Jeremiah 17:9

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

It is incurably bad. ¹  Who can understand it?

Genesis 6:5

6:5 But the Lord saw ²  that the wickedness of humankind had become great on the earth. Every inclination ³  of the thoughts ⁴  of their minds ⁵  was only evil ⁶  all the time. ⁷ 

Genesis 8:21

8:21 And the Lord smelled the soothing aroma ⁸  and said ⁹  to himself, ¹⁰  “I will never again curse ¹¹  the ground because of humankind, even though ¹²  the inclination of their minds ¹³  is evil from childhood on. ¹⁴  I will never again destroy everything that lives, as I have just done.

Ecclesiastes 8:12

8:12 Even though a sinner might commit a hundred crimes ¹⁵  and still live a long time, ¹⁶ 

yet I know that it will go well with God-fearing people ¹⁷  – for they stand in fear ¹⁸  before him.

Ecclesiastes 9:3

9:3 This is the unfortunate fact ¹⁹  about everything that happens on earth: ²⁰ 

the same fate awaits ²¹  everyone.

In addition to this, the hearts of all people ²²  are full of evil,

and there is folly in their hearts during their lives – then they die. ²³ 

Mark 7:21

7:21 For from within, out of the human heart, come evil ideas, sexual immorality, theft, murder,

Hebrews 3:12

3:12 See to it, ²⁴  brothers and sisters, ²⁵  that none of you has ²⁶  an evil, unbelieving heart that forsakes ²⁷  the living God. ²⁸ 

[17:9]  ¹ 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).

[6:5]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn The related verb הָשָׁב (hashav) means “to think, to devise, to reckon.” The noun (here) refers to thoughts or considerations.

[6:5]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Heb “all the day.”

[8:21]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Heb “and the Lord said.”

[8:21]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “in his heart.”

[8:21]  ¹¹ tn Here the Hebrew word translated “curse” is קָלָל (qalal), used in the Piel verbal stem.

[8:21]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn Heb “the inclination of the heart of humankind.”

[8:21]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “from his youth.”

[8:12]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “does evil one hundred [times].”

[8:12]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and prolongs his [life].”

[8:12]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “those who fear God.”

[8:12]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “they fear.”

[9:3]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “evil.”

[9:3]  ²⁰ tn Heb “under the sun.”

[9:3]  ²¹ tn The term “awaits” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness and stylistic reasons.

[9:3]  ²² tn Heb “also the heart of the sons of man.” Here “heart” is a collective singular.

[9:3]  ²³ tn Heb “and after that [they go] to [the place of] the dead.”

[3:12]  ²⁴ tn Or “take care.”

[3:12]  ²⁵ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 2:11.

[3:12]  ²⁶ tn Grk “that there not be in any of you.”

[3:12]  ²⁷ tn Or “deserts,” “rebels against.”

[3:12]  ²⁸ tn Grk “in forsaking the living God.”