Genesis 1-9
Expanded Bible
The Beginning of the World
1 ·In the beginning [or In the beginning when] God created [C this Hebrew verb is used only when God is the one creating] the ·sky [heavens] and the earth. 2 ·The [or…the] earth ·had no form and was empty [or was a formless void]. Darkness covered the ·ocean [deep], and ·God’s Spirit [or a mighty wind] was ·moving [hovering] over the water.
3 Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, so he ·divided [separated] the light from the darkness. 5 God ·named [called] the light “day” and the darkness “night.” ·Evening passed, and morning came [L There was evening and there was morning; C in the OT a day begins at nightfall]. This was the first day.
6 Then God said, “Let there be ·something to divide the water in two [L a firmament/dome/expanse in the midst of the waters to separate/divide the waters from the waters].” 7 So God made the ·air [L firmament; dome; expanse; C rain clouds] and placed some of the water above the ·air [L firmament; dome; expanse] and some below it [C referring to the rain and the oceans, lakes, and rivers]. 8 God ·named [called] the ·air [L firmament/dome/expanse] “·sky [heaven].” Evening passed, and morning came [1:5]. This was the second day.
9 Then God said, “Let the water under the ·sky [heavens] be gathered together so the dry land will appear.” And it happened. 10 God ·named [called] the dry land “earth” and [L he called] the water that was gathered together “seas.” God saw that this was good.
11 Then God said, “Let the earth produce ·plants [vegetation]—some to make grain for seeds and ·others to make fruits with seeds in them. Every seed will produce more of its own kind of plant [L fruit trees on earth bearing fruit according to its own kind/species that has seed in them].” And it happened. 12 The earth ·produced [brought forth] plants with grain for seeds and trees that made fruits with seeds in them. ·Each seed grew its own kind of plant [L …according to its kind/species]. God saw that all this was good. 13 Evening passed, and morning came [1:5]. This was the third day.
14 Then God said, “Let there be lights in the ·sky [L firmament/dome/expanse of the heavens] to ·separate [divide] day from night. ·These lights will be used for [L They will be] signs, seasons, days, and years. 15 They will be in the ·sky [L firmament/dome/expanse] to give light to the earth.” And it happened.
16 So God made the two ·large [great] lights. He made the ·brighter [L greater] light to rule the day and made the ·smaller [lesser] light to rule the night. ·He also made the stars [L …and the stars]. 17 God put all these in the sky to shine on the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to ·separate [divide] the light from the darkness. God saw that all these things were good. 19 Evening passed, and morning came [1:5]. This was the fourth day.
20 Then God said, “Let the water ·be filled with living things [L swarm with living creatures], and let birds fly in the ·air [L firmament/dome/expanse] above the earth.”
21 So God created [1:1] the large sea ·animals [or monsters] and every living thing that ·moves [L swarms] in the sea. The sea is filled with these living things, with each one ·producing more of its own kind [L according to its kind/species]. He also ·made [or created; 1:1] every bird that flies, and each bird ·produced more of its own kind [L according to its kind/species]. God saw that this was good. 22 God blessed them and said, “·Have many young ones so that you may grow in number [T Be fruitful and multiply]. ·Fill […and fill] the water of the seas, and let the birds ·grow in number [multiply] on the earth.” 23 Evening passed, and morning came [1:5]. This was the fifth day.
24 Then God said, “Let the earth be filled with ·animals [living creatures], ·each producing more of its own kind [L according to their kind/species]. Let there be ·tame animals [beasts; livestock] and small crawling animals and wild animals, ·and let each produce more of its kind [L according to their kind/species].” And it happened.
25 So God made the wild animals, the ·tame animals [beasts; livestock], and all the small crawling animals ·to produce more of their own kind [L according to their kind/species]. God saw that this was good.
26 Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image and likeness. And let them ·rule [T have dominion] over the fish in the sea and the birds in the ·sky [heavens], over the ·tame animals [beasts; livestock], over all the earth, and over all the small crawling animals on the earth.”
