Genesis 6

1 And when men began to be multiplied upon the earth, and daughters were born to them,

2 the sons of God, seeing that the daughters of men were beautiful, took to themselves wives from all whom they chose.

3 And God said: "My spirit shall not remain in man forever, because he is flesh. And so his days shall be one hundred and twenty years."

4 Now giants were upon the earth in those days. For after the sons of God went in to the daughters of men, and they conceived, these became the powerful ones of ancient times, men of renown.

5 Then God, seeing that the wickedness of men was great upon the earth and that every thought of their heart was intent upon evil at all times,

6 repented that he had made man on the earth. And being touched inwardly with a sorrow of heart,

7 he said, "I will eliminate man, whom I have created, from the face of the earth, from man to other living things, from animals even to the flying things of the air. For it grieves me that I have made them."

8 Yet truly, Noah found grace before the Lord.

9 These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a just man, and yet he was predominate among his generations, for he walked with God.

10 And he conceived three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

11 Yet the earth was corrupted before the eyes of God, and it was filled with iniquity.

12 And when God had seen that the earth had been corrupted, (indeed, all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth)

13 he said to Noah: "The end of all flesh has arrived in my sight. The earth has been filled with iniquity by their presence, and I will destroy them, along with the earth.

14 Make yourself an ark from smoothed wood. You shall make little dwelling places in the ark, and you shall smear pitch on the interior and exterior.

15 And thus shall you make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.

16 You shall make a window in the ark, and you shall complete it within a cubit of the top. Then you shall set the door of the ark at its side. You shall make in it: a lower part, upper rooms, and a third level.

17 Behold, I shall bring the waters of a great flood upon the earth, so as to put to death all flesh in which there is the breath of life under heaven. All things that are on the earth shall be consumed.

18 And I shall establish my covenant with you, and you shall enter the ark, you and your sons, your wife and the wives of your sons with you.

19 And from every living thing of all that is flesh, you shall lead pairs into the ark, so that they may survive with you: from the male sex and the female,

20 from birds, according to their kind, and from beasts, in their kind, and from among all animals on earth, according to their kind; pairs from each shall enter with you, so that they may be able to live.

21 Therefore, you shall take with you from all the foods that are able to be eaten, and you shall carry these with you. And these shall be used as food, some for you, and the rest for them."

22 And so Noah did all things just as God had instructed him.

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Genesis 6

Wickedness in the World

1When human beings began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, 2the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. 3Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with#6:3 Or My spirit will not remain in humans forever, for they are mortal#6:3 Or corrupt; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”

4The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.

5The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. 6The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. 7So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” 8But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

Noah and the Flood

9This is the account of Noah and his family.

Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God. 10Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.

11Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. 12God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. 13So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. 14So make yourself an ark of cypress#6:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain. wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. 15This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high.#6:15 That is, about 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high or about 135 meters long, 23 meters wide and 14 meters high 16Make a roof for it, leaving below the roof an opening one cubit#6:16 That is, about 18 inches or about 45 centimeters high all around.#6:16 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. 17I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. 18But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you. 19You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. 20Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. 21You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.”

22Noah did everything just as God commanded him.

The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®

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