6:5 only evil continually. Universal wickedness requires a universal cause adequate to produce it. Nothing less than a worldwide influx of demonic control seems adequate to explain it.

6:6 his heart. The first mention of the word “heart” occurs here, connecting the evil in man’s heart with grief in God’s heart. This figure occurs often in Scripture, the “heart” representing the deepest seat of one’s emotions and decisions.

6:7 repenteh me. The apparent contradiction involved in the Biblical record of God “repenting” when the Bible also says God does not repent (contrast I Samuel 15:11 and 15:29) is resolved in terms of man’s viewpoint versus God’s viewpoint. To “repent” means to “change the mind.” God cannot repent, since He cannot change His mind concerning evil. He seems to repent, when man changes his mind concerning evil. God’s attitude toward man is conditioned by man’s attitude toward Him. It is because God does not repent that He must seem to repent when man “changes his mind.”