27 So God created [1:1] ·human beings [T man; C the Hebrew adam can mean human beings, humankind, person, man, or the proper name Adam] in his image [C reflecting God’s nature/character and representing him in the world]. In the image of God he created them. He created them male and female. 28 God blessed them and said [L to them], “·Have many children and grow in number [T Be fruitful and multiply]. ·Fill […and fill] the earth and ·be its master [subdue it]. ·Rule [T Have dominion] over the fish in the sea and over the birds in the ·sky [heavens] and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
29 God said, “Look, I have given you all the plants that have grain for seeds [L on the face of the earth] and all the trees whose fruits have seeds in them. They will be food for you. 30 I have given all the green plants as food for every wild animal, every bird of the ·air [sky; heavens], and every small ·crawling [creeping] animal.” And it happened. 31 God looked at everything he had made, and it was ·very [exceedingly] good. Evening passed, and morning came [1:5]. This was the sixth day.
The Seventh Day—Rest
2 So the ·sky [heavens], the earth, and all ·that filled them [L their hosts] were ·finished [completed]. 2 By the seventh day God ·finished [completed] the work he had been doing, so he ·rested [or ceased] from all his work [L he had done]. 3 God blessed the seventh day and ·made it a holy day [consecrated it; set it apart], because on that day he ·rested [or ceased] from all the work he had done in creating [1:1] the world.
The First People
4 ·This is the story [L These are the generations; C introduces a new section of the book; see also 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10, 27; 25:12, 19; 36:1, 9] of the creation of the ·sky [heavens] and the earth. When the ·Lord God [Yahweh Elohim; C Elohim is the common term for God; Lord (capital letters) represents the divine name YHWH, usually pronounced “Yahweh”; see Ex. 3:14–15] first made the earth and the ·sky [heavens], 5 there were still no plants on the earth. Nothing was growing in the fields because the Lord God had not yet made it rain on the land. And there was no person to ·care for [or till; work] the ground, 6 but a ·mist [or stream] would rise up from the earth and water all the ground.
7 Then the Lord God took dust from the ground and formed a man from it [C there is wordplay between “ground” (adama) and “man” (adam)]. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nose, and the man became a living person. 8 ·Then the Lord God [or The Lord God had] planted a garden in the east [C probably east of Palestine], in a place called Eden [C related to a word meaning “luxurious”], and put the man he had formed into it. 9 The Lord God caused every ·beautiful [L desirous to see] tree and every tree that was good for food to grow out of the ground. In the middle of the garden, God put the tree ·that gives life [T of life] and also the tree ·that gives the knowledge [T of the knowledge] of good and evil.
10 A river flowed through Eden and watered the garden. From there the river ·branched out [divides] to become four ·rivers [L heads]. 11 The first river, named Pishon [C otherwise unknown], flows around the whole land of Havilah [C otherwise unknown], where there is gold. 12 The gold of that land is excellent. Bdellium [C a sweet-smelling resin like myrrh] and onyx [C a precious stone] are also found there. 13 The second river, named Gihon [C a small stream in Jerusalem (1 Kin. 1:33), but here perhaps referring to another river], flows around the whole land of Cush [C often referring to Ethiopia, but here likely a place in Mesopotamia; see 10:7]. 14 The third river, named Tigris [C a major river in Mesopotamia], flows out of Assyria [C in northern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq)] toward the east. The fourth river is the Euphrates [C a major river in Mesopotamia; the location of Eden is uncertain, but this passage suggests Mesopotamia].
15 The Lord God [L took and] put ·the man [or Adam; 1:27] in the garden of Eden to ·care for [or till] it and ·work [take care of; look after] it. 16 The Lord God commanded him, “You may eat the fruit from ·any tree [or all the trees] in the garden, 17 but you must not eat the fruit from the tree ·which gives the [T of the] knowledge of good and evil [C eating from this tree would make Adam, not God, the determiner of right and wrong]. If you ever eat fruit from that tree, you will [L certainly] die!”
The First Woman
18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper [C in the sense of a partner or ally; the word does not imply subordinate status; see Ps. 79:9] who ·is right for [is suitable for; corresponds with] him.”
19 From the ground God formed every ·wild animal [L animal of the field] and every bird in the ·sky [heavens], and he brought them to the man ·so the man could name them [L to see what he would call them]. Whatever the man called each living thing, that became its name. 20 The man gave names to all the ·tame animals [beasts; livestock], to the birds in the ·sky [heavens], and to all the ·wild animals [L animals of the field]. But ·Adam [or the man; 1:27] did not find a helper that was right for him [2:18]. 21 So the Lord God caused ·the man to sleep very deeply [L a deep sleep to fall on the man/Adam], and while he was asleep, God removed one of the man’s ·ribs [or sides]. Then God closed up the man’s skin at the place where he took the ·rib [or side]. 22 The Lord God used the ·rib [or side] from the man to ·make [L build; construct] a woman, and then he brought the woman to the man.
