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.
Cross-reference
Genesis 6:12 restates God's observation from 6:5 as narrative confirmation: all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.
Genesis 8:21 reiterates that human hearts remain evil even after the flood, showing persistence.
Genesis 13:13 highlights Sodom's wickedness, a specific instance of the pervasive evil seen in human hearts.
In Genesis 18:20, God's outcry against Sodom's sin reflects the grievous evil depicted in the human heart.
In Genesis 11:6, God again observes unified human intent and responds with judgment — but this time the sin is ambition, not pervasive moral corruption.
Genesis 18:21 shows God's investigation into sin, confirming the evil that aligns with pre-flood judgment.
Psalm 14:1-4 declares universal corruption, with all turning aside, mirroring the wickedness described.
Jeremiah 4:14 echoes the same concern — wicked thoughts lodged in the heart — but as a call to repentance rather than a statement of total depravity.
In Jeremiah 17:9, the prophet diagnoses the root cause: the heart is deceitful beyond cure — explaining why, by Noah's time, every thought was evil continually.
In Matthew 15:19, Jesus lists what flows from the heart: evil thoughts, murder, adultery — directly echoing the pre-flood diagnosis of total heart corruption.
In Mark 7:21-23, Jesus teaches that defilement comes from within: evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft — the same moral disease described before the flood.
Romans 3:9-19 uses OT passages to prove universal sin, consistent with the pre-flood wickedness.
In Ephesians 2:1-3, Paul describes all people as once following fleshly desires, children of wrath — universal corruption matching the pre-flood condition, now with hope of rescue.
In Titus 3:3, Paul recalls believers' former life — foolish, enslaved to passions, living in malice — reflecting the same total moral corruption seen before the flood.
In Romans 1:21, futile thinking and darkened hearts mirror Genesis 6:5 — both describing how humanity's inner life turns entirely away from God.
In 1 Peter 3:20, 'they formerly did not obey' in Noah's day — Genesis 6:5 provides the reason: humanity's every thought was evil continually.
Luke 1:51 speaks of God scattering proud thoughts, aligning with His perception of evil here.
In Romans 7:18, Paul declares nothing good dwells in his flesh — personal testimony of the same total human inability Genesis 6:5 describes.
Matthew 7:11 contrasts human evil with God's goodness, building on the acknowledgment of evil here.
In Jeremiah 18:12, the persistence of evil hearts reflects the same human condition seen here.
In Ephesians 2:3, Paul says all once followed fleshly desires and were 'by nature children of wrath' — matching Genesis 6:5's universal evil.
Jeremiah 16:12 shows evil hearts leading to disobedience, mirroring this description of human wickedness.
Isaiah 55:7 calls the wicked to forsake their thoughts, directly addressing the problem of evil internal intent described here.
In Jeremiah 9:14, following the stubbornness of their hearts echoes the evil inclination of thoughts here.
Psalm 10:4 describes the wicked whose every thought denies God — a specific instance of the total, continuous evil of thought portrayed in 6:5.
In Ecclesiastes 9:3, the same verdict appears: human hearts are full of evil and madness — confirming this as an enduring post-fall condition, not unique to Noah's era.
In James 1:14, evil begins when one is 'lured by his own desire' — placing sin's origin inside the person, just as Genesis 6:5 locates it in the heart.
David prays for God to keep right purposes and thoughts in Israel's hearts — the hopeful inversion of the total evil intentions described in 6:5.
In Luke 11:13, Jesus calls humans 'evil' while contrasting their gift-giving with God's — echoing the fundamental human depravity Genesis 6:5 describes.
In Luke 11:39, Jesus exposes inner corruption — 'full of greed and wickedness' inside — matching Genesis 6:5's focus on the heart's evil intentions.
Psalm 24:4 requires a pure heart for worship, which directly contrasts the heart described here as filled only with evil.
Psalm 53:1 says the fool denies God, which aligns with the godlessness implied in this description of pervasive moral corruption.
Deuteronomy 31:21 echoes the same theme of God knowing human evil inclinations — He foresees Israel's rebellion even before they enter the land.
1 Chronicles 28:9 affirms that God searches all hearts and knows every thought — the same divine awareness of human intentions seen in 6:5.
Job 15:16 describes humans as vile and corrupt, drinking evil like water, echoing this depiction.
Romans 1:28-31 lists sins from depraved minds, elaborating on the evil inclinations here.
In Proverbs 6:18, God abhors a heart that 'devises wicked schemes' — the same inner corrupt thinking Genesis 6:5 describes universally before the flood.
Proverbs 24:9 names the scheming of folly as sin, pinpointing a specific manifestation of the evil intent described in this verse.
In Ecclesiastes 7:29, Solomon explains why: God made humans upright, yet they pursued many schemes — echoing how even before the flood, humanity turned fully to evil.
Isaiah 65:2 describes God's patience toward a rebellious people, echoing the persistent human wickedness depicted in this verse.