And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,

That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

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.

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.

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.

And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

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.

But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

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.

Evil Increases on the Earth

The number of people increased all over the earth, and daughters were born to them. The sons of Elohim saw that the daughters of other humans were beautiful. So they married any woman they chose.

Then Yahweh said, “My Spirit will not struggle with humans forever, because they are flesh and blood. They will live 120 years.”

The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, as well as later, when the sons of Elohim slept with the daughters of other humans and had children by them. These children were famous long ago.

Yahweh saw how evil humans had become on the earth. All day long their deepest thoughts were nothing but evil. Yahweh was sorry that he had made humans on the earth, and he was heartbroken. So Yahweh said, “I will wipe off the face of the earth these humans that I created. I will wipe out not only humans, but also domestic animals, crawling animals, and birds. I’m sorry that I made them.” But Yahweh was pleased with Noah.

Noah’s Family and the Ship

This is the account of Noah and his descendants.

Noah had God’s approval and was a man of integrity among the people of his time. He walked with Elohim. 10 He had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

11 The world was corrupt in Elohim’s sight and full of violence. 12 Elohim saw the world and how corrupt it was because all people on earth lived evil lives.

13 Elohim said to Noah, “I have decided to put an end to all people because the earth is full of their violence. Now I’m going to destroy them along with the earth. 14 Make yourself a ship of cypress wood.[a] Make rooms in the ship and coat it inside and out with tar. 15 This is how you should build it: the ship is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. 16 Make a roof for the ship, and leave an 18-inch-high opening at the top.[b] Put a door in the side of the ship. Build the ship with lower, middle, and upper decks. 17 I’m about to send a flood on the earth to destroy all people under the sky—every living, breathing human. Everything on earth will die.

18 “But I will make my promise[c] to you. You, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives will go into the ship. 19 Bring two of every living creature into the ship in order to keep them alive with you. They must be male and female. 20 Two of every type of bird, every type of domestic animal, and every type of creature that crawls on the ground will come to you to be kept alive. 21 Take every kind of food that can be eaten and store it. It will be food for you and the animals.”

22 Noah did this. He did everything that Elohim had commanded him.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 6:14 Or “teakwood.”
  2. Genesis 6:16 Hebrew meaning uncertain.
  3. Genesis 6:18 Or “covenant.”