23 And the man said,
“·Now, this is someone whose bones came from my bones,
whose body came from my body [L At last, this is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh].
·I will call her [L She will be called] ‘woman [C Hebrew ‘ishshah],’
because she was taken out of man [C Hebrew ‘ish].”
24 So a man will leave his father and mother [C in the sense of a new primary loyalty] and be united with his wife, and the two will become one ·body [T flesh].
25 The man and his wife were naked, but they were not ashamed.
The Beginning of Sin
3 Now the ·snake [serpent] was the most ·clever [shrewd; cunning; crafty] of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day the snake said to the woman, “Did God really say that you must not eat fruit from any tree in the garden?”
2 The woman answered the snake [3:1], “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden. 3 But God told us, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden [C the tree of the knowledge of good and evil]. You must not even touch it [C Eve was adding to the divine command], or you will die.’ ”
4 But the snake [3:1] said to the woman, “You will [L most certainly] not die. 5 [L For] God knows that if you eat ·the fruit from that tree [L from it], [L your eyes will be opened and] you will ·learn about [experience; L know about] good and evil and you will be like God!”
6 The woman saw that the tree was ·beautiful [L pleasing to the eyes], that its fruit was good ·to eat [L for food], and that it would make her wise. So she took some of its fruit and ate it. She also gave some of the fruit to her husband who was with her [C apparently he was present but silent while the woman spoke to the snake], and he ate it.
7 Then, ·it was as if their eyes [L the eyes of both of them] were opened. They ·realized [knew] they were naked, so they sewed fig leaves together and made ·something to cover [L loincloths for] themselves [Rom. 5:12–21].
8 Then they heard the [L sound of the] Lord God walking in the garden during the cool part of the day, and the man and his wife hid from the Lord God among the trees in the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man and said, “Where are you?”
10 The man answered, “I heard ·you walking in the garden [L your voice/sound], and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.”
11 ·God [L He] asked, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat fruit from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat?”
12 The man said, “You gave this woman to me and she gave me fruit from the tree, so I ate it.”
13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “·How could you have done such a thing [What is this you have done]?”
She answered, “The snake ·tricked [deceived; 1 Tim. 2:14] me, so I ate the fruit.”
14 The Lord God said to the ·snake [serpent],
“Because you did this,
a curse will be put on you.
You will be cursed as no other animal, ·tame [beasts; livestock] or ·wild [L of the field], will ever be.
You will ·crawl [go] on your ·stomach [belly],
and you will eat dust all the days of your life.
15 I will ·make you and the woman
enemies to each other [T place hostility/enmity between you and the woman].
Your ·descendants [L seed] and her ·descendants [L seed]
will be enemies.
·One of her descendants [L He] will crush your head,
and you will ·bite [strike; T bruise; L crush] his heel [Rom. 16:20; Rev. 12:9].”
16 Then God said to the woman,
“I will ·cause you to have much trouble [or increase your pain]
·when you are pregnant [in childbearing],
and when you give birth to children,
you will have great pain.
You will greatly desire [C the word implies a desire to control; 4:7] your husband,
but he will rule over you.”
17 Then God said to ·the man [or Adam; 1:27], “You listened to what your wife said, and you ate fruit from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat.
“·So I will put a curse on [Cursed is] the ground,
and you will have to ·work very hard [toil; labor] for your food.
In pain you will eat its food
all the days of your life.
18 The ground will produce thorns and ·weeds [thistles] for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.
19 ·You will sweat and work hard for [L By the sweat of your brow you will eat] your food.
Later you will return to the ground,
because you were taken from it.
You are dust,
and ·when you die, you will return to the dust [T to dust you will return; 1 Cor. 15:21-22, 40–45].”
20 The man named his wife Eve [C the name derives from an early form of the verb “to live”], because she was the mother of all the living.
