Deuteronomy 32:5
New English Translation
5 His people have been unfaithful[a] to him;
they have not acted like his children[b]—this is their sin.[c]
They are a perverse[d] and deceitful generation.
Notas al pie
- Deuteronomy 32:5 tc The third person masculine singular שָׁחַת (shakhat) is rendered as third person masculine plural by Smr, a reading supported by the plural suffix on מוּם (mum, “defect”) as well as the plural of בֵּן (ben, “sons”).tn Heb “have acted corruptly” (so NASB, NIV, NLT); NRSV “have dealt falsely.”
- Deuteronomy 32:5 tn Heb “(they are) not his sons.”
- Deuteronomy 32:5 tn Heb “defect” (so NASB). This highly elliptical line suggests that Israel’s major fault was its failure to act like God’s people; in fact, they acted quite the contrary.
- Deuteronomy 32:5 tn Heb “twisted,” “crooked.” See Ps 18:26.
Genesis 6:11-12
New English Translation
11 The earth was ruined[a] in the sight of[b] God; the earth was filled with violence.[c] 12 God saw the earth, and indeed[d] it was ruined,[e] for all living creatures[f] on the earth were sinful.[g]
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- Genesis 6:11 tn Apart from Gen 6:11-12, the Niphal form of this verb occurs in Exod 8:20 HT (8:24 ET), where it describes the effect of the swarms of flies on the land of Egypt; Jer 13:7 and 18:4, where it is used of a “ruined” belt and “marred” clay pot, respectively; and Ezek 20:44, where it describes Judah’s morally “corrupt” actions. The sense “morally corrupt” fits well in Gen 6:11 because of the parallelism (note “the earth was filled with violence”). In this case “earth” would stand by metonymy for its sinful inhabitants. However, the translation “ruined” works just as well, if not better. In this case humankind’s sin is viewed as having an adverse effect upon the earth. Note that vv. 12b-13 make a distinction between the earth and the living creatures who live on it.
- Genesis 6:11 tn Heb “before.”
- Genesis 6:11 tn The Hebrew word translated “violence” refers elsewhere to a broad range of crimes, including unjust treatment (Gen 16:5; Amos 3:10), injurious legal testimony (Deut 19:16), deadly assault (Gen 49:5), murder (Judg 9:24), and rape (Jer 13:22).
- Genesis 6:12 tn Or “God saw how corrupt the earth was.”
- Genesis 6:12 tn The repetition in the text (see v. 11) emphasizes the point.
- Genesis 6:12 tn Heb “flesh.” Since moral corruption is in view here, most modern western interpreters understand the referent to be humankind. However, the phrase “all flesh” is used consistently of humankind and the animals in Gen 6-9 (6:17, 19; 7:15-16, 21; 8:17; 9:11, 15-17), suggesting that the author intends to picture all living creatures, humankind and animals, as guilty of moral failure. This would explain why the animals, not just humankind, are victims of the ensuing divine judgment. The OT sometimes views animals as morally culpable (Gen 9:5; Exod 21:28-29; Jonah 3:7-8). The OT also teaches that a person’s sin can contaminate others (people and animals) in the sinful person’s sphere (see the story of Achan, especially Josh 7:10). So the animals could be viewed here as morally contaminated because of their association with sinful humankind.
- Genesis 6:12 tn Heb “had corrupted its way.” The third masculine singular pronominal suffix on “way” refers to the collective “all flesh.” The construction “corrupt one’s way” occurs only here (though Ezek 16:47 uses the Hiphil in an intransitive sense with the preposition ב [bet, “in”] followed by “ways”). The Hiphil of שָׁחָת (shakhat) means “to ruin, to destroy, to corrupt,” often as here in a moral/ethical sense. The Hebrew term דֶּרֶךְ (derekh, “way”) here refers to behavior or moral character, a sense that it frequently carries (see BDB 203 s.v. דֶּרֶךְ 6.a).
Deuteronomy 9:12
New English Translation
12 And he said to me, “Get up, go down at once from here because your people whom you brought out of Egypt have sinned! They have quickly turned from the way I commanded them and have made for themselves a cast metal image.”[a]
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- Deuteronomy 9:12 tc Heb “a casting.” The MT reads מַסֵּכָה (massekhah, “a cast thing”) but some mss and Smr add עֵגֶל (ʿegel, “calf”), “a molten calf” or the like (Exod 32:8). Perhaps Moses here omits reference to the calf out of contempt for it.
Deuteronomy 31:29
New English Translation
29 For I know that after I die you will totally[a] corrupt yourselves and turn away from the path I have commanded you to walk. Disaster will confront you in future days because you will act wickedly[b] before the Lord, inciting him to anger because of your actions.”[c]
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- Deuteronomy 31:29 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “totally.”
- Deuteronomy 31:29 tn Heb “do the evil.”
- Deuteronomy 31:29 tn Heb “the work of your hands.”
Judges 2:19
New English Translation
19 When a leader died, the next generation[a] would again[b] act more wickedly than the previous one.[c] They would follow after other gods, worshiping them[d] and bowing down to them. They did not give up[e] their practices or their stubborn ways.
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- Judges 2:19 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the next generation) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Judges 2:19 tn The verb שׁוּב (shuv, “to return; to turn”) is sometimes translated “turn back” here, but it is probably used in an adverbial sense, indicating that the main action (“act wickedly”) is being repeated.
- Judges 2:19 tn Heb “their fathers.”sn The statement the next generation would again act more wickedly than the previous one must refer to the successive sinful generations after Joshua, not Joshua’s godly generation (cf. vv. 7, 17).
- Judges 2:19 tn Or “serving [them]”; or “following [them].”
- Judges 2:19 tn Or “drop.”
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