Discovery BoxGenesis 6:5
Context6:5 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
Context8:21 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.
Psalms 2:1-4
Context2:1 Why 15 do the nations rebel? 16
Why 17 are the countries 18 devising 19 plots that will fail? 20
2:2 The kings of the earth 21 form a united front; 22
the rulers collaborate 23
against the Lord and his anointed king. 24
2:3 They say, 25 “Let’s tear off the shackles they’ve put on us! 26
Let’s free ourselves from 27 their ropes!”
2:4 The one enthroned 28 in heaven laughs in disgust; 29
the Lord taunts 30 them.
Luke 1:51
Context1:51 He has demonstrated power 31 with his arm; he has scattered those whose pride wells up from the sheer arrogance 32 of their hearts.
[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.
[8:21] 7 tn The
[8:21] 8 tn Heb “and the
[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.”
[2:1] 14 sn Psalm 2. In this royal psalm the author asserts the special status of the divinely chosen Davidic king and warns the nations and their rulers to submit to the authority of God and his chosen vice-regent.
[2:1] 15 tn The question is rhetorical. Rather than seeking information, the psalmist expresses his outrage that the nations would have the audacity to rebel against God and his chosen king.
[2:1] 16 tn The Hebrew verb רָגַשׁ (ragash) occurs only here. In Dan 6:6, 11, 15 the Aramaic cognate verb describes several officials acting as a group. A Hebrew nominal derivative is used in Ps 55:14 of a crowd of people in the temple.
[2:1] 17 tn The interrogative לָמָּה (lamah, “why?”) is understood by ellipsis in the second line.
[2:1] 18 tn Or “peoples” (so many English versions).
[2:1] 19 tn The Hebrew imperfect form describes the rebellion as underway. The verb הָגָה (hagah), which means “to recite quietly, meditate,” here has the metonymic nuance “devise, plan, plot” (see Ps 38:12; Prov 24:2).
[2:1] 20 tn Heb “devising emptiness.” The noun רִיק (riq, “emptiness”) may characterize their behavior as “worthless, morally bankrupt” but more likely refers to the outcome of their plots (i.e., failure). As the rest of the psalm emphasizes, their rebellion will fail.
[2:2] 21 sn The expression kings of the earth refers somewhat hyperbolically to the kings who had been conquered by and were subject to the Davidic king.
[2:2] 22 tn Or “take their stand.” The Hebrew imperfect verbal form describes their action as underway.
[2:2] 23 tn Or “conspire together.” The verbal form is a Niphal from יָסַד (yasad). BDB 413-14 s.v. יָסַד defines the verb as “establish, found,” but HALOT 417 s.v. II יסד proposes a homonym meaning “get together, conspire” (an alternate form of סוּד, sud).
[2:2] 24 tn Heb “and against his anointed one.” The Davidic king is the referent (see vv. 6-7).
[2:3] 25 tn The words “they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The quotation represents the words of the rebellious kings.
[2:3] 26 tn Heb “their (i.e., the
[2:3] 27 tn Heb “throw off from us.”
[2:4] 28 tn Heb “sitting.” The Hebrew verb יָשַׁב (yashav) is here used metonymically of “sitting enthroned” (see Pss 9:7; 29:10; 55:19; 102:12; 123:1).
[2:4] 29 tn As the next line indicates, this refers to derisive laughter. The Hebrew imperfect verbal forms in vv. 4-5 describe the action from the perspective of an eyewitness who is watching the divine response as it unfolds before his eyes.
[2:4] 30 tn Or “scoffs at”; “derides”; “mocks.”
[1:51] 31 tn Or “shown strength,” “performed powerful deeds.” The verbs here switch to aorist tense through 1:55. This is how God will act in general for his people as they look to his ultimate deliverance.
[1:51] 32 tn Grk “in the imaginations of their hearts.” The psalm rebukes the arrogance of the proud, who think that power is their sovereign right. Here διανοίᾳ (dianoia) can be understood as a dative of sphere or reference/respect.