21 The Lord God made clothes from animal skins for ·the man [or Adam; 1:27] and his wife and dressed them. 22 Then the Lord God said, “Humans have become like one of us [C referring to the supernatural heavenly beings, God and the angels]; they know good and evil. We must keep them from [L putting forth their hand and taking and] eating some of the fruit from the tree of life, or they will live forever.” 23 So the Lord God ·forced [expelled] Adam out of the garden of Eden to ·work [till; or care for; 2:5] the ground from which he was taken. 24 After God ·forced [drove] humans out of the garden, he placed ·angels [L cherubim; C particularly powerful spiritual beings] and a sword of fire that flashed around in every direction on its eastern border. ·This kept people from getting […to guard the way] to the tree of life.
The First Family
4 ·Adam [L The man; 1:27] ·had sexual relations with [L knew] his wife Eve, and she ·became pregnant [conceived] and gave birth to Cain. Eve said, “With the Lord’s help, I have ·given birth to [L produced; or acquired; C the verb resembles Cain’s name] a man.” 2 After that, Eve gave birth to Cain’s brother Abel [C resembles the word for vapor or breath]. Abel took care of flocks, and Cain ·became a farmer [L was a tiller/worker of the ground].
3 ·Later [In due course; L At the end of the days], Cain brought some ·food [produce; fruit] from the ground as a ·gift [tribute; Lev. 2] to God. 4 Abel brought the ·best parts [fat portions; Lev. 3:16] from some of the firstborn of his flock [Heb. 11:4]. The Lord ·accepted [looked with favor on] Abel and his ·gift [tribute], 5 but he did not ·accept [look with favor on] Cain and his ·gift [tribute]. So Cain became very angry and ·felt rejected [or felt dejected; L his face/countenance fell].
6 The Lord asked Cain, “Why are you angry? Why ·do you look so unhappy [L has your face/countenance fallen; 4:5]? 7 If you do things ·well [correctly; appropriately], ·I will [L will I not…?] accept you, but if you do not do them ·well [correctly; appropriately], sin is ·ready to attack you [L crouching at the door]. Sin ·wants [desires to control; 3:16] you, but you must rule over it.”
8 Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out into the field.”[a] While they were out in the field, Cain ·attacked [L rose up against] his brother Abel and killed him [Matt. 23:35; Luke 11:51; Heb. 12:24; 1 John 3:11–12; Jude 11].
9 Later, the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”
Cain answered, “I don’t know. ·Is it my job to take care of my brother [T Am I my brother’s keeper]?”
10 Then the Lord said, “What have you done? Your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground. 11 And now you will be cursed ·in your work with [L and banished from] the ground, ·the same ground where your brother’s blood fell and where your hands killed him [L which has opened its mouth to take the blood of your brother from your hand]. 12 You will ·work [till] the ground, but it will not ·grow good crops [L yield its strength] for you anymore, and you will ·wander around [be a fugitive and a wanderer/homeless wanderer] on the earth.”
13 Then Cain said to the Lord, “This punishment is more than I can ·stand [bear]! 14 Today you have forced me ·to stop working [L from] the ground, and now I ·must hide from you [or will be hidden from your face]. I ·must wander around [L will be a fugitive and wanderer/homeless wanderer] on the earth, and anyone who ·meets [finds] me can kill me.”
15 The Lord said to Cain, “No! If anyone kills you, I will ·punish [avenge] that person seven times more.” Then the Lord put a mark [C the nature of the mark is uncertain] on Cain warning anyone who ·met [finds] him not to kill him.
Cain’s Family
16 So Cain went away from the Lord and lived in the land of Nod [C resembles a Hebrew word meaning “wanderer”], east of Eden. 17 He ·had sexual relations with [L knew; 4:1] his wife, and she ·became pregnant [conceived] and gave birth to Enoch. At that time ·Cain [L he] was building a city, which he named after his son Enoch. 18 ·Enoch had a son named [L To Enoch was born; C and so through the rest of the genealogy] Irad, Irad had a son named Mehujael, Mehujael had a son named Methushael, and Methushael had a son named Lamech.
19 Lamech ·married [L took] two ·women [or wives], [L the name of the first was] Adah and [L the name of the second was] Zillah. 20 Adah gave birth to Jabal, who ·became the first person to [L was the father of those who] live in tents and raise ·cattle [livestock]. 21 Jabal’s brother was Jubal, the ·first person to [L father of all who] play the ·harp [or lyre] and ·flute [pipe]. 22 Zillah gave birth to Tubal-Cain, who made tools out of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah.
23 Lamech said to his wives:
“Adah and Zillah, hear my voice!
You wives of Lamech, listen to what I say.
