And God looked upon the earth and saw that it was corrupt; for all living creatures on the earth had corrupted their ways.
Parallel translations
- WEB God saw the earth, and saw that it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.
- KJV And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
- NKJV So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.
- NASB And God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for humanity had corrupted its way upon the earth.
- NLT God observed all this corruption in the world, for everyone on earth was corrupt.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God himself sees that all flesh had corrupted its way on the earth. The verdict comes from God's own all-seeing examination.
Overview
This verse echoes the language of creation, where God "saw" that things were good; now he sees only corruption. The universality of "all flesh" shows that the corruption was pervasive, leaving Noah's family as the lone exception by grace. God's righteous seeing of sin sets up his righteous response in judgment and salvation.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Ps 53:2–3God looks down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if any understand, if any seek God.
- Prov 15:3The eyes of the LORD are in every place, observing the evil and the good.
- Ps 14:1–3For the choirmaster. Of David. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt; their acts are vile. There is no one who does good.
- Job 22:15–17Will you stay on the ancient path that wicked men have trod?
- 2 Pet 2:5if He did not spare the ancient world when He brought the flood on its ungodly people, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, among the eight;
- Gen 6:4–5The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and afterward as well—when the sons of God had relations with the daughters of men. And they bore them children who became the mighty men of old, men of renown.
- Job 33:27Then he sings before men with these words: ‘I have sinned and perverted what was right; yet I did not get what I deserved.
- 1 Pet 3:19–20in whom He also went and preached to the spirits in prison
- Ps 33:13–14The LORD looks down from heaven; He sees all the sons of men.
- Gen 7:1Then the LORD said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your family, because I have found you righteous in this generation.
- Gen 6:8Noah, however, found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
- Gen 9:12And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between Me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come:
- Gen 18:21I will go down to see if their actions fully justify the outcry that has reached Me. If not, I will find out.”
- Gen 7:21And every living thing that moved upon the earth perished—birds, livestock, animals, every creature that swarms upon the earth, and all mankind.
- Luke 3:6And all humanity will see God’s salvation.’”
- Gen 9:16–17And whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of every kind that is on the earth.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 6:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.