Genesis 6:5

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 

Genesis 8:21

8:21 And the Lord smelled the soothing aroma ⁷  and said ⁸  to himself, ⁹  “I will never again curse ¹⁰  the ground because of humankind, even though ¹¹  the inclination of their minds ¹²  is evil from childhood on. ¹³  I will never again destroy everything that lives, as I have just done.

Job 14:4

14:4 Who can make ¹⁴  a clean thing come from an unclean? ¹⁵ 

No one!

Job 15:14-16

15:14 What is man that he should be pure,

or one born of woman, that he should be righteous?

15:15 If God places no trust in his holy ones, ¹⁶ 

if even the heavens ¹⁷  are not pure in his eyes,

15:16 how much less man, who is abominable and corrupt, ¹⁸ 

who drinks in evil like water! ¹⁹ 

Job 25:4

25:4 How then can a human being be righteous before God?

How can one born of a woman be pure? ²⁰ 

Psalms 14:1

Psalm 14 ²¹ 

For the music director; by David.

14:1 Fools say to themselves, ²²  “There is no God.” ²³ 

They sin and commit evil deeds; ²⁴ 

none of them does what is right. ²⁵ 

Psalms 14:3

14:3 Everyone rejects God; ²⁶ 

they are all morally corrupt. ²⁷ 

None of them does what is right, ²⁸ 

not even one!

Psalms 53:1

Psalm 53 ²⁹ 

For the music director; according to the machalath style; ³⁰  a well-written song ³¹  by David.

53:1 Fools say to themselves, ³²  “There is no God.” ³³ 

They sin and commit evil deeds; ³⁴ 

none of them does what is right. ³⁵ 

Psalms 53:3

53:3 Everyone rejects God; ³⁶ 

they are all morally corrupt. ³⁷ 

None of them does what is right, ³⁸ 

not even one!

Psalms 58:2-3

58:2 No! ³⁹  You plan how to do what is unjust; ⁴⁰ 

you deal out violence in the earth. ⁴¹ 

58:3 The wicked turn aside from birth; ⁴² 

liars go astray as soon as they are born. ⁴³ 

Proverbs 4:23

4:23 Guard your heart with all vigilance, ⁴⁴ 

for from it are the sources ⁴⁵  of life.

Jeremiah 4:14

4:14 “Oh people of Jerusalem, purify your hearts from evil ⁴⁶ 

so that you may yet be delivered.

How long will you continue to harbor up

wicked schemes within you?

Jeremiah 17:9

17:9 The human mind is more deceitful than anything else.

It is incurably bad. ⁴⁷  Who can understand it?

Matthew 15:19

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

Matthew 23:25-28

23:25 “Woe to you, experts in the law ⁴⁸  and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 23:26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, ⁴⁹  so that the outside may become clean too!

23:27 “Woe to you, experts in the law ⁵⁰  and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs that look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of the bones of the dead and of everything unclean. ⁵¹  23:28 In the same way, on the outside you look righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

Luke 16:15

16:15 But ⁵²  Jesus ⁵³  said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in men’s eyes, ⁵⁴  but God knows your hearts. For what is highly prized ⁵⁵  among men is utterly detestable ⁵⁶  in God’s sight.

Acts 5:4

5:4 Before it was sold, ⁵⁷  did it not ⁵⁸  belong to you? And when it was sold, was the money ⁵⁹  not at your disposal? How have you thought up this deed in your heart? ⁶⁰  You have not lied to people ⁶¹  but to God!”

Acts 8:22

8:22 Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord ⁶²  that he may perhaps forgive you for the intent of your heart. ⁶³ 

Romans 7:5

7:5 For when we were in the flesh, ⁶⁴  the sinful desires, ⁶⁵  aroused by the law, were active in the members of our body ⁶⁶  to bear fruit for death.

Romans 7:8

7:8 But sin, seizing the opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of wrong desires. ⁶⁷  For apart from the law, sin is dead.

Romans 8:7-8

8:7 because the outlook of the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to the law of God, nor is it able to do so. 8:8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

Galatians 5:19-21

5:19 Now the works of the flesh ⁶⁸  are obvious: ⁶⁹  sexual immorality, impurity, depravity, 5:20 idolatry, sorcery, ⁷⁰  hostilities, ⁷¹  strife, ⁷²  jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions, ⁷³  factions, 5:21 envying, ⁷⁴  murder, ⁷⁵  drunkenness, carousing, ⁷⁶  and similar things. I am warning you, as I had warned you before: Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God!

Titus 3:3

3:3 For we too were once foolish, disobedient, misled, enslaved to various passions and desires, spending our lives in evil and envy, hateful and hating one another.

