Genesis 7–9

Entering the Ark

7Then the Lord said to Noah, “Enter the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you alone are righteous before Me in this generation. ^t2You are to take with you seven pairs, a male and its female, of all the clean animals, ^uand two of the animals that are not clean, a male and its female, ³and seven pairs, male and female, of the birds of the sky—in order to keep offspring alive on the face of the whole earth. ⁴Seven days from now I will make it rain on the earth 40 days and 40 nights, and I will wipe off from the face of the earth every living thing I have made.” ⁵And Noah did everything that the Lord commanded him. ^v

⁶Noah was 600 years old when the flood came and water covered the earth. ⁷So Noah, his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives entered the ark because of the waters of the flood. ⁸From the clean animals, unclean animals, birds, and every creature that crawls on the ground, ⁹two of each, male and female, entered the ark with Noah, just as God had commanded him. ¹⁰Seven days later the waters of the flood came on the earth.

The Flood

¹¹In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the sources of the watery depths burst open, ^wthe floodgates of the sky were opened, ^x12and the rain fell on the earth 40 days and 40 nights. ¹³On that same day Noah along with his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, Noah’s wife, and his three sons’ wives entered the ark with him. ¹⁴They entered it with all the wildlife according to their kinds, all livestock according to their kinds, the creatures that crawl on the earth according to their kinds, all birds, every fowl, and everything with wings according to their kinds. ¹⁵Two of all flesh that has the breath of life in it entered the ark with Noah. ¹⁶Those that entered, male and female of all flesh, entered just as God had commanded him. Then the Lord shut him in.

¹⁷The flood continued for 40 days on the earth; the waters increased and lifted up the ark so that it rose above the earth. ¹⁸The waters surged and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. ¹⁹Then the waters surged even higher on the earth, and all the high mountains under the whole sky were covered. ²⁰The mountains were covered as the waters surged above them more than 20 feet. ^y21Every creature perished—those that crawl on the earth, birds, livestock, wildlife, and those that swarm ^zon the earth, as well as all mankind. ²²Everything with the breath of the spirit of life in its nostrils ^a—everything on dry land died. ²³He wiped out every living thing that was on the surface of the ground, from mankind to livestock, to creatures that crawl, to the birds of the sky, and they were wiped off the earth. Only Noah was left, and those that were with him in the ark. ^b24And the waters surged on the earth 150 days.

The Flood Recedes

8God remembered Noah, ^cas well as all the wildlife and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. God caused a wind ^dto pass over the earth, ^eand the water began to subside. ²The sources of the watery depths and the floodgates of the sky were closed, and the rain from the sky stopped. ^f3The water steadily receded from the earth, and by the end of 150 days the waters had decreased significantly. ^g4The ark came to rest in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat. ^hi

⁵The waters continued to recede until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were visible. ⁶After 40 days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made, ⁷and he sent out a raven. It went back and forth until the waters had dried up from the earth. ⁸Then he sent out a dove to see whether the water on the earth’s surface had gone down, ⁹but the dove found no resting place for her foot. She returned to him in the ark because water covered the surface of the whole earth. He reached out and brought her into the ark to himself. ¹⁰So Noah waited seven more days and sent out the dove from the ark again. ¹¹When the dove came to him at evening, there was a plucked olive leaf in her beak. So Noah knew that the water on the earth’s surface had gone down. ¹²After he had waited another seven days, he sent out the dove, but she did not return to him again. ¹³In the six hundred and first year, ^jin the first month, on the first day of the month, the water that had covered the earth was dried up. Then Noah removed the ark’s cover and saw that the surface of the ground was drying. ¹⁴By the twenty-seventh day of the second month, the earth was dry.

The Lord’s Promise

¹⁵Then God spoke to Noah, ¹⁶“Come out of the ark, you, your wife, your sons, and your sons’ wives with you. ¹⁷Bring out all the living creatures ^kthat are with you—birds, livestock, those that crawl on the ground—and they will spread over the earth and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.” ^l18So Noah, along with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, came out. ¹⁹All wildlife, all livestock, every bird, and every creature that crawls on the earth came out of the ark by their groups.

²⁰Then Noah built an altar to the Lord. He took some of every kind of clean animal and every kind of clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. ²¹When the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, ^mHe said to Himself, “I will never again curse the ground ⁿbecause of man, even though man’s inclination is evil from his youth. ^oAnd I will never again strike down every living thing as I have done. ^p

²²As long as the earth endures,

seedtime and harvest, cold and heat,

summer and winter, and day and night

will not cease.” ^q

God’s Covenant with Noah

9God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. ^r2The fear and terror of you will be in every living creature on the earth, every bird of the sky, every creature that crawls on the ground, and all the fish of the sea. They are placed under your authority. ^s3Every living creature will be food for you; ^tas I gave the green plants, I have given you everything. ^u4However, you must not eat meat with its lifeblood in it. ^v5I will require the life of every animal ^wand every man for your life and your blood. I will require the life of each man’s brother for a man’s life. ^x

⁶Whoever sheds man’s blood,

his blood will be shed by man, ^y

for God made man in His image. ^z

⁷But you, be fruitful and multiply; spread out over the earth and multiply on it.” ^a

⁸Then God said to Noah and his sons with him, ⁹“Understand that I am confirming My covenant ^bwith you and your descendants after you, ¹⁰and with every living creature that is with you—birds, livestock, and all wildlife of the earth that are with you—all the animals of the earth that came out of the ark. ¹¹I confirm My covenant with you that never again will every creature be wiped out by the waters of a flood; there will never again be a flood to destroy the earth.” ^c

¹²And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant ^dI am making between Me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all future generations: ¹³I have placed My bow in the clouds, ^eand it will be a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. ¹⁴Whenever I form clouds over the earth and the bow appears in the clouds, ¹⁵I will remember My covenant ^fbetween Me and you and all the living creatures: ^gwater will never again become a flood to destroy every creature. ¹⁶The bow will be in the clouds, and I will look at it and remember the everlasting covenant ^hbetween God and all the living creatures ⁱon earth.” ¹⁷God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have confirmed between Me and every creature on earth.”

Prophecies about Noah’s Family

¹⁸Noah’s sons who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham was the father of Canaan. ¹⁹These three were Noah’s sons, and from them the whole earth was populated. ^j

²⁰Noah, a man of the soil, was the first to plant ^ka vineyard. ²¹He drank some of the wine, became drunk, and uncovered himself inside his tent. ²²Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside. ^l23Then Shem and Japheth took a cloak and placed it over both their shoulders, and walking backward, they covered their father’s nakedness. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father naked.

²⁴When Noah awoke from his drinking and learned what his youngest son had done to him, ²⁵he said:

Canaan will be cursed. ^m

He will be the lowest of slaves to his brothers. ⁿ

²⁶He also said:

Praise the Lord, the God of Shem;

Canaan will be ^ohis slave.

²⁷God will extend ^pJapheth;

he will dwell in the tents of Shem;

Canaan will be his slave.

²⁸Now Noah lived 350 years after the flood. ²⁹So Noah’s life lasted 950 years; then he died.