Proverbs 27:20
18 Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit, and he who looks after his master will be honored.
19 As water reflects the face, so the heart reflects the true man.
Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.
21 A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold, but a man is tested by the praise accorded him.
22 Though you grind a fool like grain with mortar and a pestle, yet his folly will not depart from him.
Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.
- KJV
- Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.
- WEB
- Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied; and a man’s eyes are never satisfied.
- ASV
- Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied; And the eyes of man are never satisfied.
- DARBY
- Sheol and destruction are insatiable; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.
- BLB
- Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied, and the eyes of the man are never satisfied.
- ÅB
- Dødsriket og avgrunnen blir ikke mette, og menneskenes øyne blir heller ikke mette.
- OTB
- Sheol og Abaddon blir aldri tilfredsstilt, og det blir heller ikke en persons øyne.
- B1930
- Dødsriket og avgrunnen blir ikke mette, og menneskenes øine blir heller ikke mette.
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
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.
Read in context1 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.
Read in contextProverbs 30:15–16
The leech has two daughters: Give and Give. There are three things that are never satisfied, four that never say, ‘Enough!’:
Read in contextEcclesiastes 6:7
All a man’s labor is for his mouth, yet his appetite is never satisfied.
Read in contextHabakkuk 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.
Read in contextEcclesiastes 2:10–11
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.
Read in contextEcclesiastes 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.
Read in contextEcclesiastes 5:10–11
He who loves money is never satisfied by money, and he who loves wealth is never satisfied by income. This too is futile.
Read in context