'Evil' in the Bible

And Yahweh God caused to grow every tree [that] was pleasing to the sight and good for food. And the tree of life [was] in the midst of the garden, {along with} the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day {that you eat} from it {you shall surely die}."

For God knows that on the day you [both] eat from it, then your eyes will be opened and you [both] shall be like gods, knowing good and evil."

And Yahweh God said, "Look--the man has become as one of us, to know good and evil. {What if} he stretches out his hand and takes also from the tree of life and eats, and lives forever?"

And Yahweh saw that the evil of humankind [was] great upon the earth, and every inclination of the thoughts of his heart [was] always only evil.

And Yahweh smelled the soothing fragrance, and Yahweh said {to himself}, "{Never again will I curse} the ground for the sake of humankind, because the inclination of the heart of humankind [is] evil from his youth. {Nor will I ever again destroy} all life as I have done.

Then Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan [were] evil in the eyes of Isaac his father,

And God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and said to him, "{Take care} that you not speak with Jacob, whether good or evil."

{It is in my power} to do harm to you, but the God of your father spoke to me last night saying, '{Take care} from speaking with Jacob, whether good or evil.'

And Er, the firstborn of Judah, was evil in the eyes of Yahweh, and Yahweh killed him.

And what he did was evil in the sight of Yahweh, so he killed him also.

They went out of the city, [and] had not gone far when Joseph said to [the one] who [was] over his house, "Arise! Pursue after the men and overtake them. Then you shall say to them, 'Why have you repaid evil for good?

Is this not that from which my master drinks? Now he himself certainly practices divination with it. You have done evil [in] what you have done.'"

The angel who redeemed me from all evil, may he bless the boys. And through them let my name be perpetuated, and the name of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac. And let them multiply into many in the midst of the earth.

And when the brothers of Joseph saw that their father [was] dead, they said, "It may be [that] Joseph will hold a grudge against us and pay us back dearly for all the evil that we did to him."

"Thus you must say to Joseph, 'O, please now forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, for they did evil to you.' So now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father." And Joseph wept when they spoke to him.

As for you, you planned evil against me, [but] God planned it for good, in order to do this--to keep many people alive--as [it is] today.

And he said to them, "Let Yahweh be thus with you [as soon] as I release you and your dependents. See that evil is before your faces.

You will not {follow} a majority for evil, and you will not testify concerning a legal dispute to turn aside after a majority to pervert [justice].

Why should [the] Egyptians {say}, 'With evil [intent] he brought them out to kill them in the mountains and wipe them from the face of the earth'? Turn from {your fierce anger} and relent concerning the disaster for your people.

And Aaron said, "{Let not my lord become angry}. You yourself know the people, that {they are intent on evil}.

Or when a person swears, speaking thoughtlessly with [his] lips, to do evil or to do good {with regard to} anything that {the person} in a sworn oath speaks thoughtlessly, but {he is unaware of it}, he will be guilty {in any of} these.

"How long [will I bear] this evil community who are grumbling against me? I have heard the grumbling of the {Israelites} which {they are making} against me.

I, Yahweh, have spoken; I will surely do this to all this evil community who has banded together against me. In this desert they will come to an end, and there they will die."

the men who spread the evil report of the land died by the plague {before Yahweh}.

He has no regard [for] evil in Jacob, and he does not see trouble in Israel; Yahweh his God [is] with him, and a shout of a king [is] among them.

'If Balak gave to me the fullness of his house full of silver and gold, I am not able to go beyond {the command of Yahweh} to do good or evil, from my heart; what Yahweh speaks, I will speak'?

And {Yahweh became angry}, and he made them wander in the desert forty years until the entire generation who did evil in the {sight of Yahweh} {had died}.

'No one of these men of this evil generation will see the good land that I swore to give to your ancestors,

"When you have had children and {grandchildren} and you have grown old in the land and you act corruptly and you make a divine image [of] the form of anything and you do evil in the eyes of Yahweh your God, [thus] provoking him to anger,

And [then] I lay prostrate {before} Yahweh, as earlier, forty days and forty nights; I did not eat food and I did not drink water because of all your sins that you committed, by doing evil in the eyes of Yahweh [and so] provoking him.

But that prophet or the dreamer of that dream shall be executed, for he spoke falsely about Yahweh your God, the [one] bringing you out from the land of Egypt and the [one] redeeming you from the house of slavery, in order to seduce you from the way that Yahweh your God commanded you to go in it; so [in this way] you shall purge the evil from your midst.

And all [of] Israel shall hear, and they shall fear, and {they shall not continue to act} according to this evil thing in your midst.

