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.

Zephaniah 3:6-7

The Lord’s Judgment will Purify

3:6 “I destroyed ¹⁴  nations;

their walled cities ¹⁵  are in ruins.

I turned their streets into ruins;

no one passes through them.

Their cities are desolate; ¹⁶ 

no one lives there. ¹⁷ 

3:7 I thought, ¹⁸  ‘Certainly you will respect ¹⁹  me!

Now you will accept correction!’

If she had done so, her home ²⁰  would not be destroyed ²¹ 

by all the punishments I have threatened. ²² 

But they eagerly sinned

in everything they did. ²³ 

Matthew 23:31-32

23:31 By saying this you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 23:32 Fill up then the measure of your ancestors!

[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.”

[3:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “cut off.”

[3:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “corner towers”; NEB, NRSV “battlements.”

[3:6]  ¹⁶ tn This Hebrew verb (צָדָה, tsadah) occurs only here in the OT, but its meaning is established from the context and from an Aramaic cognate.

[3:6]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “so that there is no man, without inhabitant.”

[3:7]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “said.”

[3:7]  ¹⁹ tn Or “fear.” The second person verb form (“you will respect”) is feminine singular, indicating that personified Jerusalem is addressed.

[3:7]  ²⁰ tn Or “dwelling place.”

[3:7]  ²¹ tn Heb “cut off.”

[3:7]  ²² tn Heb “all which I have punished her.” The precise meaning of this statement and its relationship to what precedes are unclear.

[3:7]  ²³ tn Heb “But they got up early, they made corrupt all their actions.” The phrase “they got up early” probably refers to their eagerness to engage in sinful activities.