6 Sheol is naked before God, and Abaddon has no covering.
- Revelation 2:23 Then 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.
- 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 LORD sees the heart.”
- Proverbs 27:20 Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.
- 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.
- Revelation 1:18 the Living One. I was dead, and behold, now I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of Death and of Hades.