Genesis 6
King James Version
6 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,
2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
3 And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.
5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6 And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
7 And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.
10 And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
14 Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.
15 And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.
16 A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.
17 And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.
18 But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee.
19 And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.
20 Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.
21 And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.
22 Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.
Genesis 6
International Standard Version
Human Corruption
6 Now after the population of human beings had increased throughout the[a] earth, and daughters had been born to them, 2 some divine beings[b] noticed how attractive human women[c] were, so they took wives for themselves from a selection that pleased them.[d] 3 So the Lord said, “My Spirit won’t remain[e] with human beings forever, because they’re truly mortal.[f] Their lifespan[g] will be 120 years.”
4 The Nephilim[h] were on the earth at that time[i] (and also immediately afterward), when those divine beings[j] were having sexual relations with[k] those human women,[l] who gave birth to children for them. These children[m] became the heroes and legendary figures of ancient times.[n]
God Decides to Destroy the World
5 The Lord saw that human evil was growing more and more throughout the earth, with every inclination of people’s thoughts[o] becoming only evil on a continuous basis. 6 Then the Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and he was deeply grieved about that.[p] 7 So the Lord said, “I will annihilate these human beings whom I’ve created from the[q] earth, including people, animals, crawling things, and flying creatures, because I’m grieving that I made them.” 8 However, the Lord was pleased with Noah.
Noah Obeys God
9 These are the family records[r] of Noah: Noah was a righteous man. Blameless during his times,[s] Noah communed[t] with God. 10 Noah fathered three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11 By this time, the earth had become ruined in God’s opinion[u] and filled with violence. 12 God looked at the earth, observing how corrupt its population had become, because the entire human race[v] had corrupted itself.[w] 13 So God announced to Noah, “I’ve decided to destroy every living thing on earth,[x] because it has become filled with violence due to them. Look! I’m about to annihilate them, along with the earth. 14 So make yourself an ark out of cedar,[y] constructing compartments in it, and cover it inside and out with tar. 15 Make the ark like this: 300 cubits[z] long, 50 cubits[aa] wide, and 30 cubits[ab] high. 16 Make a roof[ac] for the ark, and finish the walls[ad] to within one cubit[ae] from the top.[af] Place the entrance in the side of the ark, and build a lower, a middle, and an upper deck.
17 “For my part, I’m about to flood the earth with water and destroy every living thing[ag] that breathes. Everything on earth will die. 18 However, I will establish my own covenant with you, and you are to enter the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives. 19 You are to bring two of every living thing[ah] into the ark so they may remain alive with you. They are to be male and female. 20 From birds according to their species,[ai] from domestic animals according to their species,[aj] and from everything that crawls on the ground according to their species[ak]—two of everything will come to you so they may remain alive. 21 For your part, take some of the edible food and store it away—these stores will be food for you and the animals.”[al]
22 Noah did all of this, precisely as[am] God had commanded.
Footnotes
- Genesis 6:1 Lit. increase on the surface of the
- Genesis 6:2 Lit. them, 2 the sons of God
- Genesis 6:2 Lit. attractive daughters of Adam
- Genesis 6:2 Lit. from all whom they had selected
- Genesis 6:3 Or contend
- Genesis 6:3 Lit. flesh
- Genesis 6:3 Lit. days
- Genesis 6:4 MT reads The Fallen Ones; LXX and Aram. read Giants; cf. Num 13:33
- Genesis 6:4 Lit. earth in those days
- Genesis 6:4 Or after, the sons of God
- Genesis 6:4 Lit. beings went in to
- Genesis 6:4 Lit. with Adam’s daughters
- Genesis 6:4 The Heb. lacks children
- Genesis 6:4 Lit. heroes of ancient times, men of renown
- Genesis 6:5 Lit. hearts
- Genesis 6:6 Lit. was grieved to the heart
- Genesis 6:7 Lit. the surface of the
- Genesis 6:9 Or the generations
- Genesis 6:9 Or generations
- Genesis 6:9 Lit. lifetime, Noah walked
- Genesis 6:11 Lit. sight
- Genesis 6:12 Lit. all the flesh on the earth
- Genesis 6:12 Lit. corrupted their ways
- Genesis 6:13 Lit. The end of all flesh has come before me
- Genesis 6:14 Or cypress
- Genesis 6:15 I.e. about 450 feet
- Genesis 6:15 I.e. about 75 feet
- Genesis 6:15 I.e. about 45 feet
- Genesis 6:16 Or cupola
- Genesis 6:16 The Heb. lacks the walls
- Genesis 6:16 I.e. about one and a half feet
- Genesis 6:16 I.e. for a skylight
- Genesis 6:17 Lit. thing under heaven
- Genesis 6:19 Lit. every kind of flesh
- Genesis 6:20 Lit. kind
- Genesis 6:20 Lit. kind
- Genesis 6:20 Lit. kind
- Genesis 6:21 Lit. and them
- Genesis 6:22 Lit. this, everything that
Genesis 6
New King James Version
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.
Footnotes
- Genesis 6:3 LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. abide
- Genesis 6:4 Heb. nephilim, fallen or mighty ones
- Genesis 6:5 So with MT, Tg.; Vg. God; LXX Lord God
- Genesis 6:5 thought
- Genesis 6:5 all the day
- Genesis 6:9 blameless or having integrity
- Genesis 6:14 Lit. compartments or nests
- Genesis 6:15 A cubit is about 18 inches.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
