Genesis 6:1–9:17

The Flood

6 Men 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.

7 Then 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.

8 But God showed concern for Noah. He also showed concern for all of the wild animals and livestock that were with Noah in the ark.

So God sent a wind over the earth. And the waters began to go down. 2The springs at the bottom of the oceans had been closed. The windows of the skies had been closed. And the rain had stopped falling from the sky.

3The water continued to go down from the earth. At the end of the 150 days the water had gone down. 4On the 17th day of the seventh month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. 5The waters continued to go down until the tenth month. On the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains could be seen.

6After 40 days Noah opened the window he had made in the ark. 7He sent a raven out. It kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth.

8Then Noah sent a dove out. He wanted to see if the water had gone down from the surface of the ground. 9But the dove couldn’t find any place to put its feet down. There was still water over the whole surface of the earth. So the dove returned to Noah in the ark. Noah reached out his hand and took the dove in. He brought it back to himself in the ark.

10He waited seven more days. Then he sent the dove out from the ark again. 11In the evening the dove returned to him. There in its beak was a freshly picked olive leaf! So Noah knew that the water on the earth had gone down.

12He waited seven more days. Then he sent the dove out again. But that time it didn’t return to him.

13It was the first day of the first month of Noah’s 601st year. The water had dried up from the earth. Then Noah removed the covering from the ark. He saw that the surface of the ground was dry. 14By the 27th day of the second month the earth was completely dry.

15Then God said to Noah, 16“Come out of the ark. Bring your wife and your sons and their wives with you.

17“Bring out every kind of living thing that is with you. Bring the birds, the animals, and all of the creatures that move along the ground. Then they can multiply on the earth. They can have little ones and increase their numbers.”

18So Noah came out of the ark. His sons and his wife and his sons’ wives were with him. 19All of the animals came out of the ark. The creatures that move along the ground also came out. So did all of the birds. Everything that moves on the earth came out of the ark. One kind after another came out.

20Then Noah built an altar to honor the Lord. He took some of all of the “clean” animals and birds. He sacrificed burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar.

21Their smell was pleasant to the Lord. He said to himself, “I will never put a curse on the ground again because of man. I will not do it even though his heart is always directed toward what is evil. His thoughts are evil from the time he is young. I will never destroy all living things again, as I have just done.

22 “As long as the earth lasts,

there will always be a time to plant

and a time to gather the crops.

As long as the earth lasts,

there will always be cold and heat.

There will always be summer and winter,

day and night.”

God Makes a Covenant With Noah

9 Then God gave his blessing to Noah and his sons. He said to them, “Have children and increase your numbers. Fill the earth.

2“All of the land animals will be afraid of you. All of the birds of the air will fear you. Every creature that moves along the ground will fear you. Every fish in the oceans will also be afraid of you. Every living thing is put under your control.

3“Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. I have already given you the green plants for food. Now I am giving you everything.

4“But you must not eat meat that still has blood in it. 5You can be sure that I will hold someone accountable if you are murdered. I will even hold animals accountable if they kill you. I will also hold anyone accountable who murders another person.

6 “Anyone who murders man

will be killed by man.

That is because I have made man

in my own likeness.

7“Have children and increase your numbers. Multiply on the earth and increase your numbers on it.”

8Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons who were with him. He said, 9“I am now making my covenant with you and with all of your children who will be born after you. 10I am…