Noah and the Ark

⁹ This is the account about the development of Noah’s family.

Noah was a righteous man, a man of integrity in that generation. Noah walked with God. ¹⁰ Noah became the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. ¹¹ In the sight of God the earth was morally corrupt, and the earth was filled with violence. ¹² God looked at the earth and saw that it was corrupt, for all flesh was corrupt in all their ways on the earth.

¹³ So God said to Noah, “I have decreed the end of all flesh, because the earth is filled with violence because of them. Now I am going to destroy them along with the earth.

¹⁴ “Make an ark^[a] of gopher wood.^[b] Make rooms in the ark. Seal it inside and outside with pitch. ¹⁵ This is how you are to make it: The length of the ark is to be 450 feet, its width 75 feet, and its height 45 feet. ¹⁶ Make a roof for the ark, and leave an eighteen-inch opening just under the roof. Place a door on the side of the ark. Make it with lower, second, and third decks.

¹⁷ “I myself am about to bring a flood of waters on the earth, in order to destroy all flesh under the sky that has the breath of life. Everything that is on the earth will die, ¹⁸ but I will establish my covenant^[c] with you. You shall come into the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. ¹⁹ You shall bring a pair (male and female) of every kind of living flesh into the ark with you to keep them alive. ²⁰ Include the birds according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, every creeping thing on the ground according to their kinds. Two of every sort shall come to you, so you can keep them alive. ²¹ Take with you every type of food that is eaten, and store it for yourself, so it can be used as food for you and for them.”

²² So that is what Noah did. He did everything that God commanded him, just as he had been told.

¹¹ In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that very day, all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the floodgates^[a] of the sky were opened. ¹² The rain came down on the earth for forty days and forty nights.

¹³ On that same day Noah, Noah’s sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, Noah’s wife, and the three wives of his sons along with them entered the ark. ¹⁴ They went in with every animal according to its kind, all the livestock according to their kinds, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth according to its kind, and everything that flies according to its kind, flying birds of every sort. ¹⁵ Pairs of all the animals^[b] that have the breath of life in them went to Noah in the ark. ¹⁶ A male and female of each animal that breathes went in, just as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord shut Noah in.

¹⁷ The flood kept coming on the earth for forty days. The waters became deeper and lifted up the ark until it floated high above the earth. ¹⁸ The water kept increasing and overwhelmed the earth, and the ark was carried along on the surface of the water. ¹⁹ The water overwhelmed the earth. All the high mountains that were under the entire sky were covered. ²⁰ The waters rose more than twenty feet above the mountains and covered them. ²¹ All living creatures^[c] that moved on the earth perished, including birds, livestock, wild animals, every creeping thing that crawls on the earth, and all mankind. ²² Everything that breathed the breath of life through its nostrils, that is, everything that was on the dry land, died. ²³ Every living thing that was on the face of the earth was wiped out, including mankind, livestock, creeping things, and birds of the sky. They all were wiped off the earth. Only Noah was left, as well as those who were with him in the ark.

Be Ready!

³⁶ “No one knows when that day and hour will be, not the angels of heaven, not even the Son, but only the Father. ³⁷ Just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be when the Son of Man returns. ³⁸ In fact, in the days before the flood people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the very day that Noah entered the ark. ³⁹ And they did not realize what was coming until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be when the Son of Man returns.

⁴⁰ “At that time two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. ⁴¹ Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left. ⁴² So be alert, because you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. ⁴³ But understand this: If the master of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴ You also need to be ready for this reason: The Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not expect him.

The End of the World Is Approaching

¹¹ And do this since you understand the present time. It is already the hour for you to wake up from sleep, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. ¹² The night is almost over, and the day is drawing near. So let us put away the deeds of darkness and put on the weapons of light. ¹³ Let us walk decently as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual sin and wild living, not in strife and jealousy. ¹⁴ Instead, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not give any thought to satisfying the desires of your sinful flesh.