Genesis 6
6
1And after that men began to be multiplied upon the earth, and daughters were born to them.
2The sons of God seeing the daughters of men, that they were fair, took themselves wives of all which they chose.
3And God said: My spirit shall not remain in man for ever, because he is flesh; and his days shall be a hundred and twenty years.
4Now giants were upon the earth in those days. For after the sons of God went in to the daughters of men, and they brought forth children, these are the mighty men of old, men of renown.
5And God seeing that the wickedness of men was great on the earth, and that all the thought of their heart was bent upon evil at all times,
6It repented him that he had made man on the earth. And being touched inwardly with sorrow of heart,
7He said: I will destroy man, whom I have created, from the face of the earth, from man even to beasts, from the creeping thing even to the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
8But Noe found grace before the Lord.
9These are the generations of Noe. Noe was a just and perfect man in his generations; he walked with God.
10And he begot three sons, Sem, Cham, and Japheth.
11And the earth was corrupted before God, and was filled with iniquity.
12And when God had seen that the earth was corrupted (for all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth),
13He said to Noe: The end of all flesh is come before me; the earth is filled with iniquity through them; and I will destroy them with the earth.
14Make thee an ark of timber planks: thou shalt make little rooms in the ark, and thou shalt pitch it within and without.
15And thus shalt thou make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits; the breadth of it fifty cubits; and the height of it thirty cubits.
16Thou shalt make a window in the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish the top of it; and the door of the ark thou shalt set in the side; with lower, middle chambers, and third stories shalt thou make it.
17Behold, I will bring the waters of a great flood upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, under heaven. All things that are in the earth shall be consumed.
18And I will establish my covenant with thee, and thou shalt enter into the ark; thou and thy sons, and thy wife, and the wives of thy sons with thee.
19And of every living creature of all flesh, thou shalt bring two of each sort into the ark, that they may live with thee: of the male sex, and the female.
20Of fowls according to their kind, and of beasts in their kind, and of every thing that creepeth on earth according to its kind; two of every sort shall go in with thee, that they may live.
21Thou shalt take unto thee of all food that may be eaten, and thou shalt lay it up with thee: and it shall be food for thee and them.
22And Noe did all things which God commanded him.
An historical text 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