Genesis 6 · Verse 5

Genesis 6:5

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.
Genesis 6:5, King James Version

Genesis 6:5 in other translations

BSBThen 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.
WEBThe LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of man’s heart was continually only evil.
ASVAnd Jehovah 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.
YLTAnd Jehovah seeth that abundant is the wickedness of man in the earth, and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart only evil all the day;
DARBYAnd Jehovah saw that the wickedness of Man was great on the earth, and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart only evil continually.
BBEAnd the Lord saw that the sin of man was great on the earth, and that all the thoughts of his heart were evil.
WebsterAnd 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.

What does Genesis 6:5 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 6:5-6
5-6. 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).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 5 The wickedness of man was great - What an awful character does God give of the inhabitants of the antediluvian world! 1. They were flesh, (Gen 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 lived, seeking their portion in this life. 2. They were in a state of wickedness. All was corrupt within, and all unrighteous without; neither the science nor practice of religion existed. Piety was gone, and every form of sound words had disappeared. 3. This wickedness was great רבה rabbah, "was multiplied;" it was continually increasing and multiplying increase by increase, so that the whole earth was corrupt before God, and was filled with violence, (Gen 6:11); profligacy among the lower, and cruelty and oppression among the higher classes, being only predominant. 4. All the imaginations of their thoughts were evil - the very first embryo of every idea, the figment of every thought, the very materials out of which perception, conception, and ideas were formed, were all evil; the fountain which produced them, with every thought, purpose, wish, desire, and motive, was incurably poisoned. 5. All these were evil without any mixture of good - the Spirit of God which strove with them was continually resisted, so that evil had its sovereign sway. 6. They were evil continually - there was no interval of good, no moment allowed for serious reflection, no holy purpose, no righteous act. What a finished picture of a fallen soul! Such a picture as God alone, who searches the heart and tries the spirit, could possibly give. 7. To complete the whole, God represents himself as repenting because he had made them, and as grieved at the heart because of their iniquities! Had not these been voluntary transgressions, crimes which they might have avoided, had they not grieved and quenched the Spirit of God, could he speak of them in the manner he does here? 8. So incensed is the most holy and the most merciful God, that he is determined to destroy the work of his hands: And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created; Gen 6:7. How great must the evil have been, and how provoking the transgressions, which obliged the most compassionate God, for the vindication of his own glory, to form this awful purpose! Fools make a mock at sin, but none except fools.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Genesis 6:1-7

The most remarkable thing concerning the old world, is the destroying of it by the deluge, or flood. We are told of the abounding iniquity of that wicked world: God's just wrath, and his holy resolution to punish it. In all ages there has been a peculiar curse of God upon marriages between professors of true religion and its avowed enemies. The evil example of the ungodly party corrupts or greatly hurts the other…

Read the full comment on Genesis 6:1-7 →

Genesis 6:5 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיַּ֣רְאvai.Yar'and he sawH7200
יְהוָ֔הYah.wehYahwehH3068
כִּ֥יkithatH3588
רַבָּ֛הra.Bah[was] greatH7227
רָעַ֥תra.'At[the] evil ofH7451
הָאָדָ֖םha.'a.Dam<the> humankindH120
בָּאָ֑רֶץba.'A.retzon the earthH776
וְכָל\־ve.kholand everyH3605
יֵ֙צֶר֙ye.tzer<the> inclination ofH3336
מַחְשְׁבֹ֣תmach.she.Vot[the] thoughts ofH4284
לִבּ֔וֹli.Boheart hisH3820
רַ֥קrakonlyH7535
רַ֖עra'[was] evilH7451
כָּל\־kol-everyH3605
הַיּֽוֹם\׃hai.Yom<the> dayH3117

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Genesis 6:5

  • Matthew 15:19

    For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:

  • Romans 1:28-31

    And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:

  • Mark 7:21-23

    For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

  • Jeremiah 4:14

    O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?

  • Jeremiah 17:9

    The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

  • Ephesians 2:1-3

    And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

  • Ecclesiastes 9:3

    This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.

  • Genesis 8:21

    And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.

  • Ecclesiastes 7:29

    Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.

  • Psalms 53:2

    God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God.

  • Titus 3:3

    For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.

  • Psalms 14:1-4

    To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the Lord.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
God.
13:13; 18:20,21; Ps 14:1-4; 53:2; Ro 1:28-31; 3:9-19
every imagination. or, the whole imagination.The Hebrew word signifies not only the imagination, but also the purposes and desires.
8:21; De 29:19; Job 15:16; Pr 6:18; Ec 7:29; 9:3; Jer 17:9
Eze 8:9,12; Mt 15:19; Mr 7:21-23; Eph 2:1-3; Tit 3:3
thoughts.
Jer 4:14
continually. Heb. every day.

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Genesis 6:4

    There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

  • Genesis 6:5

    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.

  • Genesis 6:6

    And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

Read all of Genesis 6

Genesis 6:5 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y vió Jehová que la malicia de los hombres era mucha en la tierra, y que todo designio de los pensamientos del corazón de ellos era de continuo solamente el mal.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et l’ Éternel vit que la méchanceté de l’homme était grande sur la terre, et que toute l’imagination des pensées de son cœur n’était que méchanceté en tout temps.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und Jehova sah, daß des Menschen Bosheit groß war auf Erden und alles Gebilde der Gedanken seines Herzens nur böse den ganzen Tag.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Videns autem Deus quod multa malitia hominum esset in terra, et cuncta cogitatio cordis intenta esset ad malum omni tempore,