Add parallel Print Page Options

The Nephilim and the Daughters of Men

Now it happened, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were good in appearance; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. Then Yahweh said, “(A)My Spirit shall not [a]strive with man forever [b](B)because he indeed is flesh; [c]nevertheless his days shall be 120 years.” The (C)Nephilim were on the earth in those 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.

Then Yahweh saw that the evil of man was great on the earth, and that (D)every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (E)And Yahweh regretted that He had made man on the earth, and He was (F)grieved [d]in His heart. And Yahweh said, “(G)I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the [e]sky; for (H)I regret that I have made them.” But (I)Noah (J)found favor in the eyes of Yahweh.

The Generations of Noah

These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a (K)righteous man, [f](L)blameless among those in his generations; Noah (M)walked with God. 10 And Noah [g]became the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

11 Now the earth was (N)corrupt before God, and the earth was (O)filled with violence. 12 And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for (P)all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth.

13 Then God said to Noah, “(Q)The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth. 14 Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with rooms, and you shall [h]cover it inside and out with pitch. 15 Now this is how you shall make it: the length of the ark [i]300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits. 16 You shall make a [j]window for the ark, and complete it to one [k]cubit from [l]the top; and set the door of the ark in the side of it; you shall make it with lower, second, and third decks. 17 As for Me, behold (R)I am bringing the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall breathe its last. 18 But I will establish (S)My covenant with you; and (T)you shall enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you. 19 (U)And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. 20 (V)Of the birds after their kind, and of the animals after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive. 21 As for you, take for yourself some of all (W)food which is edible, and gather it to yourself; and it shall be for food for you and for them.” 22 (X)Thus Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 6:3 Or rule in; some ancient versions abide in
  2. Genesis 6:3 Or in his going astray he is flesh
  3. Genesis 6:3 Or therefore
  4. Genesis 6:6 Lit to
  5. Genesis 6:7 Lit heavens
  6. Genesis 6:9 Or having integrity; lit complete, perfect
  7. Genesis 6:10 Lit begot
  8. Genesis 6:14 Or pitch
  9. Genesis 6:15 Approx. 450 ft. long, 75 ft. wide, and 45 ft. high or 135 m, 23 m, and 14 m
  10. Genesis 6:16 Or roof
  11. Genesis 6:16 A cubit was approx. 18 in. or 45 cm
  12. Genesis 6:16 Lit above

The Wickedness and Judgment of Man

Now it came to pass, (A)when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, 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.

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.” 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.

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. And (H)the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and (I)He was grieved in His (J)heart. 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.” But Noah (L)found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

Noah Pleases God

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

  1. Genesis 6:3 LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. abide
  2. Genesis 6:4 Heb. nephilim, fallen or mighty ones
  3. Genesis 6:5 So with MT, Tg.; Vg. God; LXX Lord God
  4. Genesis 6:5 thought
  5. Genesis 6:5 all the day
  6. Genesis 6:9 blameless or having integrity
  7. Genesis 6:14 Lit. compartments or nests
  8. Genesis 6:15 A cubit is about 18 inches.

People Become Evil

The number of people on earth continued to increase. When these people had daughters, the sons of God saw how beautiful they were. So they chose the women they wanted. They married them, and the women had their children.

Then the Lord said, “People are only human. I will not let my Spirit be troubled by them forever. I will let them live only 120 years.”[a]

During this time and also later, the Nephilim people lived in the land. They have been famous as powerful soldiers since ancient times.

The Lord saw that the people on the earth were very evil. He saw that they thought only about evil things all the time. The Lord was sorry that he had made people on the earth. It made him very sad in his heart. So the Lord said, “I will destroy all the people I created on the earth. I will destroy every person and every animal and everything that crawls on the earth. And I will destroy all the birds in the air, because I am sorry that I have made them.”

But Noah pleased the Lord.

Noah and the Great Flood

This is the history of Noah’s family. He was a good man all his life, and he always followed God. 10 Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

11-12 When God looked at the earth, he saw that people had ruined it. Violence was everywhere, and it had ruined their life on earth.

