Genesis 6
New King James Version
The Wickedness and Judgment of Man
6 Now it came to pass, (A)when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, 2 that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they (B)took wives for themselves of all whom they chose.
3 And the Lord said, (C)“My Spirit shall not (D)strive[a] with man forever, (E)for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” 4 There were [b]giants on the earth in those (F)days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.
5 Then [c]the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every (G)intent[d] of the thoughts of his heart was only evil [e]continually. 6 And (H)the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and (I)He was grieved in His (J)heart. 7 So the Lord said, “I will (K)destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8 But Noah (L)found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
Noah Pleases God
9 This is the genealogy of Noah. (M)Noah was a just man, [f]perfect in his generations. Noah (N)walked with God. 10 And Noah begot three sons: (O)Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
11 The earth also was corrupt (P)before God, and the earth was (Q)filled with violence. 12 So God (R)looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for (S)all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.
The Ark Prepared(T)
13 And God said to Noah, (U)“The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; (V)and behold, (W)I will destroy them with the earth. 14 Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make [g]rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. 15 And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred [h]cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. 16 You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks. 17 (X)And behold, I Myself am bringing (Y)floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall (Z)die. 18 But I will establish My (AA)covenant with you; and (AB)you shall go into the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. 19 And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring (AC)two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. 20 Of the birds after their kind, of animals after their kind, and of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind, two of every kind (AD)will come to you to keep them alive. 21 And you shall take for yourself of all food that is eaten, and you shall gather it to yourself; and it shall be food for you and for them.”
22 (AE)Thus Noah did; (AF)according to all that (AG)God commanded him, so he did.
Footnotes
- Genesis 6:3 LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. abide
- Genesis 6:4 Heb. nephilim, fallen or mighty ones
- Genesis 6:5 So with MT, Tg.; Vg. God; LXX Lord God
- Genesis 6:5 thought
- Genesis 6:5 all the day
- Genesis 6:9 blameless or having integrity
- Genesis 6:14 Lit. compartments or nests
- Genesis 6:15 A cubit is about 18 inches.
Genesis 6
New American Standard Bible
The Corruption of Mankind
6 Now it came about, when mankind began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, 2 that the sons of God saw that the daughters of mankind were [a]beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, “(A)My Spirit will not [b]remain with man forever, [c](B)because he is also flesh; [d]nevertheless his days shall be 120 years.” 4 The [e](C)Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of mankind, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.
5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of mankind was great on the earth, and that (D)every intent of the thoughts of [f]their hearts was only evil continually. 6 So (E)the Lord was sorry that He had made mankind on the earth, and He was (F)grieved [g]in His heart. 7 Then the Lord said, “(G)I will wipe out mankind whom I have created from the face of the land; mankind, and animals as well, and crawling things, and the birds of the sky. For (H)I am sorry that I have made them.” 8 But (I)Noah (J)found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
9 These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a (K)righteous man, [h](L)blameless in his generation. Noah (M)walked with God. 10 And Noah fathered three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
11 Now the earth was (N)corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was (O)filled with violence. 12 And God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for [i](P)humanity had corrupted its way upon the earth.
13 Then God said to Noah, “(Q)The end of [j]humanity has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of [k]people; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth. 14 Make for yourself an ark of [l]gopher wood; you shall make the ark with compartments, and [m]cover it inside and out with pitch. 15 This is how you shall make it: the length of the ark shall be [n]three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. 16 You shall make a [o]window for the ark, and finish it to a [p]cubit from [q]the top; and put the door of the ark on the side; you shall make it with lower, second, and third decks. 17 Now behold, (R)I Myself am bringing the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which there is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall perish. 18 But I will establish (S)My covenant with you; and (T)you shall enter the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. 19 (U)And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. 20 (V)Of the birds according to their kind, and of the animals according to their kind, of every crawling thing of the ground according to its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive. 21 As for you, take for yourself some of every (W)food that is edible, and gather it to yourself; and it shall be food for you and them.” 22 (X)So Noah did these things; according to everything that God had commanded him, so he did.
Footnotes
- Genesis 6:2 Lit good
- Genesis 6:3 Or rule in; or strive with; meaning uncertain
- Genesis 6:3 Or in his going astray he is flesh
- Genesis 6:3 Or therefore
- Genesis 6:4 Lit fallen ones; LXX giants
- Genesis 6:5 Lit his heart
- Genesis 6:6 Lit to
- Genesis 6:9 Lit complete, perfect; or having integrity
- Genesis 6:12 Lit all flesh
- Genesis 6:13 Lit all flesh
- Genesis 6:13 Lit them
- Genesis 6:14 I.e., Unknown species of tree
- Genesis 6:14 Or pitch
- Genesis 6:15 About 450 ft. long, 75 ft. wide, and 45 ft. high or 135 m, 23 m, and 14 m
- Genesis 6:16 Or roof
- Genesis 6:16 One cubit is about 18 in. or 45 cm
- Genesis 6:16 Lit above
Genesis 6
Living Bible
6 1-2 Now a population explosion took place upon the earth. It was at this time that beings from the spirit world[a] looked upon the beautiful earth women and took any they desired to be their wives. 3 Then Jehovah said, “My Spirit must not forever be disgraced in man, wholly evil as he is. I will give him 120 years to mend his ways.”
4 In those days, and even afterwards, when the evil beings from the spirit world were sexually involved with human women, their children became giants, of whom so many legends are told. 5 When the Lord God saw the extent of human wickedness, and that the trend and direction of men’s lives were only towards evil, 6 he was sorry he had made them. It broke his heart.
7 And he said, “I will blot out from the face of the earth all mankind that I created. Yes, and the animals too, and the reptiles and the birds. For I am sorry I made them.”
8 But Noah was a pleasure to the Lord. Here is the story of Noah: 9-10 He was the only truly righteous man living on the earth at that time. He tried always to conduct his affairs according to God’s will. And he had three sons—Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
11 Meanwhile, the crime rate was rising rapidly across the earth, and, as seen by God, the world was rotten to the core.
12-13 As God observed how bad it was, and saw that all mankind was vicious and depraved, he said to Noah, “I have decided to destroy all mankind; for the earth is filled with crime because of man. Yes, I will destroy mankind from the earth. 14 Make a boat from resinous wood, sealing it with tar; and construct decks and stalls throughout the ship. 15 Make it 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. 16 Construct a skylight all the way around the ship, eighteen inches below the roof; and make three decks inside the boat—a bottom, middle, and upper deck—and put a door in the side.
17 “Look! I am going to cover the earth with a flood and destroy every living being—everything in which there is the breath of life. All will die. 18 But I promise to keep you safe in the ship, with your wife and your sons and their wives. 19-20 Bring a pair of every animal—a male and a female—into the boat with you, to keep them alive through the flood. Bring in a pair of each kind of bird and animal and reptile. 21 Store away in the boat all the food that they and you will need.” 22 And Noah did everything as God commanded him.
Footnotes
- Genesis 6:1 beings from the spirit world, literally, “sons of God,” used here in the sense of his created, supernatural beings, but no longer godly in character (v. 3). Some commentators believe that the expression “sons of God” refers to the “godly line” of Seth, and “daughters of men” to women from the line of Cain.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.