Genesis 6:1–7:24

The Flood

6Men began to increase their numbers on the earth, and daughters were born to them. ²The sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful. So they married any of them they chose.

³Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not struggle with man forever. He will die. He will have only 120 years to live until I judge him.”

⁴The Nephilim were on the earth in those days. That was when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. The Nephilim were the heroes of long ago. They were famous men. Nephilim were also on the earth later on.

⁵The Lord saw how bad the sins of man had become on the earth. All of the thoughts in his heart were always directed only toward what was evil. ⁶The Lord was very sad that he had made man on the earth. His heart was filled with pain. ⁷So the Lord said, “I created man on the earth. But I will wipe them out. I will destroy people and animals alike. I will also destroy the creatures that move along the ground and the birds of the air. I am very sad that I have made man.”

⁸But the Lord was pleased with Noah.

⁹Here is the story of Noah.

Noah was a godly man. He was without blame among the people of his time. He walked with God. ¹⁰Noah had three sons. Their names were Shem, Ham and Japheth.

¹¹The earth was very sinful in God’s eyes. It was full of mean and harmful acts. ¹²God saw how sinful the earth had become. All of the people on earth were leading very sinful lives.

¹³So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people. They have filled the earth with their harmful acts. You can be sure that I am going to destroy both them and the earth.

¹⁴“So make yourself an ark out of cypress wood. Make rooms in it. Cover it with tar inside and out. ¹⁵Here is how I want you to build it. The ark has to be 450 feet long. It has to be 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. ¹⁶Make a roof for it. Leave the sides of the ark open a foot and a half from the top. Put a door in one side of the ark. Make lower, middle and upper decks.

¹⁷“I am going to bring a flood on the earth. It will destroy all life under the sky. It will destroy every living creature that breathes. Everything on earth will die.

¹⁸“But I will make my covenant with you. You will enter the ark. Your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives will enter it with you.

¹⁹“Bring two of every living thing into the ark. Bring male and female of them into it. They will be kept alive with you. ²⁰Two of every kind of bird will come to you. Two of every kind of animal will come to you. And two of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you. All of them will be kept alive with you.

²¹“Take every kind of food that you will need. Store it away. It will be food for you and for them.”

²²Noah did everything exactly as God commanded him.

7Then the Lord said to Noah, “Go into the ark with your whole family. I know that you are a godly man among the people of today.

²“Take seven of every kind of ‘clean’ animal with you. Take male and female of them. Take two of every kind of animal that is not ‘clean.’ Take male and female of them. ³Also take seven of every kind of bird. Take male and female of them. That will keep every kind alive. Then they can spread out again over the whole earth.

⁴“Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth. It will rain for 40 days and 40 nights. I will destroy from the face of the earth every living thing I have made.”

⁵Noah did everything the Lord commanded him to do.

⁶Noah was 600 years old when the flood came on the earth. ⁷He and his sons entered the ark. His wife and his sons’ wives went with them. They entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood.

⁸Pairs of “clean” animals and pairs of animals that were not “clean” came to Noah. So did pairs of birds and pairs of all of the creatures that move along the ground. ⁹Male and female of all of them came to Noah and entered the ark.

Everything happened exactly as God had commanded Noah. ¹⁰After seven days the flood came on the earth.

¹¹Noah was 600 years old. It was the 17th day of the second month of the year. On that day all of the springs at the bottom of the oceans burst open. God opened the windows of the skies. ¹²Rain fell on the earth for 40 days and 40 nights.

¹³On that same day Noah entered the ark together with Shem, Ham and Japheth. Noah’s wife and the wives of his three sons also entered it.

¹⁴They had every kind of wild animal with them. They had every kind of livestock. They had every kind of creature that moves along the ground. And they had every kind of bird that flies. ¹⁵Pairs of all living creatures that breathe came to Noah and entered the ark. ¹⁶The animals going in were male and female of every living thing.

Everything happened exactly as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord shut him in.

¹⁷For 40 days the flood kept coming on the earth. As the waters rose higher, they lifted the ark high above the earth. ¹⁸The waters rose higher and higher on the earth. And the ark floated on the water.

¹⁹The waters rose on the earth until all of the high mountains under the entire sky were covered. ²⁰The waters continued to rise until they covered the mountains by more than 20 feet.

²¹Every living thing that moved on the earth died. The birds, the livestock and the wild animals died. All of the creatures that fill the earth also died. And so did every human being. ²²Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in it died. ²³Every living thing on the earth was wiped out. People and animals were destroyed. The creatures that move along the ground and the birds of the air were wiped out.

Everything was destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark were left.

²⁴The waters flooded the earth for 150 days.