I killed a man for wounding me,
a young man for hitting me.
24 If ·Cain’s killer is punished [L Cain is avenged] seven times [4:15],
then ·Lamech’s killer will be punished [L Lamech will be avenged] seventy-seven times.” [C Lamech falsely thought he could get away with murder.]
Adam and Eve Have a New Son
25 Adam ·had sexual relations with [L knew; 4:1] his wife Eve again, and she gave birth to a son. She named him Seth [C related to the Hebrew word for “give” or “appoint”] and said, “God has ·given [appointed for] me another child. He will take the place of Abel, who was killed by Cain.” 26 Seth also had a son, and they named him Enosh. At that time people began to ·pray to [L call on the name of] the Lord.
Adam’s Family History
5 This is the ·family history [L book of the generations; see 2:4] of Adam. When God created ·human beings [humankind; T man; C Hebrew Adam; 1:27–28], he made them in his own likeness. 2 He created them male and female, and on that day he blessed them and named them ·human beings [humankind; or Adam; T man].
3 When Adam was 130 years old, he became the father of another son in his likeness and image [C indicating he was like Adam and that he also bore God’s image], and Adam named him Seth [4:25]. 4 After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. 5 So Adam lived a total of 930 years, and then he died [C the long lives in this genealogy indicate God’s blessing; these names are also in Jesus’ genealogy in Luke 3:36–38].
6 When Seth was 105 years old, he had a son named Enosh. 7 After Enosh was born, Seth lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters. 8 So Seth lived a total of 912 years, and then he died.
9 When Enosh was 90 years old, he had a son named Kenan. 10 After Kenan was born, Enosh lived 815 years and had other sons and daughters. 11 So Enosh lived a total of 905 years, and then he died.
12 When Kenan was 70 years old, he had a son named Mahalalel. 13 After Mahalalel was born, Kenan lived 840 years and had other sons and daughters. 14 So Kenan lived a total of 910 years, and then he died.
15 When Mahalalel was 65 years old, he had a son named Jared. 16 After Jared was born, Mahalalel lived 830 years and had other sons and daughters. 17 So Mahalalel lived a total of 895 years, and then he died.
18 When Jared was 162 years old, he had a son named Enoch. 19 After Enoch was born, Jared lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. 20 So Jared lived a total of 962 years, and then he died.
21 When Enoch was 65 years old, he had a son named Methuselah. 22 After Methuselah was born, Enoch walked with God 300 years more and had other sons and daughters. 23 So Enoch lived a total of 365 years. 24 Enoch walked with God [C he had a close relationship with God; Heb. 11:5–6]; one day Enoch could not be found, because God took him [C like Elijah (2 Kin. 2:11), he did not die].
25 When Methuselah was 187 years old, he had a son named Lamech. 26 After Lamech was born, Methuselah lived 782 years and had other sons and daughters. 27 So Methuselah lived a total of 969 years, and then he died.
28 When Lamech was 182, he had a son. 29 Lamech named his son Noah [C the name resembles the Hebrew word for “rest”] and said, “He will ·comfort us in [or give us rest from] our work, which comes from the ground the Lord has cursed [3:17–19].” 30 After Noah was born, Lamech lived 595 years and had other sons and daughters. 31 So Lamech lived a total of 777 years, and then he died.
32 After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth [9:18–29; 10].
The Human Race Grows More Evil
6 The number of people on earth began to ·grow [multiply], and daughters were born to them. 2 When the ·sons of God [C may refer to godly men among Seth’s descendants (ch. 5), or noble men, or angels] saw that ·these girls [L the daughters of men/human beings; C either evil women among Cain’s descendants (4:17–24), poor women, or simply mortal women] were beautiful, they married any of them they chose [C though their identity is unclear, their marriage clearly violated a boundary]. 3 The Lord said, “My Spirit will not ·remain in [or contend with] human beings forever, because they are ·flesh [mortal]. ·They will live [L Their days will be] only 120 years.”
4 The ·Nephilim [L fallen ones; C the significance of the name is unclear] were on the earth in those days and also later. That was when the sons of God ·had sexual relations with [L came in to] the daughters of ·human beings [T man; C Hebrew: Adam; 1:27–28]. These women gave birth to children ·who became famous [L men of a name] and were the mighty warriors of long ago. [C The Nephilim of Num. 13:31–33, though not related genealogically, were giants, suggesting these pre-flood Nephilim were also.]