If [there] is found in one of your {towns} that Yahweh your God [is] giving to you a man or a woman that does evil in the eyes of Yahweh your God to transgress his covenant

then you shall bring out that man or that woman who has done this evil thing to your gates; that is, the man or the woman, and you shall stone them with stones {to death}.

The hand of the witnesses shall be first against the person to kill the person, and afterward the hands [of] all the people, and [so] you shall purge the evil from your midst.

And the man who treats with contempt [so as] not to listen to the priest [who] [is] standing to minister on behalf of Yahweh your God or to the judge, that man shall die; so you shall purge the evil from Israel.

then you shall do to him as he meant to do to his brother, and so you shall purge the evil from your midst.

{And the rest} shall hear and shall fear, and {they shall not continue to do such a thing again} as this evil thing in your midst.

Then all the men of his city shall stone him with stones and let him die; and so you shall purge the evil from your midst, and all of Israel will hear, and they will fear.

and [then] they shall bring out the young woman to the doorway of the house of her father, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones, and she shall die, because she did a disgraceful thing in Israel {by playing the harlot} [in] the house of her father, and so you shall purge the evil from your midst.

"If a man is found lying {with a married woman}, then they shall both die; {both of them}, the man who lay with the woman and the woman [also], so you shall purge the evil from Israel.

then you shall bring out {both of them} to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them with stones so that they shall die, the young woman because she did not cry out in the town, and the man because he violated his neighbor's wife; and so you shall purge the evil from your midst.

"If you go out to encamp against your enemies, then you shall guard against [doing] anything evil.

"If a man is {caught} kidnapping somebody from [among] his countrymen, the {Israelites}, and he treats him as a slave or he sells him, then that kidnapper shall die, and [so] you shall purge the evil {from among you}.

"Yahweh will send upon you the curse, the panic, and the threat {in everything that you undertake}, {until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly} {because of} the evil of your deeds in that you have forsaken me.

But I will certainly hide my face on that day, because [of] all of the evil that they did because they turned to other gods.

For I know that after my death you will certainly act corruptly, and you will turn aside from the way that I have commanded you, and the disaster in the future days will befall you, because you will do evil in the eyes of Yahweh, {provoking him with the work of your hands}."

The {Israelites} did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, and {they served} the Baals.

The {Israelites} did evil in the eyes of Yahweh. They forgot Yahweh their God, and they served the Baals and the Asheroth.

And again the {Israelites} did evil in the eyes of Yahweh. So Yahweh strengthened Eglon king of Moab against Israel, because they did evil in the eyes of Yahweh.

And again the {Israelites} did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, and Ehud died.

The {Israelites} did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, and Yahweh gave them into the hand of the Midianites for seven years.

And God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the lords of Shechem, and the lords of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech,

And again, the {Israelites} did evil in the eyes of Yahweh. They served the Baals, the Ashtaroth, the gods of Aram, Sidon, Moab, and the gods of the {Ammonites} and Philistines; they abandoned Yahweh and did not serve him.

And again, the {Israelites} did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, and Yahweh gave them into the hand of [the] Philistines forty years.

And Samson said to them, "This time, as far as the Philistines are concerned, when I do something evil I am without blame."

(The descendants of Benjamin heard that the {Israelites} had gone up [to] Mizpah.) And the {Israelites} said, "Tell us, how did this evil act occur?"

And he asked them, "Why are you doing all these things that I am hearing, [namely], your evil dealings with all these people?

And Samuel said to the people, "Do not fear! You have done all this evil; only do not turn aside from {following} Yahweh. But you must serve Yahweh with all your heart.

Why did you not listen to the voice of Yahweh and fall with shouting on the plunder? You have done evil in the sight of Yahweh!"

Now the Spirit of Yahweh departed from Saul and an evil spirit from Yahweh tormented him.

So the servants of Saul said to him, "Look please, an evil spirit from God [is] tormenting you.

Please, let our lord command your servants [who are] before you! Let them seek a man skilled in playing on the lyre. {When} the evil spirit from God [is] upon you, he can play {on it} and {you will feel better}."

So whenever the [evil] spirit from God came to Saul, David would take the stringed instrument and play it with his hand. Then {it would bring relief} for Saul; {he would feel better} and the evil spirit would depart from him.

His oldest brother Eliab heard while he was speaking to the men, {and Eliab became very angry against David} and said, "Why have you come down today, and with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumptuousness and the evil of your heart! For you have come down in order to see the battle!"

{On} [the] next day, the evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he prophesied in the middle of the house. Now David was playing [the lyre] with his hand on [that] day {as usual}, and the spear was in Saul's hand.

Then the evil spirit from Yahweh came upon Saul while he was sitting in his house [with] his spear in his hand. And David [was] playing a stringed instrument in [his] hand.

