Proverbs 24:8

24:8 The one who plans to do evil

will be called a scheming person. ¹ 

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 

Psalms 36:4

36:4 He plans ways to sin while he lies in bed;

he is committed to a sinful lifestyle; ⁸ 

he does not reject what is evil. ⁹ 

Jeremiah 4:14

4:14 “Oh people of Jerusalem, purify your hearts from evil ¹⁰ 

so that you may yet be delivered.

How long will you continue to harbor up

wicked schemes within you?

Micah 2:1

Land Robbers Will Lose their Land

2:1 Those who devise sinful plans are as good as dead, ¹¹ 

those who dream about doing evil as they lie in bed. ¹² 

As soon as morning dawns they carry out their plans, ¹³ 

because they have the power to do so.

Zechariah 8:17

8:17 Do not plan evil in your hearts against one another. Do not favor a false oath – these are all things that I hate,’ says the Lord.”

[24:8]  ¹ tn Heb “possessor of schemes”; NAB “an intriguer.” The picture of the wicked person is graphic: He devises plans to do evil and is known as a schemer. Elsewhere the “schemes” are outrageous and lewd (e.g., Lev 18:7; Judg 20:6). Here the description portrays him as a cold, calculating, active person: “the fool is capable of intense mental activity but it adds up to sin” (W. McKane, Proverbs [OTL], 399).

[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.”

[36:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “he takes a stand in a way [that is] not good.” The word “way” here refers metaphorically to behavior or life style.

[36:4]  ⁹ tn The three imperfect verbal forms in v. 4 highlight the characteristic behavior of the typical evildoer.

[4:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Oh, Jerusalem, wash your heart from evil.”

[2:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Woe to those who plan sin.” The Hebrew term הוֹי (hoy, “woe”; “ah”) was a cry used in mourning the dead.

[2:1]  ¹² tn Heb “those who do evil upon their beds.”

[2:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “at the light of morning they do it.”