5 The Lord saw that the human beings on the earth were very ·wicked [evil] and that ·everything they thought about [L every inclination of their mind/heart] was ·evil [wicked]. 6 He ·was sorry [regretted] he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. 7 So the Lord said, “I will ·destroy [wipe/blot out; exterminate] all human beings that I ·made [created; 1:1] on the earth. And I will destroy every animal and everything that ·crawls [creeps] on the earth and the birds of the ·air [sky; heavens], because I ·am sorry [regret] I have made them.” 8 But Noah ·pleased [L found grace/favor in the eyes of] the Lord.
Noah and the Great Flood
9 This is the family history [2:4] of Noah. Noah was a ·good [righteous; just] man, the most ·innocent [blameless; Job 1:1] man of his ·time [generation], and he walked with God [5:24]. 10 He had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth [9:18–10:32].
11 ·People on earth [L The earth] did what ·God said was evil [L was corrupt before God], and ·violence was everywhere [L the earth was filled with violence]. 12 When God saw that [L the earth was corrupt because] ·everyone [L all flesh] on the earth ·did only evil [L was corrupt], 13 God said to Noah, “·I have decided to bring an end to all living creatures [L The end of all flesh is coming before me]. Because people have made the earth full of violence, I will destroy all of them from the ·earth [land]. 14 ·Build [Make] ·a boat [L an ark] of ·cypress [or gopher; C the precise meaning is uncertain] wood for yourself. Make rooms in it and cover it inside and outside with ·tar [pitch]. 15 This is how ·big I want you to build the boat [L you should make it]: ·four hundred fifty feet [L three hundred cubits] long, ·seventy-five feet [L fifty cubits] wide, and ·forty-five feet [L thirty cubits] high. 16 Make an opening around the top of the boat [C probably a window] that is ·eighteen inches [L a cubit] high from the edge of the roof down. Put a door in the side of the boat. Make an ·upper, middle, and lower [L lower, second, and third] deck in it. 17 I will bring a flood of water on the earth to destroy all ·living things [L flesh] that live under ·the sky [heaven], including everything that has the breath of life. Everything on the earth will die. 18 But I will ·make [establish] an ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with you—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives will all go into the boat. 19 Also, you must bring into the ·boat [L ark] two of ·every living thing [L all flesh], male and female. Keep them alive with you. 20 Two of every kind of bird, animal, and ·crawling [creeping] thing will come to you to be kept alive. 21 Also ·gather [take] some of every kind of food and store it on the boat as food for you and the animals.”
22 Noah did everything that God commanded him.
The Flood Begins
7 Then the Lord said to Noah, “I have seen that you ·are the best person [alone are righteous] among ·the people of this time [L this generation], so you and your ·family [household] can go into the ·boat [ark]. 2 Take with you seven pairs, each male with its female, of every kind of clean [C in a ritual sense; Lev. 11] animal, and take one pair, each male with its female, of every kind of unclean animal. 3 Take seven pairs of all the birds of the ·sky [heavens], each male with its female. This will allow all these animals to continue living on the earth after the flood. 4 Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth. It will rain forty days and forty nights, and I will ·wipe off [blot out] from the ·earth [L face of the ground] every living thing that I have made.”
5 Noah did everything the Lord commanded him.
6 Noah was six hundred years old when the [L water of the] flood came [L on the earth]. 7 He and his wife and his sons and their wives went into the ·boat [ark] to escape the waters of the flood. 8 The clean animals [7:2], the unclean animals, the birds, and everything that ·crawls [creeps] on the ground 9 came to Noah. They went into the ·boat [ark] in groups of two, male and female, just as God had commanded Noah. 10 Seven days later the ·flood started [L waters of the flood came on the earth].
11 When Noah was six hundred years old, the flood started. On the seventeenth day of the second month of that year the ·underground springs [L fountains/springs of the deep] ·split [burst] open, and the ·clouds [floodgates; L windows] in the ·sky [heavens] ·poured out rain [L were opened]. 12 The rain fell on the earth for forty days and forty nights.
13 On that same day Noah and his wife, his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth [9:18—10:32], and their wives went into the ·boat [ark]. 14 They had every kind of wild and tame animal, every kind of animal that ·crawls [creeps] on the earth, and ·every kind of bird [L every bird, every winged creature]. 15 ·Every creature [L All flesh] that had the breath of life came to Noah in the ·boat [ark] in groups of two. 16 One male and one female of ·every living thing [L all flesh] came, just as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord ·closed the door behind them [L shut them in].
