Genesis 6
6
Sons of God and Daughters of Mankind
1When mankind began to multiply on the earth and daughters were born to them, 2the sons of God#Jb 1:6; 2:1; 38:7 saw that the daughters of mankind were beautiful, and they took any they chose as wives for themselves.#1Pt 3:19–20; Jd 6 3And the Lord said, “My Spirit will not remain#6:3 Or strive with#6:3 Or in mankind forever,#Gl 5:16–17; 1Pt 3:20 because they are corrupt.#6:3 Lit flesh#Ps 78:39 Their days will be 120 years.” 4The Nephilim#6:4 Possibly means “fallen ones”; traditionally, “giants”; Nm 13:31–33 were on the earth both in those days and afterward, when the sons of God came to the daughters of mankind, who bore children to them. They were the powerful men of old, the famous men.
Judgment Decreed
5When the Lord saw that human wickedness was widespread on the earth and that every inclination of the human mind was nothing but evil all the time,#Gn 8:21; Ps 14:1–3; Pr 6:18; Mt 15:19; Rm 1:28–32 6the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth,#Nm 23:19; 1Sm 15:11,29; 2Sm 24:16; Jl 2:13 and he was deeply grieved. 7Then the Lord said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I created, off the face of the earth, together with the animals, creatures that crawl, and birds of the sky — for I regret that I made them.” 8Noah, however, found favor with the Lord.#Gn 19:19; Ex 33:17; Lk 1:30
God Warns Noah
9These are the family records#Gn 2:4 of Noah. Noah was a righteous man,#Ps 37:39; 2Pt 2:5 blameless among his contemporaries;#Gn 17:1; Dt 18:13; Jb 1:1 Noah walked with God.#Gn 5:22 10And Noah fathered three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
11Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with wickedness.#6:11 Or injustice, also in v. 13 12God saw how corrupt the earth was, for every creature had corrupted its way on the earth.#Jb 22:15–17; Ps 14:2–3; 53:2–3 13Then God said to Noah, “I have decided to put an end to every creature, for the earth is filled with wickedness because of them; therefore I am going to destroy them along with the earth.
14“Make yourself an ark of gopher#6:14 Unknown species of tree; perhaps pine or cypress wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it with pitch inside and outside. 15This is how you are to make it: The ark will be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high.#6:15 Or 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high 16You are to make a roof,#6:16 Or window, or hatch; Hb uncertain finishing the sides of the ark to within eighteen inches#6:16 Lit to a cubit of the roof. You are to put a door in the side of the ark. Make it with lower, middle, and upper decks.
17“Understand that I am bringing a flood — floodwaters on the earth#Gn 7:4; 2Pt 2:5 to destroy every creature under heaven with the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. 18But I will establish my covenant with you,#Gn 9:9–16; 17:7 and you will enter the ark with your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives. 19You are also to bring into the ark two of all the living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. 20Two of everything — from the birds according to their kinds, from the livestock according to their kinds, and from the animals that crawl on the ground according to their kinds — will come to you so that you can keep them alive. 21Take with you every kind of food that is eaten; gather it as food for you and for them.” 22And Noah did this. He did everything that God had commanded him.#Gn 7:5
© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Genesis 6
6
People Become Evil
1-4The number of people on earth continued to increase. When these people had daughters, the sons of God saw how beautiful they were. So they chose the women they wanted. They married them, and the women had their children.
Then the Lord said, “People are only human. I will not let my Spirit be troubled by them forever. I will let them live only 120 years.”#6:1-4 People … 120 years Or “The spirit from me will not live in people forever, because they are flesh. They will live only 120 years.” Or “My Spirit will not judge people forever, because they will all die in 120 years.”
During this time and also later, the Nephilim people lived in the land. They have been famous as powerful soldiers since ancient times.
5The Lord saw that the people on the earth were very evil. He saw that they thought only about evil things all the time. 6The Lord was sorry that he had made people on the earth. It made him very sad in his heart. 7So the Lord said, “I will destroy all the people I created on the earth. I will destroy every person and every animal and everything that crawls on the earth. And I will destroy all the birds in the air, because I am sorry that I have made them.”
8But Noah pleased the Lord.
Noah and the Great Flood
9This is the history of Noah’s family. He was a good man all his life, and he always followed God. 10Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
11-12When God looked at the earth, he saw that people had ruined it. Violence was everywhere, and it had ruined their life on earth.
13So God said to Noah, “Everyone has filled the earth with anger and violence. So I will destroy all living things. I will remove them from the earth. 14Use cypress wood#6:14 cypress wood In Hebrew, “gopher timbers.” It is uncertain what kind of wood this is. It might be a kind of tree or squared timbers. and build a boat for yourself. Make rooms in the boat and cover it with tar inside and out.
15“This is the size I want you to make the boat: 300 cubits#6:15 300 cubits 437' 1/8" (133 m) if this was the short cubit or 510' 1 13/16" (155.5 m) if it was the long cubit. long, 50 cubits#6:15 50 cubits 72' 10" (22.2 m) if this was the short cubit or 85' 5/16" (25.92 m) if it was the long cubit. wide, and 30 cubits#6:15 30 cubits 43' 8 7/16" (13.3 m) if this was the short cubit or 51' 3/16" (15.55 m) if it was the long cubit. high. 16Make a window for the boat about 1 cubit#6:16 1 cubit 17 1/2" (44.4 cm) if this was the short cubit or 20 5/8" (51.83 cm) if it was the long cubit. below the roof.#6:16 Make a window … below the roof Or “Make an opening for the boat about 18 inches tall.” Put a door in the side of the boat. Make three floors in the boat: a top deck, a middle deck, and a lower deck.
17“Understand what I am telling you. I will bring a great flood of water on the earth. I will destroy all living things that live under heaven. Everything on the earth will die. 18I will make a special agreement with you. You, your wife, your sons, and their wives will all go into the boat. 19Also, you will take two of every living thing on the earth with you into the boat. Take a male and female of every kind of animal so that they might survive with you. 20Two of every kind of bird, animal, and creeping thing will come to you so that you might keep them alive. 21Also bring every kind of food into the boat, for you and for the animals.”
22Noah did everything God commanded him.
© 1987, 2004 Bible League International