Genesis 6
6
1And it came to pass when mankind began to multiply on the earth, and daughters were born to them, 2that the sons of God#GodHebrew: Elohim saw the daughters of men that they were fair, and took themselves wives of all that they chose.
3And Jehovah said, My Spirit shall not always plead with Man; for he indeed is flesh; but his days shall be a hundred and twenty years.
4In those days were the giants on the earth, and also afterwards, when the sons of God#GodHebrew: Elohim had come in to the daughters of men, and they had borne children to them; these were the heroes, who of old were men of renown. 5And Jehovah saw that the wickedness of Man was great on the earth, and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart only evil continually.
6And Jehovah repented that he had made Man on the earth, and it grieved him in his heart. 7And Jehovah said, I will destroy Man, whom I have created, from the earth — from man to cattle, to creeping things, and to fowl of the heavens; for I repent that I have made them.
8But Noah found favour in the eyes of Jehovah. 9This is the history of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect amongst his generations: Noah walked with God#GodHebrew: Elohim 10And Noah begot three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
11And the earth was corrupt before God#GodHebrew: Elohim and the earth was full of violence. 12And God#GodHebrew: Elohim looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted its way on the earth.
13And God#GodHebrew: Elohim said to Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me, for the earth is full of violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. 14Make thyself an ark of gopher wood: with cells shalt thou make the ark; and pitch it inside and outside with pitch. 15And thus shalt thou make it: let the length of the ark be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. 16A light shalt thou make to the ark; and to a cubit high shalt thou finish it above. And the door of the ark shalt thou set in its side: with a lower, second, and third story shalt thou make it. 17For I, behold, I bring a flood of waters on the earth, to destroy all flesh under the heavens in which is the breath of life: everything that is on the earth shall expire. 18But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt go 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 fowl after their kind, and of the cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of each shall go in to thee, to keep them alive. 21And take thou of all food that is eaten, and gather it to thee, that it may be for food for thee and for them.
22And Noah did it; according to all that God#GodHebrew: Elohim had commanded him, so did he.
First published in 1890. This edition is maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Genesis 6
6
1People started to increase in number and spread out across the earth. Daughters were born to them, 2and the sons of God#6:2. “Sons of God”: some have seen this as a reference to angels, but Jesus clearly stated that angels do not marry (Matthew 22:30), and in the very next verse punishment falls on all as human beings. The sons of God can be identified as those in the lineage of Seth, distinguished from these women who are descended from Cain. The genealogies of both groups have just been presented (chapters 4 and 5). saw that these women were beautiful, and they took whichever ones they wanted.
3Then the Lord said, “My life-giving Spirit will not remain in these people forever, because they are only mortal. The time they have left will be 120 years.”#6:3. That this refers to a new maximum lifespan seems unlikely since many after this time lived much longer than 120 years. The Hebrew says literally, “His days shall be 120 years.” Here “days” can be taken simply as time, or even time remaining, until the Flood would come.
4There were giants#6:4. “Giants”: literally, “Nephelim.” This word is translated “giants” in the Septuagint. However, some take the word to be based on the Hebrew word “fallen.” These “giants” are also referenced later (see Numbers 13:33). In Symmachus' Greek translation he renders “Nephelim” as “the violent ones.” on earth in those days, and also later on. They were born after the sons of God slept with the daughters of these people. Their sons became the great warriors and famous men of ancient times.
5The Lord saw how terribly evil people on earth had become—every single thought in their minds was evil all the time! 6The Lord was sorry he'd made human beings to live on the earth; it made him very sad to think about it. 7So the Lord said, “I'm going to wipe out these people I created from the earth, and not only them but also the animals, the creatures that run along the ground, and the birds, because I'm sorry I made them.”
8But the Lord was pleased with Noah.
9This is the story of Noah and his family. Noah was a man of integrity, living a moral life among the people of his time. He had a close relationship with God. 10Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
11God saw how corrupt the whole world had become, full of violent and lawless people. 12God recognized that the corruption in the world was due to everyone on earth living corrupt lives. 13So God told Noah, “I have decided to put an end to all people on earth because they are all violent and lawless. I myself am going to destroy all of them, along with the earth.
14Build an ark#6:14. The word used here for “ark” is different from that used later to describe the Ark of the Lord's Agreement. out of cypress wood. Make rooms inside the ark, and coat it with tar, both inside and out. 15This is how to build it: the ark is to measure 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high. 16Make a roof for the ark, leaving a cubit-wide opening between the roof and the top of the sides.#6:16. The Hebrew of this last phrase is unclear. Put a door in the side of the ark, and construct three decks inside.
17I myself am going to flood the earth with water that will destroy everything that breathes. Every living thing everywhere on earth will die. 18But I will keep my agreement with you. You are to go into the ark, taking with you your wife and your sons and their wives. 19Take a pair, male and female, of every kind of animal into the ark and make sure you keep them alive. 20The same applies to every kind of bird, livestock, and the creatures that run along the ground—a pair of every kind will come to you so they can be kept alive. 21Take all kinds of food with you too. Store it so you and the animals will have enough to eat.”
22Noah did exactly what God ordered him to do.
Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com