6:5 But the Lord saw 1 that the wickedness of humankind had become great on the earth. Every inclination 2 of the thoughts 3 of their minds 4 was only evil 5 all the time. 6
59:7 They are eager to do evil, 7
quick to shed innocent blood. 8
Their thoughts are sinful;
they crush and destroy. 9
65:2 I spread out my hands all day long
to my rebellious people,
who lived in a way that is morally unacceptable,
and who did what they desired. 10
4:14 “Oh people of Jerusalem, purify your hearts from evil 11
so that you may yet be delivered.
How long will you continue to harbor up
wicked schemes within you?
1:28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, 15 God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what should not be done. 16
1 sn The Hebrew verb translated “saw” (רָאָה, ra’ah), used here of God’s evaluation of humankind’s evil deeds, contrasts with God’s evaluation of creative work in Gen 1, when he observed that everything was good.
2 tn The noun יֵצֶר (yetser) is related to the verb יָצָר (yatsar, “to form, to fashion [with a design]”). Here it refers to human plans or intentions (see Gen 8:21; 1 Chr 28:9; 29:18). People had taken their God-given capacities and used them to devise evil. The word יֵצֶר (yetser) became a significant theological term in Rabbinic literature for what might be called the sin nature – the evil inclination (see also R. E. Murphy, “Yeser in the Qumran Literature,” Bib 39 [1958]: 334-44).
3 tn The related verb הָשָׁב (hashav) means “to think, to devise, to reckon.” The noun (here) refers to thoughts or considerations.
4 tn Heb “his heart” (referring to collective “humankind”). The Hebrew term לֵב (lev, “heart”) frequently refers to the seat of one’s thoughts (see BDB 524 s.v. לֵב). In contemporary English this is typically referred to as the “mind.”
5 sn Every inclination of the thoughts of their minds was only evil. There is hardly a stronger statement of the wickedness of the human race than this. Here is the result of falling into the “knowledge of good and evil”: Evil becomes dominant, and the good is ruined by the evil.
6 tn Heb “all the day.”
7 tn Heb “their feet run to evil.”
8 tn Heb “they quickly pour out innocent blood.”
9 tn Heb “their thoughts are thoughts of sin, destruction and crushing [are] in their roadways.”
10 tn Heb “who walked [in] the way that is not good, after their thoughts.”
11 tn Heb “Oh, Jerusalem, wash your heart from evil.”
12 tn Or “and implore the Lord.”
13 tn Grk “that if possible the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.” The passive construction is somewhat awkward in contemporary English and has thus been converted to an active construction in the translation.
14 tn Grk “heart.”
15 tn Grk “and just as they did not approve to have God in knowledge.”
16 tn Grk “the things that are improper.”