Genesis 6

1And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, 2that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. 3And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. 4There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

5And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. 8But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

9These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. 10And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

The Ark

13And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. 14Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. 15And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. 16A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it. 17And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die. 18But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee. 19And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. 20Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive. 21And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them. 22Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.

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Genesis 6

The Lord Will Send a Flood

1-2 # Job 1.6; 2.1. More and more people were born, until finally they spread all over the earth. Some of their daughters were so beautiful that supernatural beings#6.1,2 supernatural beings: Or “angels.” came down and married the ones they wanted. 3Then the Lord said, “I won't let my life-giving breath remain in anyone forever.#6.3 I won't … forever: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. No one will live for more than 120 years.”#6.3 No one … years: Or “In fact, they will all be destroyed in about 100 years” (that is, at the time of the flood).

4 # Nu 13.33; Si 16.7; Ba 3.26. #3 Macc 2.4. The children of the supernatural beings who had married these women became famous heroes and warriors. They were called Nephilim and lived on the earth at that time and even later.

5 # Mt 24.37; Lk 17.26; 1 P 3.20. The Lord saw how bad the people on earth were and that everything they thought and planned was evil. 6He was sorry that he had made them, 7and he said, “I'm going to destroy every person on earth! I'll even wipe out animals, birds, and reptiles. I'm sorry I ever made them.”

8But the Lord was pleased with Noah, 9#Si 44.17,18; 2 P 2.5. and this is the story about him. Noah was the only person who lived right and obeyed God. 10He had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

11-12God knew that everyone was terribly cruel and violent. 13So he told Noah:

Cruelty and violence have spread everywhere. Now I'm going to destroy the whole earth and all its people. 14Get some good lumber and build a boat. Put rooms in it and cover it with tar inside and out. 15Make it 133 meters long, 22 meters wide, and 13 meters high. 16Build a roof#6.16 roof: Or “window.” on the boat and leave a space of about 44 centimeters between the roof and the sides.#6.16 leave … sides: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. Make the boat three stories high and put a door on one side.

17I'm going to send a flood that will destroy everything that breathes! Nothing will be left alive. 18But I solemnly promise that you, your wife, your sons, and your daughters-in-law will be kept safe in the boat.#6.18 boat: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 18.

19-20Take into the boat with you a male and a female of every kind of animal and bird, as well as a male and a female of every reptile. I don't want them to be destroyed. 21Store up enough food both for yourself and for them.

22 # He 11.7. Noah did everything God told him to do.

Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)

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