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 9:15-16

9:15 then I will remember my covenant with you ⁷  and with all living creatures of all kinds. ⁸  Never again will the waters become a flood and destroy ⁹  all living things. ¹⁰  9:16 When the rainbow is in the clouds, I will notice it and remember ¹¹  the perpetual covenant between God and all living creatures of all kinds that are on the earth.”

Genesis 23:8

23:8 Then he said to them, “If you agree ¹²  that I may bury my dead, ¹³  then hear me out. ¹⁴  Ask ¹⁵  Ephron the son of Zohar

Genesis 32:7

32:7 Jacob was very afraid and upset. So he divided the people who were with him into two camps, as well as the flocks, herds, and camels.

Genesis 41:30

41:30 But seven years of famine will occur ¹⁶  after them, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will devastate ¹⁷  the land.

Genesis 50:20

50:20 As for you, you meant to harm me, ¹⁸  but God intended it for a good purpose, so he could preserve the lives of many people, as you can see this day. ¹⁹ 

[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.”

[9:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “which [is] between me and between you.”

[9:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “all flesh.”

[9:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “to destroy.”

[9:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “all flesh.”

[9:16]  ¹³ tn The translation assumes that the infinitive לִזְכֹּר (lizkor, “to remember”) here expresses the result of seeing the rainbow. Another option is to understand it as indicating purpose, in which case it could be translated, “I will look at it so that I may remember.”

[23:8]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “If it is with your purpose.” The Hebrew noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) here has the nuance “purpose” or perhaps “desire” (see BDB 661 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ).

[23:8]  ²⁰ tn Heb “bury my dead out of my sight.” The last phrase “out of my sight” has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[23:8]  ²¹ tn Or “hear me.”

[23:8]  ²² tn Heb “intercede for me with.”

[41:30]  ²⁵ tn The perfect with the vav consecutive continues the time frame of the preceding participle, which has an imminent future nuance here.

[41:30]  ²⁶ tn The Hebrew verb כָּלָה (kalah) in the Piel stem means “to finish, to destroy, to bring an end to.” The severity of the famine will ruin the land of Egypt.

[50:20]  ³¹ tn Heb “you devised against me evil.”

[50:20]  ³² tn Heb “God devised it for good in order to do, like this day, to preserve alive a great nation.”