James 1:14-15

1:14 But each one is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desires. 1:15 Then when desire conceives, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is full grown, it gives birth to death.

James 4:1-3

Passions and Pride

4:1 Where do the conflicts and where ⁷⁷  do the quarrels among you come from? Is it not from this, ⁷⁸  from your passions that battle inside you? ⁷⁹  4:2 You desire and you do not have; you murder and envy and you cannot obtain; you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask; 4:3 you ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, so you can spend it on your passions.

James 4:1-3

Passions and Pride

4:1 Where do the conflicts and where ⁸⁰  do the quarrels among you come from? Is it not from this, ⁸¹  from your passions that battle inside you? ⁸²  4:2 You desire and you do not have; you murder and envy and you cannot obtain; you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask; 4:3 you ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, so you can spend it on your passions.

[6:5]  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.

[6:5]  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).

[6:5]  ³ tn The related verb הָשָׁב (hashav) means “to think, to devise, to reckon.” The noun (here) refers to thoughts or considerations.

[6:5]  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.”

[6:5]  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.

[6:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “all the day.”

[8:21]  ⁷ 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.

[8:21]  ⁸ tn Heb “and the Lord said.”

[8:21]  ⁹ tn Heb “in his heart.”

[8:21]  ¹⁰ tn Here the Hebrew word translated “curse” is קָלָל (qalal), used in the Piel verbal stem.

[8:21]  ¹¹ 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.

[8:21]  ¹² tn Heb “the inclination of the heart of humankind.”

[8:21]  ¹³ tn Heb “from his youth.”

[14:4]  ¹⁴ tn The expression is מִי־יִתֵּן (mi-yitten, “who will give”; see GKC 477 §151.b). Some commentators (H. H. Rowley and A. B. Davidson) wish to take this as the optative formula: “O that a clean might come out of an unclean!” But that does not fit the verse very well, and still requires the addition of a verb. The exclamation here simply implies something impossible – man is unable to attain purity.

[14:4]  ¹⁵ sn The point being made is that the entire human race is contaminated by sin, and therefore cannot produce something pure. In this context, since man is born of woman, it is saying that the woman and the man who is brought forth from her are impure. See Ps 51:5; Isa 6:5; and Gen 6:5.

[15:15]  ¹⁶ tn Eliphaz here reiterates the point made in Job 4:18.

[15:15]  ¹⁷ sn The question here is whether the reference is to material “heavens” (as in Exod 24:10 and Job 25:5), or to heavenly beings. The latter seems preferable in this context.

[15:16]  ¹⁸ tn The two descriptions here used are “abominable,” meaning “disgusting” (a Niphal participle with the value of a Latin participle [see GKC 356-57 §116.e]), and “corrupt” (a Niphal participle which occurs only in Pss 14:3 and 53:4), always in a moral sense. On the significance of the first description, see P. Humbert, “Le substantif toáe„ba„ et le verbe táb dans l’Ancien Testament,” ZAW 72 [1960]: 217ff.). On the second word, G. R. Driver suggests from Arabic, “debauched with luxury, corrupt” (“Some Hebrew Words,” JTS 29 [1927/28]: 390-96).

[15:16]  ¹⁹ sn Man commits evil with the same ease and facility as he drinks in water – freely and in large quantities.

[25:4]  ²⁰ sn Bildad here does not come up with new expressions; rather, he simply uses what Eliphaz had said (see Job 4:17-19 and 15:14-16).

[14:1]  ²¹ sn Psalm 14. The psalmist observes that the human race is morally corrupt. Evildoers oppress God’s people, but the psalmist is confident of God’s protection and anticipates a day when God will vindicate Israel.

[14:1]  ²² tn Heb “a fool says in his heart.” The singular is used here in a collective or representative sense; the typical fool is envisioned.

[14:1]  ²³ sn “There is no God.” The statement is probably not a philosophical assertion that God does not exist, but rather a confident affirmation that God is unconcerned about how men live morally and ethically (see Ps 10:4, 11).

[14:1]  ²⁴ tn Heb “they act corruptly, they make a deed evil.” The verbs describe the typical behavior of the wicked. The subject of the plural verbs is “sons of man” (v. 2). The entire human race is characterized by sinful behavior. This practical atheism – living as if there is no God who will hold them accountable for their actions – makes them fools, for one of the earmarks of folly is to fail to anticipate the long range consequences of one’s behavior.

[14:1]  ²⁵ tn Heb “there is none that does good.”

[14:3]  ²⁶ tn Heb “everyone turns aside.”

[14:3]  ²⁷ tn Heb “together they are corrupt.”

[14:3]  ²⁸ tn Heb “there is none that does good.”

