Add parallel Print Page Options

20 Just as Death and Destruction[a] are never satisfied,
    so human desire is never satisfied.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 27:20 Hebrew Sheol and Abaddon.

20 Death and Destruction[a] are never satisfied,(A)
    and neither are human eyes.(B)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 27:20 Hebrew Abaddon

Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.

Read full chapter

All things are wearisome,
    more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing,(A)
    nor the ear its fill of hearing.

Read full chapter

16 For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.

Read full chapter

16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh,(A) the lust of the eyes,(B) and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.

Read full chapter

15 The leech has two suckers
    that cry out, “More, more!”[a]

There are three things that are never satisfied—
    no, four that never say, “Enough!”:
16 the grave,[b]
    the barren womb,
    the thirsty desert,
    the blazing fire.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 30:15 Hebrew two daughters who cry out, “Give, give!”
  2. 30:16 Hebrew Sheol.

15 “The leech has two daughters.
    ‘Give! Give!’ they cry.

“There are three things that are never satisfied,(A)
    four that never say, ‘Enough!’:
16 the grave,(B) the barren womb,
    land, which is never satisfied with water,
    and fire, which never says, ‘Enough!’

Read full chapter

Wealth[a] is treacherous,
    and the arrogant are never at rest.
They open their mouths as wide as the grave,[b]
    and like death, they are never satisfied.
In their greed they have gathered up many nations
    and swallowed many peoples.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 2:5a As in Dead Sea Scroll 1QpHab; other Hebrew manuscripts read Wine.
  2. 2:5b Hebrew as Sheol.

indeed, wine(A) betrays him;
    he is arrogant(B) and never at rest.
Because he is as greedy as the grave
    and like death is never satisfied,(C)
he gathers to himself all the nations
    and takes captive(D) all the peoples.

Read full chapter

All people spend their lives scratching for food, but they never seem to have enough.

Read full chapter

Everyone’s toil is for their mouth,
    yet their appetite is never satisfied.(A)

Read full chapter

10 Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. 11 But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.

Read full chapter

10 I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
    I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my labor,
    and this was the reward for all my toil.
11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
    and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;(A)
    nothing was gained under the sun.(B)

Read full chapter

This is the case of a man who is all alone, without a child or a brother, yet who works hard to gain as much wealth as he can. But then he asks himself, “Who am I working for? Why am I giving up so much pleasure now?” It is all so meaningless and depressing.

Read full chapter

There was a man all alone;
    he had neither son nor brother.
There was no end to his toil,
    yet his eyes were not content(A) with his wealth.
“For whom am I toiling,” he asked,
    “and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?”
This too is meaningless—
    a miserable business!

Read full chapter

10 Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! 11 The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth—except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers!

Read full chapter

10 Whoever loves money never has enough;
    whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income.
    This too is meaningless.

11 As goods increase,
    so do those who consume them.
And what benefit are they to the owners
    except to feast their eyes on them?

Read full chapter

17 “But you! You have eyes only for greed and dishonesty!
    You murder the innocent,
    oppress the poor, and reign ruthlessly.”

Read full chapter

17 “But your eyes and your heart
    are set only on dishonest gain,(A)
on shedding innocent blood(B)
    and on oppression and extortion.”(C)

Read full chapter

In the blink of an eye wealth disappears,
    for it will sprout wings
    and fly away like an eagle.

Read full chapter

Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone,(A)
    for they will surely sprout wings
    and fly off to the sky like an eagle.(B)

Read full chapter

11 Even Death and Destruction[a] hold no secrets from the Lord.
    How much more does he know the human heart!

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 15:11 Hebrew Sheol and Abaddon.

11 Death and Destruction[a] lie open before the Lord(A)
    how much more do human hearts!(B)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 15:11 Hebrew Abaddon

The underworld[a] is naked in God’s presence.
    The place of destruction[b] is uncovered.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 26:6a Hebrew Sheol.
  2. 26:6b Hebrew Abaddon.

The realm of the dead(A) is naked before God;
    Destruction[a](B) lies uncovered.(C)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Job 26:6 Hebrew Abaddon