Proverbs 15:11

11 Death and Destruction[a] lie open before the LORD— how much more do human hearts!

Proverbs 15:11 in Other Translations

King James Version (KJV)
11 Hell and destruction are before the LORD: how much more then the hearts of the children of men?
English Standard Version (ESV)
11 Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD; how much more the hearts of the children of man!
New Living Translation (NLT)
11 Even Death and Destruction hold no secrets from the LORD . How much more does he know the human heart!
The Message Bible (MSG)
11 Even hell holds no secrets from God - do you think he can't read human hearts? Life Ascends to the Heights
American Standard Version (ASV)
11 Sheol and Abaddon are before Jehovah: How much more then the hearts of the children of men!
GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)
11 If Sheol and Abaddon lie open in front of the LORD how much more the human heart!
Holman Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
11 Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the Lord - how much more, human hearts.
New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
11 Death and the Grave lie open in front of the Lord. So the hearts of mere men certainly lie open to him!

Proverbs 15:11 Meaning and Commentary

Proverbs 15:11

Hell and destruction [are] before the Lord
Or "the grave" F1, which is the pit of destruction; where bodies being put, putrefy, and are destroyed by worms: this is known by the Lord, even the grave of everyone from the beginning; the graves of Adam, Abel, Abraham; he knows where their dust lies, and will raise it up again at the last day. Hades, or the invisible state of the departed, as the Septuagint has it, is manifest before him; he knows where departed spirits are; what their condition and employment be; and so the place and state of the damned, known by the name of "hell"; and may be called "destruction", where soul and body are destroyed by the Lord with an everlasting destruction; and is the destruction which the broad way of sin leads unto. Now though we know not where this place is, who are there, and what the torments endured in it; yet all is before the Lord, and known to him: "tophet" is ordained of old; everlasting fire is prepared by the Lord for devils and wicked men; see ( Job 26:6 ) ; how much more then the hearts of the children of men?
which, though desperately wicked, are known by him; who is the searcher of the hearts and the trier of the reins of the children of men: he to whom hell is naked, and can look into that outer darkness, the blackness of darkness, can look into a man's heart, a second hell, in which all manner of wickedness is, and observe it all; he needs no testimony of man; he knows what is in man, all his secret thoughts, wicked purposes, designs, and devices; see ( Jeremiah 17:9 Jeremiah 17:10 ) ( John 2:25 ) ( Hebrews 4:12 Hebrews 4:13 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F1 (lwav) "sepulchrum", Munster, Piscator, Mercerus, so Ben Melech.

Proverbs 15:11 In-Context

9 The LORD detests the way of the wicked, but he loves those who pursue righteousness.
10 Stern discipline awaits anyone who leaves the path; the one who hates correction will die.
11 Death and Destruction lie open before the LORD— how much more do human hearts!
12 Mockers resent correction, so they avoid the wise.
13 A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.

Cross References 2

  • 1. S Job 26:6; Psalms 139:8
  • 2. S 1 Samuel 2:3; S 2 Chronicles 6:30; S Psalms 44:21; S Revelation 2:23

Footnotes 1

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