The Meaning of Proverbs 27:20 Explained

Proverbs 27:20

KJV: Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.

YLT: Sheol and destruction are not satisfied, And the eyes of man are not satisfied.

Darby: Sheol and destruction are insatiable; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.

ASV: Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied; And the eyes of man are never satisfied.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Hell  and destruction  are never  full;  so the eyes  of man  are never satisfied. 

What does Proverbs 27:20 Mean?

Study Notes

grave
Also; Proverbs 30:16 , Heb. "Sheol," .
hell
Sheol is, in the O.T., the place to which the dead go.
(1) Often, therefore, it is spoken of as the equivalent of the grave, merely, where all human activities cease; the terminus toward which all human life moves (e.g. Genesis 42:38 grave Job 14:13 grave Psalms 88:3 grave
(2) To the man "under the sun," the natural man, who of necessity judges from appearances, sheol seems no more than the grave-- the end and total cessation, not only of the activities of life, but of life itself. Ecclesiastes 9:5 ; Ecclesiastes 9:10
(3) But Scripture reveals sheol as a place of sorrow 2 Samuel 22:6 ; Psalms 18:5 ; Psalms 116:3 ; in which the wicked are turned Psalms 9:17 and where they are fully conscious; Isaiah 14:9-17 ; Ezekiel 32:21 see, especially, Jonah 2:2 what the belly of the great fish was to Jonah that sheol is to those who are therein). The sheol of the O.T. and hades of the N.T. (See Scofield " Luke 16:23 ") are identical.

Context Summary

Proverbs 27:1-22 - "hearty Counsel"
The keyword in this paragraph is friends, Proverbs 27:6; Proverbs 27:9-10; Proverbs 27:14; Proverbs 27:17; Proverbs 19:1-29. Friends, according to the original sense of the Hebrew word, are those who delight in each other's companionship. Either they are useful to each other because the one possesses gifts that the other lacks, or they have certain tastes in common.
It is in friendship that we get to know ourselves, as a man sees his face in the mirror of calm water, Proverbs 27:19. We unfold to each other; our friend elicits traits of which we were hardly aware. Our sympathy and tenderness are drawn forth by our friend's troubles, as our laughter flashes out to awaken or to answer his high spirits. We shudder to think what cold and undeveloped beings we should be without the sharpening of friendship, Proverbs 27:17. How sweet human friendships are! Proverbs 27:9. Why not find equal confidence and sweetness in the greatest Friend of all? Of course, there is a friendship "which is wholly hypocritical and worthless." Such a friendship is marked by loud and ostentatious demonstration. See Proverbs 27:14. Ponder Christ's offer, John 15:14-15. [source]

Chapter Summary: Proverbs 27

1  observations of self love
5  of true love
11  of care to avoid offenses
23  and of the household care

What do the individual words in Proverbs 27:20 mean?

Hell destruction and Destruction never are full so the eyes of man are satisfied
שְׁא֣וֹל [ואבדה] (וַ֭אֲבַדּוֹ) לֹ֣א תִשְׂבַּ֑עְנָה וְעֵינֵ֥י הָ֝אָדָ֗ם תִשְׂבַּֽעְנָה

שְׁא֣וֹל  Hell 
Parse: Noun, common singular
Root: שְׁאֹול  
Sense: sheol, underworld, grave, hell, pit.
[ואבדה]  destruction 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
(וַ֭אֲבַדּוֹ)  and  Destruction 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: אֲבַדֹּה  
Sense: a lost thing, something lost, a perishing.
לֹ֣א  never 
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
תִשְׂבַּ֑עְנָה  are  full 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person feminine plural
Root: שָׂבַע  
Sense: to be satisfied, be sated, be fulfilled, be surfeited.
וְעֵינֵ֥י  so  the  eyes 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, cdc
Root: עֹונָה 
Sense: eye.
הָ֝אָדָ֗ם  of  man 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: אָדָם 
Sense: man, mankind.
תִשְׂבַּֽעְנָה  are  satisfied 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person feminine plural
Root: שָׂבַע  
Sense: to be satisfied, be sated, be fulfilled, be surfeited.