Increasing Corruption on Earth

6 When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, ² the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. ³ Then the Lord said, ^(A)“My Spirit shall not abide in^[a] man forever, ^(B)for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” ⁴ The Nephilim^[b] were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.

^5 (C)The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every ^(D)intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. ⁶ And ^(E)the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it ^(F)grieved him to his heart. ⁷ So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” ⁸ But Noah ^(G)found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

Noah and the Flood

⁹ These are the generations of Noah. ^(H)Noah was a righteous man, ^(I)blameless in his generation. Noah ^(J)walked with God. ¹⁰ And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

¹¹ Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. ¹² And God ^(K)saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, ^(L)for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. ¹³ And God said to Noah, ^(M)“I have determined to make an end of all flesh,^[c] for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. ¹⁴ Make yourself an ark of gopher wood.^[d] Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. ¹⁵ This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits,^[e] its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits. ¹⁶ Make a roof^[f] for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks. ^17 (N)For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. ¹⁸ But ^(O)I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come 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 two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female. ²⁰ Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive. ²¹ Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten, and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them.” ^22 (P)Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.

9 And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, ^(A)“Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. ^2 (B)The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered. ^3 (C)Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And ^(D)as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. ⁴ But you shall not eat flesh with its ^(E)life, that is, its blood. ⁵ And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: ^(F)from every beast I will require it and ^(G)from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man.

⁷ And you,^[a] be fruitful and multiply, increase greatly on the earth and multiply in it.”

⁸ Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, ⁹ “Behold, ^(J)I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, ¹⁰ and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. ^11 (K)I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” ¹² And God said, ^(L)“This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: ¹³ I have set ^(M)my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. ¹⁴ When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, ^15 (N)I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. ¹⁶ When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember ^(O)the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” ¹⁷ God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

Noah's Descendants

¹⁸ The sons of Noah who went forth from the ark were ^(P)Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) ¹⁹ These three were the sons of Noah, and ^(Q)from these the people of the whole earth were dispersed.^[b]

²⁰ Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard.^{[c] 21} He drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent. ²² And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside. ²³ Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned backward, and they did not see their father's nakedness. ²⁴ When Noah awoke from his wine ^(R)and knew what his youngest son had done to him, ²⁵ he said,

²⁶ He also said,

²⁸ After the flood Noah lived 350 years. ²⁹ All the days of Noah were 950 years, and he died.