Judgment Decreed

⁵ When the Lord saw that human wickedness was widespread on the earth and that every inclination of the human mind was nothing but evil all the time,^{(A) 6} the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth,^(B) and he was deeply grieved. ⁷ Then the Lord said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I created, off the face of the earth, together with the animals, creatures that crawl, and birds of the sky—for I regret that I made them.” ⁸ Noah, however, found favor with the Lord.^(C)

²¹ When the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma,^(A) he said to himself, “I will never again curse the ground^(B) because of human beings, even though the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth onward.^(C) And I will never again strike down every living thing as I have done.^(D)