17 ·Water flooded the earth [L The flood continued] for forty days, and as it rose it lifted the ·boat [ark] off the ground. 18 The water continued to rise [L and increase], and the ·boat [ark] floated on ·it above the earth [L the face of the waters]. 19 The water rose so much [L over the earth] that even the highest mountains under the ·sky [heavens] were covered by it. 20 It continued to rise until it was more than ·twenty feet [L fifteen cubits] above the mountains.
21 All ·living things [L flesh] that moved on the earth died. This included all the birds, tame animals, wild animals, and [L swarming] creatures that swarm on the earth, as well as all human beings. 22 So everything on dry land that had the breath of life in ·it [L its nostrils] died. 23 God ·destroyed [blotted/wiped out] from the earth every living thing that was on the ·land [L face of the ground]—every man, animal, ·crawling [creeping] thing, and bird of the ·sky [heavens]. All that ·was left [survived] was Noah and what was with him in the ·boat [ark]. 24 And the waters continued to cover the earth for one hundred fifty days.
The Flood Ends
8 But God remembered Noah and all the ·wild [beasts] and ·tame animals [cattle] with him in the ·boat [ark]. He made a wind ·blow [pass] over the earth, and the water ·went down [subsided]. 2 The ·underground springs [L fountains/springs of the deep] stopped flowing, and the ·clouds [floodgates; L windows] in the ·sky [heavens] ·stopped pouring down rain [L were closed and the rain from the sky/heavens were restrained].
6 Forty days later Noah opened the ·window [hatch] he had made in the ·boat [ark], and 7 he sent out a raven. It ·flew [L went] here and there until the water had dried up from the earth. 8 Then Noah sent out a dove to find out if the water had ·dried up [subsided] from the ground. 9 The dove could not find a place to ·land [L set/rest its foot] because water still covered the earth, so it came back to the ·boat [ark]. Noah reached out his hand and took the bird and brought it back into the boat.
10 After [L waiting] seven days Noah again sent out the dove from the ·boat [ark], 11 and that evening it came back to him with a fresh olive leaf in its ·mouth [beak]. Then Noah knew that the ·ground was almost dry [L waters had subsided from the ground]. 12 ·Seven days later [L After waiting another seven days] he sent the dove out again, but this time it did not come back.
13 When Noah was six hundred and one years old, in the first day of the first month of that year, the water was dried up from the ·land [earth]. Noah removed the covering of the ·boat [ark] and saw that the ·land [L face of the ground] was dry. 14 By the twenty-seventh day of the second month the ·land [earth] was completely dry.
15 Then God said to Noah, 16 “You and your wife, your sons, and their wives should go out of the ·boat [ark]. 17 Bring every ·animal [L living thing of all flesh] out of the ·boat [ark] with you—the birds, ·animals [beasts; livestock], and everything that crawls on the earth. ·Let them have many young ones so that they might […so they may swarm on earth and be fruitful and] ·grow in number [multiply; 1:22].”
18 So Noah went out with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives. 19 Every ·animal [living thing], everything that ·crawls [creeps] on the earth, and every bird [L and everything that crawls/creeps] went out of the ·boat [ark] by families.
20 Then Noah built an altar [C a place to offer sacrifices] to the Lord. He took some of all the clean [C in a ritual sense] birds and ·animals [beasts; livestock], and he ·burned them on the altar as offerings to God [L offered a whole burnt offering on the altar; Lev. 1]. 21 The Lord ·was pleased with these sacrifices [L smelled the sweet savor/smell] and said ·to himself [L in his heart], “I will never again curse the ground because of human beings. ·Their thoughts [The inclination of their hearts] are evil even ·when [from the time] they are young, but I will never again destroy every living thing on the earth as I did this time.
22 “As long as the earth continues,
planting and harvest,
cold and hot,
summer and winter,
day and night
will not stop.”
The New Beginning
9 Then God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “·Have many children; grow in number [T Be fruitful and multiply] and fill the earth [1:22, 29]. 2 Every ·animal [living thing] on earth, every bird in the ·sky [heavens], every animal that crawls on the ground, and every fish in the sea will ·respect [fear] and ·fear [dread; be terrified of] you. I have given them ·to you [L into your hand].
