Bible Strands
Proverbs 27:20
Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The verse sits within a collected sequence of wisdom sayings, flanked by an observation on the heart's reflection in 27:19 and a statement on how praise tests a person in 27:21.
The words — The Hebrew שְׁאוֹל (Sheol) and אֲבַדּוֹ (Abaddon) name the realm of the dead and its place of ruin, linked by the verb שָׂבַע (satisfied) to describe an unquenchable condition. The phrase עֵינֵי הָאָדָם (eyes of man) repeats that same verb to place human craving on the same plane as the underworld.
The thread — The text's pattern of insatiable appetite appears in Proverbs 30:15-16, which catalogs multiple forces that never say "enough," and Ecclesiastes 1:8, which records the eye's failure to be satisfied by seeing. The New Testament aligns with this observation in 1 John 2:16 by classifying the desires of the eyes as worldly rather than divine.
Why it lands — The text states that both the grave and human desire remain perpetually unsatisfied, establishing a factual parallel before any moral application. It asks the reader to acknowledge the inherent limits of sensory and material craving to avoid futile pursuit.
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 never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.
Cross-references
- Ecclesiastes 1:8 All things are wearisome, more than one can describe; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear content with hearing.
- 1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world.
- Proverbs 30:15 The leech has two daughters: Give and Give. There are three things that are never satisfied, four that never say, ‘Enough!’:
- Ecclesiastes 6:7 All a man’s labor is for his mouth, yet his appetite is never satisfied.
- Habakkuk 2:5 and wealth indeed betrays him. He is an arrogant man never at rest. He enlarges his appetite like Sheol, and like Death, he is never satisfied. He gathers all the nations to himself and collects all the peoples as his own.
- Ecclesiastes 2:10 Anything my eyes desired, I did not deny myself. I refused my heart no pleasure. For my heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor.
- Ecclesiastes 4:8 There is a man all alone, without even a son or brother. And though there is no end to his labor, his eyes are still not content with his wealth: “For whom do I toil and bereave my soul of enjoyment?” This too is futile—a miserable task.
- Ecclesiastes 5:10 He who loves money is never satisfied by money, and he who loves wealth is never satisfied by income. This too is futile.
- Jeremiah 22:17 “But your eyes and heart are set on nothing except your own dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood, on practicing extortion and oppression.”
- Proverbs 15:11 Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD—how much more the hearts of men!