The Judgment of the Flood

6:9 This is the account of Noah.30

Noah was a godly man; he was blameless31

among his contemporaries.32 He33 walked with34 God. 6:10 Noah had35 three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

6:11 The earth was ruined36 in the sight of37 God; the earth was filled with violence.38 6:12 God saw the earth, and indeed39 it was ruined,40 for all living creatures41 on the earth were sinful.42 6:13 So God said43 to Noah, “I have decided that all living creatures must die,44 for the earth is filled with violence because of them. Now I am about to destroy45 them and the earth. 6:14 Make46 for yourself an ark of cypress47 wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover48 it with pitch inside and out. 6:15 This is how you should make it: The ark is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high.49 6:16 Make a roof for the ark and finish it, leaving 18 inches50 from the top.51 Put a door in the side of the ark, and make lower, middle, and upper decks. 6:17 I am about to bring52 floodwaters53 on the earth to destroy54 from under the sky all the living creatures that have the breath of life in them.55 Everything that is on the earth will die, 6:18 but I will confirm56 my covenant with you. You will enter57 the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. 6:19 You must bring into the ark two of every kind of living creature from all flesh,58 male and female, to keep them alive59 with you. 6:20 Of the birds after their kinds, and of the cattle after their kinds, and of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every kind will come to you so you can keep them alive.60 6:21 And you must take61 for yourself every kind of food62 that is eaten,63 and gather it together.64 It will be food for you and for them.

6:22 And Noah did all65 that God commanded him—he did indeed.66

7:1 The Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, for I consider you godly among this generation.1 7:2 You must take with you seven2 of every kind of clean animal,3 the male and its mate,4 two of every kind of unclean animal, the male and its mate, 7:3 and also seven5 of every kind of bird in the sky, male and female,6 to preserve their offspring7 on the face of the earth. 7:4 For in seven days8 I will cause it to rain9 on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the ground every living thing that I have made.”

7:5 And Noah did all10 that the Lord commanded him.

7:6 Noah11 was 600 years old when the floodwaters engulfed12 the earth. 7:7 Noah entered the ark along with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives because13 of the floodwaters. 7:8 Pairs14 of clean animals, of unclean animals, of birds, and of everything that creeps along the ground, 7:9 male and female, came into the ark to Noah,15 just as God had commanded him.16 7:10 And after seven days the floodwaters engulfed the earth.17

7:11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month—on that day all the fountains of the great deep18 burst open and the floodgates of the heavens19 were opened. 7:12 And the rain fell20 on the earth forty days and forty nights.

7:13 On that very day Noah entered the ark, accompanied by his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, along with his wife and his sons’ three wives.21 7:14 They entered,22 along with every living creature after its kind, every animal after its kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, everything with wings.23 7:15 Pairs24 of all creatures25 that have the breath of life came into the ark to Noah. 7:16 Those that entered were male and female,26 just as God commanded him. Then the Lord shut him in.

7:17 The flood engulfed the earth for forty days. As the waters increased, they lifted the ark and raised it above the earth. 7:18 The waters completely overwhelmed27 the earth, and the ark floated28 on the surface of the waters. 7:19 The waters completely inundated29 the earth so that even30 all the high mountains under the entire sky were covered. 7:20 The waters rose more than twenty feet31 above the mountains.32 7:21 And all living things33 that moved on the earth died, including the birds, domestic animals, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all humankind. 7:22 Everything on dry land that had the breath of life34 in its nostrils died. 7:23 So the Lord35 destroyed36 every living thing that was on the surface of the ground, including people, animals, creatures that creep along the ground, and birds of the sky.37 They were wiped off the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark survived.38 7:24 The waters prevailed over39 the earth for 150 days.

8:1 But God remembered1 Noah and all the wild animals and domestic animals that were with him in the ark. God caused a wind to blow over2 the earth and the waters receded. 8:2 The fountains of the deep and the floodgates of heaven were closed,3 and the rain stopped falling from the sky. 8:3 The waters kept receding steadily4 from the earth, so that they5 had gone down6 by the end of the 150 days. 8:4 On the seventeenth day of the seventh month, the ark came to rest on one of the mountains of Ararat.7 8:5 The waters kept on receding8 until the tenth month. On the first day of the tenth month, the tops of the mountains became visible.9

8:6 At the end of forty days,10 Noah opened the window he had made in the ark11 8:7 and sent out a raven; it kept flying12 back and forth until the waters had dried up on the earth.

8:8 Then Noah13 sent out a dove14 to see if the waters had receded15 from the surface of the ground. 8:9 The 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 8:10 He waited seven more days and then sent out the dove again from the ark. 8:11 When20 the dove returned to him in the evening, there was21 a freshly plucked olive leaf in its beak! Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth. 8:12 He waited another seven days and sent the dove out again,22 but it did not return to him this time.23

8:13 In Noah’s six hundred and first year,24 in the first day of the first month, the waters had dried up from the earth, and Noah removed the covering from the ark and saw that25 the surface of the ground was dry. 8:14 And by the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth26 was dry.

8:15 Then God spoke to Noah and said, 8:16 “Come out of the ark, you, your wife, your sons, and your sons’ wives with you. 8:17 Bring out with you all the living creatures that are with you. Bring out27 every living thing, including the birds, animals, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. Let them increase28 and be fruitful and multiply on the earth!”29

8:18 Noah went out along with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives. 8:19 Every living creature, every creeping thing, every bird, and everything that moves on the earth went out of the ark in their groups.

8:20 Noah built an altar to the Lord. He then took some of every kind of clean animal and clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.30 8:21 And the Lord smelled the soothing aroma31 and said32 to himself,33 “I will never again curse34 the ground because of humankind, even though35 the inclination of their minds36 is evil from childhood on.37 I will never again destroy everything that lives, as I have just done.

8:22 “While the earth continues to exist,38

planting time39 and harvest,

cold and heat,

summer and winter,

and day and night will not cease.”