[53:1]  ²⁹ sn Psalm 53. This psalm is very similar to Ps 14. The major difference comes in v. 5, which corresponds to, but differs quite a bit from, Ps 14:5-6, and in the use of the divine name. Ps 14 uses “the Lord” (יְהוָה, yÿhvah, “Yahweh”) in vv. 2a, 4, 6, and 7, while Ps 53 employs “God” (אֱלֹהִים, ’elohim) throughout, as one might expect in Pss 42-83, where the name “Yahweh” is relatively infrequent. The psalmist observes that the human race is morally corrupt. Evildoers oppress God’s people, but the psalmist is confident of God’s protection and anticipates a day when God will vindicate Israel.

[53:1]  ³⁰ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מָחֲלַת (makhalat, “machalath”) is uncertain; perhaps it refers to a particular style of music, a tune title, or a musical instrument. The term also appears in the heading of Ps 88.

[53:1]  ³¹ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. See the note on the phrase “well-written song” in the superscription of Ps 52.

[53:1]  ³² tn Heb “a fool says in his heart.” The singular is used here in a collective or representative sense; the typical fool is envisioned.

[53:1]  ³³ sn There is no God. This statement is probably not a philosophical assertion that God does not exist, but rather a confident affirmation that he is unconcerned about how men live morally and ethically (see Ps 10:4, 11).

[53:1]  ³⁴ tn Heb “they act corruptly, they do evil [with] injustice.” Ps 14:1 has עֲלִילָה (’alilah, “a deed”) instead of עָוֶל (’aval, “injustice”). The verbs describe the typical behavior of the wicked. The subject of the plural verbs is “sons of man” (v. 2). The entire human race is characterized by sinful behavior. This practical atheism – living as if there is no God who will hold them accountable for their actions – makes them fools, for one of the earmarks of folly is to fail to anticipate the long range consequences of one’s behavior.

[53:1]  ³⁵ tn Heb “there is none that does good.”

[53:3]  ³⁶ tn Heb “all of it turns away.” Ps 14:1 has הָכֹּל (hakkol) instead of כֻּלּוֹ, and סָר (sar, “turn aside”) instead of סָג (sag, “turn away”).

[53:3]  ³⁷ tn Heb “together they are corrupt.”

[53:3]  ³⁸ tn Heb “there is none that does good.”

[58:2]  ³⁹ tn The particle אַף (’af, “no”) is used here as a strong adversative emphasizing the following statement, which contrasts reality with the rulers’ claim alluded to in the rhetorical questions (see Ps 44:9).

[58:2]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “in the heart unjust deeds you do.” The phrase “in the heart” (i.e., “mind”) seems to refer to their plans and motives. The Hebrew noun עַוְלָה (’avlah, “injustice”) is collocated with פָּעַל (pa’al, “do”) here and in Job 36:23 and Ps 119:3. Some emend the plural form עוֹלֹת (’olot, “unjust deeds”; see Ps 64:6) to the singular עָוֶל (’avel, “injustice”; see Job 34:32), taking the final tav (ת) as dittographic (note that the following verbal form begins with tav). Some then understand עָוֶל (’avel, “injustice”) as a genitive modifying “heart” and translate, “with a heart of injustice you act.”

[58:2]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “in the earth the violence of your hands you weigh out.” The imagery is from the economic realm. The addressees measure out violence, rather than justice, and distribute it like a commodity. This may be ironic, since justice was sometimes viewed as a measuring scale (see Job 31:6).

[58:3]  ⁴² tn Heb “from the womb.”

[58:3]  ⁴³ tn Heb “speakers of a lie go astray from the womb.”

[4:23]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “more than all guarding.” This idiom means “with all vigilance.” The construction uses the preposition מִן (min) to express “above; beyond,” the word “all” and the noun “prison; guard; act of guarding.” The latter is the use here (BDB 1038 s.v. מִשְׁמָר).

[4:23]  ⁴⁵ sn The word תּוֹצְאוֹת (tots’ot, from יָצָא, yatsa’) means “outgoings; extremities; sources.” It is used here for starting points, like a fountainhead, and so the translation “sources” works well.

[4:14]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “Oh, Jerusalem, wash your heart from evil.”

[17:9]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “incurably deceitful”; Heb “It is incurable.” For the word “deceitful” compare the usage of the verb in Gen 27:36 and a related noun in 2 Kgs 10:19. For the adjective “incurable” compare the usage in Jer 15:18. It is most commonly used with reference to wounds or of pain. In Jer 17:16 it is used metaphorically for a “woeful day” (i.e., day of irreparable devastation).

