^8:8Then Noah¹³ sent out a dove¹⁴ to see if the waters had receded¹⁵ from the surface of the ground. ^8:9The dove could not find a resting place for its feet because water still covered¹⁶ the surface of the entire earth, and so it returned to Noah¹⁷ in the ark. He stretched out his hand, took the dove,¹⁸ and brought it back into the ark.¹⁹

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Footnotes

12 Heb “and it went out, going out and returning.” The Hebrew verb יָצָא (yatsa’), translated here “flying,” is modified by two infinitives absolute indicating that the raven went back and forth.
13 Heb “he”; the referent (Noah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
14 The Hebrew text adds “from him.” This has not been translated for stylistic reasons, because it is redundant in English.
15 The Hebrew verb קָלָל (qalal) normally means “to be light, to be slight”; it refers here to the waters receding.
16 The words “still covered” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
17 Heb “him”; the referent (Noah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
18 Heb “it”; the referent (the dove) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
19 Heb “and he brought it to himself to the ark.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

and sent forth a raven. It went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth. Then he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground. But the dove found no place to set her foot, and she returned to him to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took her and brought her into the ark with him.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

and sent out a raven, and it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth. Then he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground. But the dove could find nowhere to perch because there was water over all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

and he sent out a raven. It went back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth. Then he sent out a dove to see whether the water on the earth’s surface had gone down, but the dove found no resting place for its foot. It returned to him in the ark because water covered the surface of the whole earth. He reached out and brought it into the ark to himself.

NLTNew Living Translation

and released a raven. The bird flew back and forth until the floodwaters on the earth had dried up. He also released a dove to see if the water had receded and it could find dry ground. But the dove could find no place to land because the water still covered the ground. So it returned to the boat, and Noah held out his hand and drew the dove back inside.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And he sent out a raven; it went to and fro until the waters were dried up from upon the earth. And he sent out a dove to see whether the waters had subsided from upon the face of the ground. But the dove did not find a resting place for the sole of her foot, and she returned to him into the ark, for the waters were still on the face of all the earth. And he stretched out his hand and took her, and brought her to himself into the ark.

KJV 1900King James Version

And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth. Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground; But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark.

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