Proverbs 15:11 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the Lord; how much more the hearts of the children of man!

NIV: Death and Destruction lie open before the Lord— how much more do human hearts!

NASB: Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the Lord, How much more the hearts of mankind!

CSB: Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the Lord — how much more, human hearts.

NLT: Even Death and Destruction hold no secrets from the Lord. How much more does he know the human heart!

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.

Following up on his prior statement (Proverbs 15:10), Solomon explains how God's infinite knowledge includes understanding death, eternity, and the consequences of sin. Sheol is the word for the unseen world, used in the Old Testament to refer to death or the grave. In other words, the Lord sees everything and everyone in the realm of the dead.

God also sees Abaddon and everything in it. Abaddon, meaning "destruction," corresponds to what the New Testament sometimes calls "the abyss:" the dwelling place of evil spirits or departed souls (Romans 10:7; Revelation 9:1–2). Luke 8:31 reports that the demons that Jesus cast out of a man in the country of the Gerasenes begged Jesus not to send them into the abyss. Revelation 9:1 and 11 refer to the abyss as "the bottomless pit," and names the king of demons as Abaddon.

Surely, if Sheol and Abaddon are visible to God, He can see the hearts of human beings (Hebrews 4:13)! This openness of the heart relates to Jesus' knowledge of the human heart. John 2:25 says Jesus "needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man."

Proverbs 15:6–12 contrasts the righteous and the wicked; in the context of the book of Proverbs, these two groups are also defined as those who are "wise" and those who are "foolish." Many of these comparisons are from God's perspective. Even good deeds and rituals performed by those who disobey God are offensive to Him. And yet, He accepts the prayers of those who sincerely seek His will. The Lord loves those who love Him, but He consigns the wicked to eternal punishment (Proverbs 10:29).

Solomon begins this chapter of Proverbs by addressing subjects such as anger and self-control and how those reactions produce different responses from others. That extends to how carefully a person guards their words, and their responses to questions. Wise people seek wisdom and humbly accept it. Foolish people are careless, lazy, or arrogant. Solomon also notes the importance of perspective, and once again commends those who sincerely seek godly wisdom.

Chapter 10 began a long list of Solomon's wise sayings. This passage continues to emphasize common themes such as hard work, humility, godly wisdom, and self-control. This extended collection of proverbs continues through much of chapter 22.

Proverbs is best understood in context with the books of Ecclesiastes and Job. In Proverbs, “wisdom” is given in short, simple, general terms. Ecclesiastes represents wisdom based on observation and experience. This often shows how the general principles of the book of Proverbs don’t apply in absolutely every circumstance. Job represents wisdom based on the experience of suffering and injustice. All three come to the conclusion that God does indeed know best, and the most sensible course of action is to follow His will.