3 “Everything that moves, everything that is alive, is yours for food. Earlier I gave you the green plants [1:29–30], but now I give you everything for food. 4 But you must not eat ·meat [flesh] that still has blood in it, because blood ·gives [L is] life [Lev. 3:17; 7:26–27; 17:10–14]. 5 I will ·demand [require; L seek] blood for life. I will ·demand [require; L seek] the life of any animal that kills a person, and I will ·demand [require; L seek] the life of anyone who takes another person’s life.
6 “Whoever ·kills [L sheds the blood of] a human being
will ·be killed [L have his blood shed] by a human being,
because God made humans
in ·his own image [L the image of God; 1:26–27].
7 “As for you, Noah, ·I want you and your family to have many children, to grow in number on the earth, and to become many [L be fruitful and multiply, swarm/teem over the earth and multiply on it; 9:1].”
8 Then God said to Noah and his sons, 9 “·Now [or Look] I am making my ·agreement [covenant; treaty; 6:18] with you and your ·people [seed] ·who will live after you [L after you], 10 and with every living thing that is with you—the birds, the ·tame [livestock; cattle] and the wild animals, and with everything that came out of the ·boat [ark] with you—with every living thing on earth. 11 I ·make [establish] this ·agreement [covenant; treaty; 6:18] with you: ·I will never again destroy all living things by a flood [L a flood will never again cut off all flesh]. A flood will never again destroy the earth.”
12 And God said, “This is the sign [C a symbol that represents this relationship between God and Noah; 17:11; Ex. 31:13, 17] of the ·agreement [covenant; treaty; 6:18] between me and you and every living creature that is with you for all future generations. 13 I am putting my ·rainbow [bow; C may represent God hanging up his weapon after warring against humanity] in the clouds as the sign of the ·agreement [covenant; treaty; 6:18] between me and the earth. 14 When I bring clouds over the earth and a ·rainbow [bow] appears in them, 15 I will remember my ·agreement [covenant; treaty; 6:18] between me and you and every living thing [L of all flesh]. [L The waters of the] Floods will never again destroy all ·life on the earth [L flesh]. 16 When the ·rainbow [bow] appears in the clouds, I will see it and I will remember the ·agreement that continues forever [L eternal covenant] between me and every living thing [L of all flesh] on the earth.”
17 So God said to Noah, “·The rainbow [L This] is a ·sign [9:12] of the ·agreement [covenant; treaty; 6:18] that I made with all living things on earth.”
Noah and His Sons
18 The sons of Noah who came out of the ·boat [ark] with him were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) 19 These three men were Noah’s sons, and all the people on earth ·came [spread out; C see the genealogy in ch. 10] from these three sons.
20 Noah ·became a farmer [L was the first man of the ground/soil] and planted a vineyard. 21 When he drank ·wine made from his grapes [L the wine], he became drunk and lay ·naked [uncovered] in his tent. 22 Ham, the father of Canaan, looked at his naked father and told his [L two] brothers outside [C an act of disrespect; he should have helped his father, as in the next verse]. 23 Then Shem and Japheth got a coat and, carrying it on both their shoulders, they walked backwards into the tent and covered [L the nakedness of] their father. They turned their faces away so that they did not see their father’s nakedness [C they acted appropriately according to ancient custom].
24 Noah ·was sleeping because of the wine. When he woke up [woke up from his wine] and ·learned [L he knew] what his youngest son, Ham, had done to him, 25 he said,
“May there be a curse on Canaan [C the ancestor and representative of the inhabitants of Palestine that Israel displaced at the time of the conquest of the Promised Land; Josh. 1–12]!
May he be the lowest ·slave [servant] to his brothers.”
26 Noah also said,
“May the Lord, the God of Shem, be ·praised [blessed]!
May Canaan be Shem’s ·slave [servant; L Shem is the ancestor of Israel].
27 May God ·give more land to [make space for; C the verb sounds like his name] Japheth.
May Japheth live in Shem’s tents,
and may Canaan be their slave [10:2–4; 1 Chr. 1:5–7].”
28 After the flood Noah lived 350 years. 29 ·He lived a total of [L All the days of Noah were] 950 years, and then he died.
Footnotes
- Genesis 4:8 Cain…field This sentence appears in some Greek copies, but not in the Hebrew text.
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