Genesis 6:5

Genesis 6:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.
• English Standard Version (ESV)The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Context of Genesis 6:5

3The Lord said, ‘My Spirit will not give life to humans for ever. One day they will die. I will not let them live for more than 120 years. Then they will die.’ 4The Nephilites lived on the earth at that time, and for some time after that. During that time, the sons of God were having sex with the daughters of men, who gave birth to their children. The Nephilites were famous great men and fighters. The Lord saw that men and women on the earth had become very bad. They thought only of evil things all the time. 6The Lord was sorry that he had made humans and put them on the earth. He became very upset. 7So the Lord said, ‘I made humans, but now I will destroy them. I will completely take them off the earth. As well as human people, I will also destroy the animals, the living things that move on the ground, and the birds. I am sorry that I made them.’

Genesis 6:5 word by word

וַיַּ֣רְא יְהוָ֔ה כִּ֥י רַבָּ֛ה רָעַ֥ת הָאָדָ֖ם בָּאָ֑רֶץ וְכָל־יֵ֙צֶר֙ מַחְשְׁבֹ֣ת לִבּ֔וֹ רַ֥ק רַ֖ע כָּל־הַיּֽוֹם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Godיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• sawרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• that the wickednessרָעָהra‛ râ‛âh · distress: evilH7451
• of manאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
• greatרַבrab · manyH7227
• in the earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• every imaginationיֵ֫צֶרyêtser · intentionH3336
• of the thoughtsמַחֲשָׁבָהmachăshâbâh machăshebeth · plotH4284
• of his heartלֵבlêb · heartH3820
• onlyרַקraq · exceptH7535
• evilרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: evilH7451
• continuallyיוֹםyôm · day: dailyH3117

Cross-references for Genesis 6:5

• Genesis 13:13The people of Sodom were very wicked. They did not obey the Lord at all.
• Genesis 18:20So the Lord said to Abraham, ‘I have heard how bad the people in Sodom and Gomorrah are. Everybody says that their sins are very bad.
• Psalms 14:1Only fools say to themselves, ‘There is no God.’ People like that do bad and evil things. None of them do things that are good and right.
• Psalms 53:2God looks down from heaven at the people on earth. He wants to see if there is anyone who is really wise and who wants to know God.
• Romans 1:28Those people decided that they did not need to know anything about God. So God let their minds become spoiled. As a result, they do bad things that people ought not to do.
• Romans 3:9So then, what do we learn from that? We cannot say that we Jews are better than other people. No, certainly we cannot say that! I have said already that sin has power over everyone. That is true for both Jews and Gentiles.
• Genesis 8:21The Lord smelled the sacrifice and it made him happy. The Lord said to himself, ‘I will never curse the ground again because of the bad things that people do. From the time that they are children, they want to do bad things. But I will never again destroy everything that breathes, as I have done this time.
• Deuteronomy 29:19Nobody who hears the message of this covenant should think that they can go against it. Someone might say to himself, ‘I do not have to obey this covenant. I will be safe, whatever happens. God will still bless me.’ A person who thinks like that will bring trouble on everyone and on everything.
• Job 15:16So he certainly will not trust people. People are wicked and cannot think true thoughts. They like to do evil things, as if they are drinking water!
• Proverbs 6:18A mind that chooses to do wicked things. Feet that hurry to do evil things.
• Ecclesiastes 7:29I did learn this: God made people to do what is right. But people have chosen their own way to do things.
• Ecclesiastes 9:3Finally, the same thing happens to everyone on the earth. That seems to be a terrible thing. People choose to do evil things. While they are alive, they choose to live like fools. And after that, they die.
• Jeremiah 17:9A person's own mind deceives him, more than anything else does. Nobody can change it to be better. Nobody completely understands it.
• Ezekiel 8:9He said to me, ‘Go in there. Look at the wicked things that they are doing in this place.’
• Matthew 15:19Evil thoughts come out from people's minds. As a result, they do wrong things. They murder people. They have sex with another man's wife. They have sex in other wrong ways. They rob people. They tell lies about other people. They insult people.
• Mark 7:21Evil thoughts come out from people's minds. As a result they do wrong things. They have sex in wrong ways. They rob people. They murder people.

Commentaries on Genesis 6:5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5The wickedness of man was great - What an awful character does God give of the inhabitants of the antediluvian world! 1. They were flesh, ( Genesis 6:3;), wholly sensual, the desires of the mind overwhelmed and lost in the desires of the flesh, their souls no longer discerning their high destiny, but ever minding earthly things, so that they were sensualized, brutalized, and become flesh; incarnated so as not to retain God in their knowledge, and they…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-8Verses 1-8 - The Growth of Sin 3. דון dı̂yn “be down, strive, subdue, judge.” בשׁגם bāshagām “inasmuch, as also.” The rendering “in their error” requires the pointing בשׁגם beshāgām and the plural form of the following pronoun. It is also unknown to the Septuagint. 4. נפילים nepı̂lı̂ym “assailants, fellers, men of violence, tyrants.” Having traced the line of descent from Adam through Sheth, the seed of God, to Noah, the author proceeds to describe…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5every inclination of the thoughts of his heart: In the Old Testament, the heart is the center of choice, thought, and morality (see Proverbs 4:23). Wicked actions come from a corrupt inner life. altogether evil all the time: Strong language shows how widespread, deep, and persistent human evil is. Humanity remained corrupt even after the great flood (see Genesis 8:21).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 5-65-6. God saw it ... repented ... grieved--God cannot change (Mal 3:6; Jas 1:17); but, by language suited to our nature and experience, He is described as about to alter His visible procedure towards mankind--from being merciful and long-suffering, He was about to show Himself a God of judgment; and, as that impious race had filled up the measure of their iniquities, He was about to introduce a terrible display of His justice (Ec 8:11).Read the comment

Topics related to Genesis 6:5

• Antediluvians
• Depravity of Man
• Heart
• Holy Spirit
• Imagination
• Obduracy (Hardness)
• Reprobacy
• Sin

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Corrupt
• Fill
• Flesh
• Imagination
• Multiply
• Noah
• Renown
• Repent

Commentaries on Genesis 6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings