Genesis 6:11

6:11 The earth was ruined ¹  in the sight of ²  God; the earth was filled with violence. ³ 

Genesis 17:18

17:18 Abraham said to God, “O that ⁴  Ishmael might live before you!” ⁵ 

Genesis 31:11

31:11 In the dream the angel of God said to me, ‘Jacob!’ ‘Here I am!’ I replied.

[6:11]  ¹ tn Apart from Gen 6:11-12, the Niphal form of this verb occurs in Exod 8:20 HT (8:24 ET), where it describes the effect of the swarms of flies on the land of Egypt; Jer 13:7 and 18:4, where it is used of a “ruined” belt and “marred” clay pot, respectively; and Ezek 20:44, where it describes Judah’s morally “corrupt” actions. The sense “morally corrupt” fits well in Gen 6:11 because of the parallelism (note “the earth was filled with violence”). In this case “earth” would stand by metonymy for its sinful inhabitants. However, the translation “ruined” works just as well, if not better. In this case humankind’s sin is viewed has having an adverse effect upon the earth. Note that vv. 12b-13 make a distinction between the earth and the living creatures who live on it.

[6:11]  ² tn Heb “before.”

[6:11]  ³ tn The Hebrew word translated “violence” refers elsewhere to a broad range of crimes, including unjust treatment (Gen 16:5; Amos 3:10), injurious legal testimony (Deut 19:16), deadly assault (Gen 49:5), murder (Judg 9:24), and rape (Jer 13:22).

[17:18]  ⁴ tn The wish is introduced with the Hebrew particle לוּ (lu), “O that.”

[17:18]  ⁵ tn Or “live with your blessing.”