洪水消退

上帝眷顾挪亚及方舟里的野兽和牲畜,使风吹在大地上,水便开始消退。 深渊的泉源和天上的水闸都关闭了,大雨也停了。 地上的洪水慢慢消退,过了一百五十天,水退下去了。 七月十七日,方舟停在亚拉腊山上。 水继续消退,到十月一日,山顶都露出来了。

又过了四十天,挪亚打开方舟的窗户, 放出一只乌鸦。它一直在空中飞来飞去,直到地上的水都干了。 后来,挪亚放出一只鸽子,以便了解地面的水是否已经消退。 但遍地都是水,鸽子找不到歇脚的地方,就飞回了方舟,挪亚伸手把鸽子接进方舟里。 10 过了七天,挪亚再把鸽子放出去。 11 到了黄昏,鸽子飞回来,嘴里衔着一片新拧下来的橄榄叶,挪亚便知道地上的水已经退了。 12 等了七天,他又放出鸽子,这一次,鸽子没有回来。

13 挪亚六百零一岁那年的一月一日,地上的水干了。挪亚打开方舟的盖观望,看见地面都干了。 14 到了二月二十七日,大地完全干了。 15 上帝对挪亚说: 16 “你与妻子、儿子和儿媳可以出方舟了。 17 你要把方舟里的飞禽走兽及爬虫等所有动物都带出来,让它们在地上多多繁殖。” 18 于是,挪亚与妻子、儿子和儿媳都出了方舟。 19 方舟里的飞禽走兽和爬虫等所有地上的动物,都按种类出了方舟。

挪亚献祭

20 挪亚为耶和华筑了一座坛,在上面焚烧各种洁净的牲畜和飞鸟作为燔祭。 21 耶和华闻到这燔祭的馨香,心想:“虽然人从小就心存恶念,但我再不会因为人的缘故而咒诅大地,再不会毁灭一切生灵。 22 只要大地尚存,播种收割、夏热冬寒、白昼黑夜必永不停息。”

God Remembers Noah

God remembered Noah and all the wild and domestic animals with him in the ship. So God made a wind blow over the earth, and the water started to go down. The deep springs and the sky had been shut, and the rain had stopped pouring. The water began to recede from the land. At the end of 150 days the water had decreased. On the seventeenth day of the seventh month, the ship came to rest in the mountains of Ararat. The water kept decreasing until the tenth month. On the first day of the tenth month, the tops of the mountains appeared.

After 40 more days Noah opened the window he had made in the ship and sent out a raven. It kept flying back and forth until the water on the land had dried up. Next, he sent out a dove to see if the water was gone from the surface of the ground. The dove couldn’t find a place to land because the water was still all over the earth. So it came back to Noah in the ship. He reached out and brought the dove back into the ship. 10 He waited seven more days and again sent the dove out of the ship. 11 The dove came to him in the evening, and in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf. Then Noah knew that the water was gone from the earth. 12 He waited seven more days and sent out the dove again, but it never came back to him.

13 By the first day of the first month of Noah’s six hundred and first year, the water on the land had dried up. Noah opened the top of the ship, looked out, and saw the surface of the ground. 14 By the twenty-seventh day of the second month the land was dry.

15 Then God spoke to Noah, 16 “Come out of the ship with your wife, your sons, and your sons’ wives. 17 Bring out every animal that’s with you: birds, domestic animals, and every creature that crawls on the earth. Be fertile, increase in number, and spread over the earth.”

18 So Noah came out with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives. 19 Every animal, crawling creature, and bird—everything that moves on the earth—came out of the ship, one kind after another.

20 Noah built an altar to the Lord. On it he made a burnt offering of each type of clean [a] animal and clean bird. 21 The Lord smelled the soothing aroma. He said to himself, “I will never again curse the ground because of humans, even though from birth their hearts are set on nothing but evil. I will never again kill every living creature as I have just done.

22 As long as the earth exists,
planting and harvesting,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
day and night
will never stop.”

Footnotes

  1. 8:20 Clean   ” refers to anything that is presentable to God.

