Gen 8:21 | NET2full | STEP | And the Lord smelled the soothing aroma and said to himself , “I will never again curse the ground because of humankind , even though the inclination of their minds is evil from childhood on. I will never again destroy everything that lives , as I have just done .

‏ Genesis 8:21

21 And the Lord smelled the soothing aroma ^{▼▼tn The Lord “smelled” (וַיָּרַח, vayyarakh) a “soothing smell” (רֵיחַ הַנִּיחֹחַ, reakh hannikhoakh). The object forms a cognate accusative with the verb. The language is anthropomorphic. The offering had a sweet aroma that pleased or soothed. The expression in Lev 1 signifies that God accepts the offering with pleasure, and in accepting the offering he accepts the worshiper.} and said ^{▼▼tn Heb “and the Lord said.”} to himself, ^{▼▼tn Heb “in his heart.”} “I will never again curse ^{▼▼tn Here the Hebrew word translated “curse” is קָלָל (qalal), used in the Piel verbal stem.} the ground because of humankind, even though ^{▼▼tn The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) can be used in a concessive sense (see BDB 473 s.v. כִּי), which makes good sense in this context. Its normal causal sense (“for”) does not fit the context here very well.} the inclination of their minds ^{▼▼tn Heb “the inclination of the heart of humankind.”} is evil from childhood on. ^{▼▼tn Heb “from his youth.”} I will never again destroy everything that lives, as I have just done.