Bible Strands
Genesis 6:5
Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was altogether evil all the time.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — A narrative voice (not a character) delivers a divine assessment of humankind, positioned between the Nephilim account (Gen 6:4) and God's regret (Gen 6:6). It is the verdict statement that precipitates the flood.
The words — רָעַת (ra'at), "evil," is the substantive that carries the verdict; it names a standing condition, not a single act. כָּל (khol), "every," scopes the claim to the totality of the heart's inclinations, leaving no remainder.
The thread — Matthew 15:19 and Mark 7:21 both locate the source of evil in the heart's output, while Romans 1:28 describes God handing over a "depraved mind" to those who reject Him. The pattern is consistent: the heart is the wellspring, not the victim.
Why it lands — It forecloses the comfortable middle ground of "mostly good, occasionally bad." The reader is asked to accept that the problem is structural, not incidental.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Cross-references
- Matthew 15:19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander.
- Romans 1:28 Furthermore, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, He gave them up to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.
- Mark 7:21 For from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,
- Jeremiah 4:14 Wash the evil from your heart, O Jerusalem, so that you may be saved. How long will you harbor wicked thoughts within you?
- Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
- Ephesians 2:1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,
- Ecclesiastes 9:3 This is an evil in everything that is done under the sun: There is one fate for everyone. Furthermore, the hearts of men are full of evil and madness while they are alive, and afterward they join the dead.
- Genesis 8:21 When the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, He said in His heart, “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from his youth. And never again will I destroy all living creatures as I have done.
- Ecclesiastes 7:29 Only this have I found: I have discovered that God made mankind upright, but they have sought out many schemes.”
- Psalms 53:2 God looks down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if any understand, if any seek God.