17 sNow the flood was on the earth forty days. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. 18 The waters prevailed and greatly increased on the earth, tand the ark moved about on the surface of the waters. 19 And the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered. 20 The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered. 21 uAnd all flesh died that moved on 3the earth: birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man. 22 All in vwhose nostrils was the breath 4of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land, died. 23 So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only wNoah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive. 24 xAnd the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days.

Noah’s Deliverance

8 Then God aremembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the animals that were with him in the ark. bAnd God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided. 2 cThe fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were also dstopped, and ethe rain from heaven was restrained. 3 And the waters receded continually from the earth. At the end fof the hundred and fifty days the waters decreased. 4 Then the ark rested in the seventh month, the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat. 5 And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month. In the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen.

6 So it came to pass, at the end of forty days, that Noah opened gthe window of the ark which he had made. 7 Then he sent out a raven, which kept going to and fro until the waters had dried up from the earth. 8 He also sent out from himself a dove, to see if the waters had receded from the face of the ground. 9 But the dove found no resting place for the sole of her foot, and she returned into the ark to him, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took her, and drew her into the ark to himself. 10 And he waited yet another seven days, and again he sent the dove out from the ark. 11 Then the dove came to him in the evening, and behold, a freshly plucked olive leaf was in her mouth; and Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth. 12 So he waited yet another seven days and sent out the dove, which did not return again to him anymore.

13 And it came to pass in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, that the waters were dried up from the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked, and indeed the surface of the ground was dry. 14 And in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dried.

15 Then God spoke to Noah, saying, 16 “Go out of the ark, hyou and your wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you. 17 Bring out with you every living thing of all flesh that is with you: birds and cattle and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, so that they may abound on the earth, and ibe fruitful and multiply on the earth.” 18 So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him. 19 Every animal, every creeping thing, every bird, and whatever creeps on the earth, according to their families, went out of the ark.

God’s Covenant with Creation

20 Then Noah built an jaltar to the Lord, and took of kevery clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered lburnt offerings on the altar. 21 And the Lord smelled ma soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, “I will never again ncurse the ground for man’s sake, although the oimagination 1of man’s heart is evil from his youth; pnor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.

22 “While the earth qremains,

Seedtime and harvest,

Cold and heat,

Winter and summer,

And rday and night

Shall not cease.”

9 So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: a“Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. 2 bAnd the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand. 3 cEvery moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you dall things, even as the egreen herbs. 4 fBut you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. 5 Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; gfrom the hand of every beast I will require it, and hfrom the hand of man. From the hand of every iman’s brother I will require the life of man.

6 “Whoever jsheds man’s blood,

By man his blood shall be shed;

kFor in the image of God

He made man.

7 And as for you, lbe fruitful and multiply;

Bring forth abundantly in the earth

And multiply in it.”

8 Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying: 9 “And as for Me, mbehold, I establish nMy covenant with you and with your 1descendants after you, 10 oand with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth. 11 Thus pI establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

12 And God said: q“This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: 13 I set rMy rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. 14 It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; 15 and sI will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember tthe everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” 17 And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”