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.

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ^(A)

¹³ When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, ^(B)“Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”

¹⁴ So they said, ^(C)“Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or ^(D)one of the prophets.”

¹⁵ He said to them, “But who do ^(E)you say that I am?”

¹⁶ Simon Peter answered and said, ^(F)“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

¹⁷ Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, ^(G)for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but ^(H)My Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸ And I also say to you that ^(I)you are Peter, and ^(J)on this rock I will build My church, and ^(K)the gates of Hades shall not ^[a]prevail against it. ^19 (L)And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth ^[b]will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

^20 (M)Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.

Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection^(N)

²¹ From that time Jesus began ^(O)to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.

²² Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, ^[c]“Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!”

²³ But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, ^(P)Satan! ^(Q)You are ^[d]an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”

Take Up the Cross and Follow Him^(R)

^24 (S)Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and ^(T)follow Me. ²⁵ For ^(U)whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. ²⁶ For what ^(V)profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or ^(W)what will a man give in exchange for his soul? ²⁷ For ^(X)the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father ^(Y)with His angels, ^(Z)and then He will reward each according to his works. ²⁸ Assuredly, I say to you, ^(AA)there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”

The Great Flood^(A)

7 Then the ^(B)Lord said to Noah, ^(C)“Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that ^(D)you are righteous before Me in this generation. ² You shall take with you seven each of every ^(E)clean animal, a male and his female; ^(F)two each of animals that are unclean, a male and his female; ³ also seven each of birds of the air, male and female, to keep ^[a]the species alive on the face of all the earth. ⁴ For after ^(G)seven more days I will cause it to rain on the earth ^(H)forty days and forty nights, and I will ^[b]destroy from the face of the earth all living things that I have made.” ^5 (I)And Noah did according to all that the Lord commanded him. ⁶ Noah was ^(J)six hundred years old when the floodwaters were on the earth.

^7 (K)So Noah, with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, went into the ark because of the waters of the flood. ⁸ Of clean animals, of animals that are unclean, of birds, and of everything that creeps on the earth, ⁹ two by two they went into the ark to Noah, male and female, as God had commanded Noah. ¹⁰ And it came to pass after seven days that the waters of the flood were on the earth. ¹¹ In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on ^(L)that day all ^(M)the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the ^(N)windows of heaven were opened. ^12 (O)And the rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights.

¹³ On the very same day Noah and Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark— ^14 (P)they and every beast after its kind, all cattle after their kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, every bird of every ^(Q)sort. ¹⁵ And they ^(R)went into the ark to Noah, two by two, of all flesh in which is the breath of life. ¹⁶ So those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in ^(S)as God had commanded him; and the Lord shut him in.

^17 (T)Now the flood was on the earth forty days. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. ¹⁸ The waters prevailed and greatly increased on the earth, ^(U)and the ark moved about on the surface of the waters. ¹⁹ And the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered. ²⁰ The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered. ^21 (V)And all flesh died that moved on ^[c]the earth: birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man. ²² All in ^(W)whose nostrils was the breath ^[d]of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land, died. ²³ So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only ^(X)Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive. ^24 (Y)And the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days.

God’s Righteous Judgment

2 Therefore you are ^(A)inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, ^(B)for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. ² But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. ³ And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? ⁴ Or do you despise ^(C)the riches of His goodness, ^(D)forbearance, and ^(E)longsuffering, ^(F)not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? ⁵ But in accordance with your hardness and your ^[a]impenitent heart ^(G)you are ^[b]treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, ⁶ who ^(H)“will render to each one according to his deeds”: ⁷ eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; ⁸ but to those who are self-seeking and ^(I)do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, ⁹ tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew ^(J)first and also of the ^[c]Greek; ^10 (K)but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. ¹¹ For ^(L)there is no partiality with God.

¹² For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law ¹³ (for ^(M)not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified; ¹⁴ for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, ¹⁵ who show the ^(N)work of the law written in their hearts, their ^(O)conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them) ^16 (P)in the day when God will judge the secrets of men ^(Q)by Jesus Christ, ^(R)according to my gospel.

The Jews Guilty as the Gentiles

^17 [d]Indeed ^(S)you are called a Jew, and ^(T)rest^[e] on the law, ^(U)and make your boast in God, ¹⁸ and ^(V)know His will, and ^(W)approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, ¹⁹ and ^(X)are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, ²⁰ an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, ^(Y)having the form of knowledge and truth in the law. ^21 (Z)You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? ²² You who say, “Do not commit adultery,” do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, ^(AA)do you rob temples? ²³ You who ^(AB)make your boast in the law, do you dishonor God through breaking the law? ²⁴ For ^(AC)“the name of God is ^(AD)blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,” as it is written.

Circumcision of No Avail

^25 (AE)For circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law; but if you are a breaker of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. ²⁶ Therefore, ^(AF)if an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision? ²⁷ And will not the physically uncircumcised, if he fulfills the law, ^(AG)judge you who, even with your ^[f]written code and circumcision, are a transgressor of the law? ²⁸ For ^(AH)he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; ²⁹ but he is a Jew ^(AI)who is one inwardly; and ^(AJ)circumcision is that of the heart, ^(AK)in the Spirit, not in the letter; ^(AL)whose ^[g]praise is not from men but from God.