The Flood Subsides

But (A)God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the cattle that were with him in the ark; and (B)God caused a wind to pass over the earth, and the water subsided. Also (C)the fountains of the deep and the [a]floodgates of the sky were closed, and (D)the rain from the sky was restrained; and the water receded steadily from the earth, and at the end (E)of one hundred and fifty days the water decreased. In the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, (F)the ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat. The water decreased steadily until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains became visible.

Then it came about at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the (G)window of the ark which he had made; and he sent out a raven, and it [b]flew here and there until the water was dried up [c]from the earth. Then he sent out a dove from him, to see if the water was abated from the face of the land; but the dove found no resting place for the sole of her foot, so she returned to him into the ark, for the water was on the [d]surface of all the earth. Then he put out his hand and took her, and brought her into the ark to himself. 10 So he waited yet another seven days; and again he sent out the dove from the ark. 11 The dove came to him toward [e]evening, and behold, in her [f]beak was a freshly picked olive leaf. So Noah knew that the water was abated from the earth. 12 Then he waited yet another seven days, and sent out (H)the dove; but she did not return to him again.

13 Now it came about in the (I)six hundred and first year, in the first month, on the first of the month, the water was dried up [g]from the earth. Then Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and behold, the [h]surface of the ground was dried up. 14 In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry. 15 Then God spoke to Noah, saying, 16 “Go out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and your sons’ wives with you. 17 Bring out with you every living thing of all flesh that is with you, birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, that they may [i](J)breed abundantly on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.” 18 So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him. 19 Every beast, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves on the earth, went out [j]by their families from the ark.

20 Then Noah built (K)an altar to the Lord, and took of every (L)clean animal and of every clean bird and offered (M)burnt offerings on the altar. 21 The Lord (N)smelled the soothing aroma; and the Lord said [k]to Himself, “I will never again (O)curse the ground on account of man, for (P)the [l]intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth; (Q)and I will never again [m]destroy every living thing, as I have done.

22 “While the earth remains,
Seedtime and harvest,
And cold and heat,
And (R)summer and winter,
And (S)day and night
Shall not cease.”

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 8:2 Or windows of the heavens
  2. Genesis 8:7 Lit went out, going and returning
  3. Genesis 8:7 Lit from upon
  4. Genesis 8:9 Lit face
  5. Genesis 8:11 Lit the time of evening
  6. Genesis 8:11 Lit mouth
  7. Genesis 8:13 Lit from upon
  8. Genesis 8:13 Lit face
  9. Genesis 8:17 Or swarm
  10. Genesis 8:19 Or according to their kind
  11. Genesis 8:21 Lit to His heart
  12. Genesis 8:21 Or inclination
  13. Genesis 8:21 Lit smite

But God remembered(A) Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth,(B) and the waters receded. Now the springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens(C) had been closed, and the rain(D) had stopped falling from the sky. The water receded steadily from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days(E) the water had gone down, and on the seventeenth day of the seventh month(F) the ark came to rest on the mountains(G) of Ararat.(H) The waters continued to recede until the tenth month, and on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains became visible.

After forty days(I) Noah opened a window he had made in the ark and sent out a raven,(J) and it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth.(K) Then he sent out a dove(L) to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground. But the dove could find nowhere to perch because there was water over all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark. 10 He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark. 11 When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth.(M) 12 He waited seven more days and sent the dove out again, but this time it did not return to him.

13 By the first day of the first month of Noah’s six hundred and first year,(N) the water had dried up from the earth. Noah then removed the covering from the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry. 14 By the twenty-seventh day of the second month(O) the earth was completely dry.

15 Then God said to Noah, 16 “Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives.(P) 17 Bring out every kind of living creature that is with you—the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground—so they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number on it.”(Q)

18 So Noah came out, together with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives.(R) 19 All the animals and all the creatures that move along the ground and all the birds—everything that moves on land—came out of the ark, one kind after another.

20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord(S) and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean(T) birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings(U) on it. 21 The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma(V) and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground(W) because of humans, even though[a] every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood.(X) And never again will I destroy(Y) all living creatures,(Z) as I have done.

22 “As long as the earth endures,
seedtime and harvest,(AA)
cold and heat,
summer and winter,(AB)
day and night
will never cease.”(AC)

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 8:21 Or humans, for