What does the Bible say about the depravity of man?

The concept of total depravity is rooted in the understanding that every part of humanity is affected by sin. Jeremiah 17:9 states, 'The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?' This reflects the biblical truth that apart from God's intervention, humanity has no capacity to seek God or righteousness. Romans 3:9-12 reinforces this by declaring, 'There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none that understandeth; there is none that seeketh after God.' This doctrine emphasizes that all human efforts to please God through works are futile because the heart, by nature, is corrupt.