13 So God said to Noah, “Everyone has filled the earth with anger and violence. So I will destroy all living things. I will remove them from the earth. 14 Use cypress wood[b] and build a boat for yourself. Make rooms in the boat and cover it with tar inside and out.

15 “This is the size I want you to make the boat: 300 cubits[c] long, 50 cubits[d] wide, and 30 cubits[e] high. 16 Make a window for the boat about 1 cubit[f] below the roof.[g] Put a door in the side of the boat. Make three floors in the boat: a top deck, a middle deck, and a lower deck.

17 “Understand what I am telling you. I will bring a great flood of water on the earth. I will destroy all living things that live under heaven. Everything on the earth will die. 18 I will make a special agreement with you. You, your wife, your sons, and their wives will all go into the boat. 19 Also, you will take two of every living thing on the earth with you into the boat. Take a male and female of every kind of animal so that they might survive with you. 20 Two of every kind of bird, animal, and creeping thing will come to you so that you might keep them alive. 21 Also bring every kind of food into the boat, for you and for the animals.”

22 Noah did everything God commanded him.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 6:1 People … 120 years Or “The spirit from me will not live in people forever, because they are flesh. They will live only 120 years.” Or “My Spirit will not judge people forever, because they will all die in 120 years.”
  2. Genesis 6:14 cypress wood In Hebrew, “gopher timbers.” It is uncertain what kind of wood this is. It might be a kind of tree or squared timbers.
  3. Genesis 6:15 300 cubits 437' 1/8" (133 m) if this was the short cubit or 510' 1 13/16" (155.5 m) if it was the long cubit.
  4. Genesis 6:15 50 cubits 72' 10" (22.2 m) if this was the short cubit or 85' 5/16" (25.92 m) if it was the long cubit.
  5. Genesis 6:15 30 cubits 43' 8 7/16" (13.3 m) if this was the short cubit or 51' 3/16" (15.55 m) if it was the long cubit.
  6. Genesis 6:16 1 cubit 17 1/2" (44.4 cm) if this was the short cubit or 20 5/8" (51.83 cm) if it was the long cubit.
  7. Genesis 6:16 Make a window … below the roof Or “Make an opening for the boat about 18 inches tall.”

Wickedness in the World

When human beings began to increase in number on the earth(A) and daughters were born to them, the sons of God(B) saw that the daughters(C) of humans were beautiful,(D) and they married(E) any of them they chose. Then the Lord said, “My Spirit(F) will not contend with[a] humans forever,(G) for they are mortal[b];(H) their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”

The Nephilim(I) were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans(J) and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.(K)

The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth,(L) and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.(M) The Lord regretted(N) that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth(O) the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.(P) But Noah(Q) found favor in the eyes of the Lord.(R)

Noah and the Flood

This is the account(S) of Noah and his family.

Noah was a righteous man, blameless(T) among the people of his time,(U) and he walked faithfully with God.(V) 10 Noah had three sons: Shem,(W) Ham and Japheth.(X)

11 Now the earth was corrupt(Y) in God’s sight and was full of violence.(Z) 12 God saw how corrupt(AA) the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways.(AB) 13 So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy(AC) both them and the earth.(AD) 14 So make yourself an ark of cypress[c] wood;(AE) make rooms in it and coat it with pitch(AF) inside and out. 15 This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high.[d] 16 Make a roof for it, leaving below the roof an opening one cubit[e] high all around.[f] Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. 17 I am going to bring floodwaters(AG) on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish.(AH) 18 But I will establish my covenant with you,(AI) and you will enter the ark(AJ)—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you. 19 You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you.(AK) 20 Two(AL) of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind(AM) of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive.(AN) 21 You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.”

22 Noah did everything just as God commanded him.(AO)

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 6:3 Or My spirit will not remain in
  2. Genesis 6:3 Or corrupt
  3. Genesis 6:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  4. Genesis 6:15 That is, about 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high or about 135 meters long, 23 meters wide and 14 meters high
  5. Genesis 6:16 That is, about 18 inches or about 45 centimeters
  6. Genesis 6:16 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.