[23:25]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:26]  ⁴⁹ tc A very difficult textual problem is found here. The most important Alexandrian and Byzantine, as well as significant Western, witnesses (א B C L W 0102 0281 ˹³ 33 Ï lat co) have “and the dish” (καὶ τῆς παροψίδος, kai th" paroyido") after “cup,” while few important witnesses (D Θ Ë¹ 700 and some versional and patristic authorities) omit the phrase. On the one hand, scribes sometimes tended to eliminate redundancy; since “and the dish” is already present in v. 25, it may have been deleted in v. 26 by well-meaning scribes. On the other hand, as B. M. Metzger notes, the singular pronoun αὐτοῦ (autou, “its”) with τὸ ἐκτός (to ekto", “the outside”) in some of the same witnesses that have the longer reading (viz., B* ˹³ al) hints that their archetype lacked the words (TCGNT 50). Further, scribes would be motivated both to add the phrase from v. 25 and to change αὐτοῦ to the plural pronoun αὐτῶν (aujtwn, “their”). Although the external evidence for the shorter reading is not compelling in itself, combined with these two prongs of internal evidence, it is to be slightly preferred.

[23:27]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:27]  ⁵¹ sn This was an idiom for hypocrisy – just as the wall was painted on the outside but something different on the inside, so this person was not what he appeared or pretended to be (for discussion of a similar metaphor, see L&N 88.234; BDAG 1010 s.v. τοῖχος). See Deut 28:22; Ezek 13:10-16; Acts 23:3.

[16:15]  ⁵² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[16:15]  ⁵³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:15]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “before men.” The contrast is between outward appearance (“in people’s eyes”) and inward reality (“God knows your hearts”). Here the Greek term ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used twice in a generic sense, referring to both men and women, but “men” has been retained in the text to provide a strong verbal contrast with “God” in the second half of the verse.

[16:15]  ⁵⁵ tn Or “exalted.” This refers to the pride that often comes with money and position.

[16:15]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “is an abomination,” “is abhorrent” (L&N 25.187).

[5:4]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “Remaining to you.”

[5:4]  ⁵⁸ tn The negative interrogative particle οὐχί (ouci) expects a positive reply to this question and the following one (“And when it was sold, was it not at your disposal?”).

[5:4]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “it”; the referent of the pronoun (the money generated from the sale of the land) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:4]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “How is it that you have [or Why have you] placed this deed in your heart?” Both of these literal translations differ from the normal way of expressing the thought in English.

[5:4]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “to men.” If Peter’s remark refers only to the apostles, the translation “to men” would be appropriate. But if (as is likely) the action was taken to impress the entire congregation (who would presumably have witnessed the donation or been aware of it) then the more general “to people” is more appropriate, since the audience would have included both men and women.

[8:22]  ⁶² tn Or “and implore the Lord.”

[8:22]  ⁶³ 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.

[7:5]  ⁶⁴ tn That is, before we were in Christ.

[7:5]  ⁶⁵ tn Or “sinful passions.”

[7:5]  ⁶⁶ tn Grk “our members”; the words “of our body” have been supplied to clarify the meaning.

[7:8]  ⁶⁷ tn Or “covetousness.”

[5:19]  ⁶⁸ tn See the note on the word “flesh” in Gal 5:13.

[5:19]  ⁶⁹ tn Or “clear,” “evident.”

[5:20]  ⁷⁰ tn Or “witchcraft.”

[5:20]  ⁷¹ tn Or “enmities,” “[acts of] hatred.”

[5:20]  ⁷² tn Or “discord” (L&N 39.22).

[5:20]  ⁷³ tn Or “discord(s)” (L&N 39.13).

[5:21]  ⁷⁴ tn This term is plural in Greek (as is “murder” and “carousing”), but for clarity these abstract nouns have been translated as singular.

[5:21]  ⁷⁵ tc ‡ φόνοι (fonoi, “murders”) is absent in such important mss as Ì⁴⁶ א B 33 81 323 945 pc sa, while the majority of mss (A C D F G Ψ 0122 0278 1739 1881 Ï lat) have the word. Although the pedigree of the mss which lack the term is of the highest degree, homoioteleuton may well explain the shorter reading. The preceding word has merely one letter difference, making it quite possible to overlook this term (φθόνοι φόνοι, fqonoi fonoi).

[5:21]  ⁷⁶ tn Or “revelings,” “orgies” (L&N 88.287).

[4:1]  ⁷⁷ tn The word “where” is repeated in Greek for emphasis.

[4:1]  ⁷⁸ tn Grk “from here.”

[4:1]  ⁷⁹ tn Grk “in your members [i.e., parts of the body].”

[4:1]  ⁸⁰ tn The word “where” is repeated in Greek for emphasis.

[4:1]  ⁸¹ tn Grk “from here.”

[4:1]  ⁸² tn Grk “in your members [i.e., parts of the body].”