Genesis 8:21

8:21 And the Lord smelled the soothing aroma¹ and said² to himself,³ “I will never again curse⁴ the ground because of humankind, even though⁵ the inclination of their minds⁶ is evil from childhood on.⁷ I will never again destroy everything that lives, as I have just done.

Genesis 19:14

19:14 Then Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law who were going to marry his daughters.⁸ He said, “Quick, get out of this place because the Lord is about to destroy⁹ the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was ridiculing them.¹⁰

¹tn The Lord “smelled” (וַיָּרַח, vayyarakh) a “soothing smell” (רֵיחַ הַנִּיהֹחַ, reakh hannihoakh). 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.

²tn Heb “and the Lord said.”

³tn Heb “in his heart.”

⁴tn Here the Hebrew word translated “curse” is קָלָל (qalal), used in the Piel verbal stem.

⁵tn 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.

⁶tn Heb “the inclination of the heart of humankind.”

⁷tn Heb “from his youth.”

⁸sn The language has to be interpreted in the light of the context and the social customs. The men are called “sons-in-law” (literally “the takers of his daughters”), but the daughters had not yet had sex with a man. It is better to translate the phrase “who were going to marry his daughters.” Since formal marriage contracts were binding, the husbands-to-be could already be called sons-in-law.

⁹tn The Hebrew active participle expresses an imminent action.

¹⁰tn Heb “and he was like one taunting in the eyes of his sons-in-law.” These men mistakenly thought Lot was ridiculing them and their lifestyle. Their response illustrates how morally insensitive they had become.