Then Jonathan said, "Far be it from you! For if I know for certain that {my father decided evil should come upon you}, would I not have told it to you?"

When David learned that Saul [was] plotting evil against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, "Bring the ephod here."

Now, my father, see, yes, see, the hem of your robe in my hand! For {when I cut} the hem of your robe I did not kill you. Know and {realize} that there is no evil or rebellion in my hand. I did not sin against you, but you [are] hunting down my life to take it.

Then he said to David, "You are more righteous than I, for you have repaid me the good, but I have repaid you the evil.

And so then, know and {consider} what you should do, for evil has been decided against our master and against all his household, and he [is such] {a wicked man}, {nobody can reason with him}!"

Now David had said, "Surely {in vain} I guarded all that this fellow had in the desert. And nothing was missed of all that [was] his, but he returned evil against me in place of good!

Please forgive the transgression of your female servant, because Yahweh will certainly make a lasting house for my lord, because my lord [is] fighting the battles of Yahweh, and evil will not be found in you {as long as you live}.

When David heard that Nabal had died, he said, "Blessed be Yahweh who has vindicated the case of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and he has kept back his servant from evil; but Yahweh has returned the evil of Nabal on his [own] head." Then David sent and spoke with Abigail to take her for his wife.

Then he said, "Why [is] my lord pursuing after his servant? For what have I done? And what evil [is] in my hand?

When the mourning [was] over, David sent and brought her to his household, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing which David had done [was] evil in the eyes of Yahweh.

Why have you despised the word of Yahweh by doing evil in his eyes? Uriah the Hittite you have struck down with the sword, and his wife you have taken to yourself as wife! You have killed him with the sword of the {Ammonites}!

Thus says Yahweh, 'Look, I [am] going to raise up evil against you from [within] your house, and I will take your women before your eyes, and I will give them to your neighbor, and he shall sleep with your wives {in broad daylight}.

It happened on the seventh day that the child died, and the servants of David [were] afraid to tell him that the child [was] dead, for they said, "Look, when the child [was] alive, we spoke to him, but he would not listen to our voice. How can we tell him, 'The child [is] dead'? He may do [something] evil."

She said to him, "No, because this evil in sending me away [is] greater than the other you have done to me." But he [was] not willing to listen to her.

Then David said to all his servants who [were] with him in Jerusalem, "Get up and let us flee, for there will be no escape for us from Absalom! Hurry to go, otherwise he will come quickly and overtake us! And he will bring disaster on us and evil! He will attack the city with the edge of the sword!"

But evil persons [are] like thorns cast aside; all of them, because they cannot be picked up in the hand.

When the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, Yahweh regretted about the evil, and he said to the angel who brought destruction among the people, "Enough, now relax your hand." Now the angel of Yahweh [was] at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

Solomon said, "If he is a son of noble character, not a hair of his [head] will fall to the ground, but if evil is found in him, then he will die."

Then the king said to Shimei, "You know all the evil which your heart knows, what you did to David my father. Now Yahweh will return the evil on your head,

So Solomon did evil in the eyes of Yahweh and did not fully [follow] after Yahweh as David his father.

He was an adversary for Israel all the days of Solomon, and [along with] the evil that Hadad [did], he detested Israel [while] he reigned over Aram.

After this event, Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but he returned and [again] made priests for the high places of people from {all walks of life}. He filled his hand with all [his] desire and became [one of] the priests of the high places [himself].

But you did more evil than all who were before you. You have gone and made for yourself other gods and molten idols to provoke me, but me you have {completely disregarded}.

But Judah did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, and they annoyed him more than their fathers did with their sins that they had committed.

He did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, and he walked in the way of his father and in his sin that he caused Israel to commit.

He did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, and he walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin that he caused Israel to commit.

Moreover, the word of Yahweh came to Baasha and to his house by the hand of Jehu the son of Hanani the prophet, because of all the evil that he did in the eyes of Yahweh by provoking him with the work of his hands, by being like the house of Jeroboam; and he destroyed him.

[This happened] because of his sin which he committed by doing evil in the eyes of Yahweh, by going the way of Jeroboam and in his sin which he did by causing Israel to sin.

But Omri did evil in the eyes of Yahweh more than all who were before him.

But Ahab son of Omri did evil in the eyes of Yahweh more than all who were before him.

Then he called to Yahweh and said, "O Yahweh my God, are you also causing evil to come upon the widow with whom I [am] dwelling as an alien by causing her son to die?"

Then Ahab said to Elijah, "Have you found me, my enemy?" He said, "I have found you because you have sold yourself to do evil in the eyes of Yahweh.