Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of mankind was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of [a]their hearts was only evil continually. So the Lord was sorry that He had made mankind on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
There are two hearts described in Genesis 6: The heart of man and the heart of God. The [a] footnote tells us that this is humanity’s single heart; it’s a singular noun, rather than the many hearts of many people. Man’s heart is described in the English as “evil continually,” but in Hebrew, this is also understood as “misery every single day.”
II. evil, distress, misery, injury, calamity
1. evil, distress, adversity
2. evil, injury, wrong
3. evil (ethical)
H7451: רַע (raʿ)
It describes suffering. Endless, all-day suffering, leading to violence on the earth done to one another.
God’s heart is in response to man’s heart, where we see God’s heart breaking over the misery of mankind. God responds to the brokenhearted, and to those who call out in their distress.
This passage describes the heart of our God.
5. (Hithpael) to feel grieved, be vexed
H6087: עָצַב (ʿāṣaḇ)