Genesis 8:21

8:21 And the Lord smelled the soothing aroma ¹  and said ²  to himself, ³  “I will never again curse ⁴  the ground because of humankind, even though ⁵  the inclination of their minds ⁶  is evil from childhood on. ⁷  I will never again destroy everything that lives, as I have just done.

Deuteronomy 15:9

15:9 Be careful lest you entertain the wicked thought that the seventh year, the year of cancellation of debts, has almost arrived, and your attitude ⁸  be wrong toward your impoverished fellow Israelite ⁹  and you do not lend ¹⁰  him anything; he will cry out to the Lord against you and you will be regarded as having sinned. ¹¹ 

Psalms 139:2

139:2 You know when I sit down and when I get up;

even from far away you understand my motives.

Proverbs 15:26

15:26 The Lord abhors ¹²  the plans ¹³  of the wicked, ¹⁴ 

but pleasant words ¹⁵  are pure. ¹⁶ 

Proverbs 24:9

24:9 A foolish scheme ¹⁷  is sin,

and the scorner is an abomination to people. ¹⁸ 

Isaiah 55:7

55:7 The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle ¹⁹ 

and sinful people their plans. ²⁰ 

They should return ²¹  to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them, ²² 

and to their God, for he will freely forgive them. ²³ 

Isaiah 59:7

59:7 They are eager to do evil, ²⁴ 

quick to shed innocent blood. ²⁵ 

Their thoughts are sinful;

they crush and destroy. ²⁶ 

Jeremiah 4:14

4:14 “Oh people of Jerusalem, purify your hearts from evil ²⁷ 

so that you may yet be delivered.

How long will you continue to harbor up

wicked schemes within you?

Matthew 15:19

15:19 For out of the heart come evil ideas, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.

Hebrews 4:12

4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing even to the point of dividing soul from spirit, and joints from marrow; it is able to judge the desires and thoughts of the heart.

¹ tn The Lord “smelled” (וַיָּרַח, vayyarakh) a “soothing smell” (רֵיחַ הַנִּיהֹחַ, reakh hannihoakh). The object forms a cognate accusative with the verb. The language is anthropomorphic. The offering had a sweet aroma that pleased or soothed. The expression in Lev 1 signifies that God accepts the offering with pleasure, and in accepting the offering he accepts the worshiper.

² tn Heb “and the Lord said.”

³ tn Heb “in his heart.”

⁴ tn Here the Hebrew word translated “curse” is קָלָל (qalal), used in the Piel verbal stem.

⁵ tn The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) can be used in a concessive sense (see BDB 473 s.v. כִּי), which makes good sense in this context. Its normal causal sense (“for”) does not fit the context here very well.

⁶ tn Heb “the inclination of the heart of humankind.”

⁷ tn Heb “from his youth.”

⁸ tn Heb “your eye.”

⁹ tn Heb “your needy brother.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “give” (likewise in v. 10).

¹¹ tn Heb “it will be a sin to you.”

¹² tn Heb “an abomination of the Lord.” The term יְהוָה (yÿhvah, “the Lord”) functions as a subjective genitive: “the Lord abhors.”

¹³ tn The noun מַחְשְׁבוֹת (makhshÿvot) means “thoughts” (so KJV, NIV, NLT), from the verb חָשַׁב (khashav, “to think; to reckon; to devise”). So these are intentions, what is being planned (cf. NAB “schemes”).

¹⁴ tn The word רַע (“evil; wicked”) is a genitive of source or subjective genitive, meaning the plans that the wicked devise – “wicked plans.”

¹⁵ sn The contrast is between the “thoughts” and the “words.” The thoughts that are designed to hurt people the Lord hates; words that are pleasant (נֹעַם, no’am), however, are pure (to him). What is pleasant is delightful, lovely, enjoyable.

¹⁶ tc The MT simply has “but pleasant words are pure” (Heb “but pure [plural] are the words of pleasantness”). Some English versions add “to him” to make the connection to the first part (cf. NAB, NIV). The LXX has: “the sayings of the pure are held in honor.” The Vulgate has: “pure speech will be confirmed by him as very beautiful.” The NIV has paraphrased here: “but those of the pure are pleasing to him.”

¹⁷ tn Heb “the scheme of folly” (NIV similar). The genitive functions as an attributive genitive, meaning “foolish scheme.” But it could also be interpreted as a genitive of source, the scheme that comes from folly (or from the fool if “folly” were metonymical).

¹⁸ tn Heb “to a man”; cf. CEV “Everyone hates senseless fools.”

¹⁹ tn Heb “Let the wicked one abandon his way.” The singular is collective.

²⁰ tn Heb “and the man of evil his thoughts.” The singular is collective.

²¹ tn Heb “let him return.” The singular is collective, meaning “let them.”

²² tn The imperfect with vav (ו) conjunctive after the jussive indicates purpose/result.

²³ sn The appeal and promise of vv. 6-7 echoes the language of Deut 4:25-31; 30:1-10; and 1 Kgs 8:46-53, all of which anticipate the exile and speak of the prerequisites for restoration.

²⁴ tn Heb “their feet run to evil.”

²⁵ tn Heb “they quickly pour out innocent blood.”

²⁶ tn Heb “their thoughts are thoughts of sin, destruction and crushing [are] in their roadways.”

²⁷ tn Heb “Oh, Jerusalem, wash your heart from evil.”