Sons of God and Daughters of Mankind

When mankind began to multiply on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God(A) saw that the daughters of mankind were beautiful, and they took any they chose as wives for themselves.(B) And the Lord said, “My Spirit will not remain[a] with[b] mankind forever,(C) because they are corrupt.[c](D) Their days will be 120 years.” The Nephilim[d] were on the earth both in those days and afterward, when the sons of God came to the daughters of mankind, who bore children to them. They were the powerful men of old, the famous men.

Judgment Decreed

When the Lord saw that human wickedness was widespread on the earth and that every inclination of the human mind was nothing but evil all the time,(E) the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth,(F) and he was deeply grieved. Then the Lord said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I created, off the face of the earth, together with the animals, creatures that crawl, and birds of the sky—for I regret that I made them.” Noah, however, found favor with the Lord.(G)

God Warns Noah

These are the family records(H) of Noah. Noah was a righteous man,(I) blameless among his contemporaries;(J) Noah walked with God.(K) 10 And Noah fathered three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with wickedness.[e] 12 God saw how corrupt the earth was, for every creature had corrupted its way on the earth.(L) 13 Then God said to Noah, “I have decided to put an end to every creature, for the earth is filled with wickedness because of them; therefore I am going to destroy them along with the earth.

14 “Make yourself an ark of gopher[f] wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it with pitch inside and outside. 15 This is how you are to make it: The ark will be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high.[g] 16 You are to make a roof,[h] finishing the sides of the ark to within eighteen inches[i] of the roof. You are to put a door in the side of the ark. Make it with lower, middle, and upper decks.

17 “Understand that I am bringing a flood—floodwaters on the earth(M) to destroy every creature under heaven with the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. 18 But I will establish my covenant with you,(N) and you will enter the ark with your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives. 19 You are also to bring into the ark two of all the living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. 20 Two of everything—from the birds according to their kinds, from the livestock according to their kinds, and from the animals that crawl on the ground according to their kinds—will come to you so that you can keep them alive. 21 Take with you every kind of food that is eaten; gather it as food for you and for them.” 22 And Noah did this. He did everything that God had commanded him.(O)

Entering the Ark

Then the Lord said to Noah, “Enter the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you alone are righteous before me in this generation.(P) You are to take with you seven pairs, a male and its female, of all the clean animals,(Q) and two of the animals that are not clean, a male and its female, and seven pairs, male and female, of the birds of the sky—in order to keep offspring alive throughout the earth. Seven days from now I will make it rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and every living thing I have made I will wipe off the face of the earth.” And Noah did everything that the Lord commanded him.(R)

Noah was six hundred years old when the flood came and water covered the earth. So Noah, his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives entered the ark because of the floodwaters. From the animals that are clean, and from the animals that are not clean, and from the birds and every creature that crawls on the ground, two of each, male and female, came to Noah and entered the ark, just as God had commanded him. 10 Seven days later the floodwaters came on the earth.

The Flood

11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the sources of the vast watery depths burst open,(S) the floodgates of the sky were opened,(T) 12 and the rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights. 13 On that same day Noah and his three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, entered the ark, along with Noah’s wife and his three sons’ wives. 14 They entered it with all the wildlife according to their kinds, all livestock according to their kinds, all the creatures that crawl on the earth according to their kinds, every flying creature—all the birds and every winged creature—according to their kinds. 15 Two of every creature that has the breath of life in it came to Noah and entered the ark. 16 Those that entered, male and female of every creature, entered just as God had commanded him. Then the Lord shut him in.

17 The flood continued for forty days on the earth; the water increased and lifted up the ark so that it rose above the earth. 18 The water surged and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. 19 Then the water surged even higher on the earth, and all the high mountains under the whole sky were covered. 20 The mountains were covered as the water surged above them more than twenty feet.[j] 21 Every creature perished—those that crawl on the earth, birds, livestock, wildlife, and those that swarm on the earth, as well as all mankind. 22 Everything with the breath of the spirit of life in its nostrils(U)—everything on dry land died. 23 He wiped out every living thing that was on the face of the earth, from mankind to livestock, to creatures that crawl, to the birds of the sky, and they were wiped off the earth. Only Noah was left, and those that were with him in the ark.(V) 24 And the water surged on the earth 150 days.

The Flood Recedes

God remembered Noah,(W) as well as all the wildlife and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. God caused a wind to pass over the earth,(X) and the water began to subside. The sources of the watery depths and the floodgates of the sky were closed, and the rain from the sky stopped.(Y) The water steadily receded from the earth, and by the end of 150 days the water had decreased significantly.(Z) The ark came to rest in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat.(AA)

The water continued to recede until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were visible. After forty days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made, and he sent out a raven. It went back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth. Then he sent out a dove to see whether the water on the earth’s surface had gone down, but the dove found no resting place for its foot. It returned to him in the ark because water covered the surface of the whole earth. He reached out and brought it into the ark to himself. 10 So Noah waited seven more days and sent out the dove from the ark again. 11 When the dove came to him at evening, there was a plucked olive leaf in its beak. So Noah knew that the water on the earth’s surface had gone down. 12 After he had waited another seven days, he sent out the dove, but it did not return to him again. 13 In the six hundred first year,[k] in the first month, on the first day of the month, the water that had covered the earth was dried up. Then Noah removed the ark’s cover and saw that the surface of the ground was drying. 14 By the twenty-seventh day of the second month, the earth was dry.

The Lord’s Promise

15 Then God spoke to Noah, 16 “Come out of the ark, you, your wife, your sons, and your sons’ wives with you. 17 Bring out all the living creatures that are with you—birds, livestock, those that crawl on the earth—and they will spread over the earth and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.”(AB) 18 So Noah, along with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, came out. 19 All the animals, all the creatures that crawl, and all the flying creatures—everything that moves on the earth—came out of the ark by their families.

20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord. He took some of every kind of clean animal and every kind of clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 When the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma,(AC) he said to himself, “I will never again curse the ground(AD) because of human beings, even though the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth onward.(AE) And I will never again strike down every living thing as I have done.(AF)

22 As long as the earth endures,
seedtime and harvest, cold and heat,
summer and winter, and day and night
will not cease.”(AG)

Footnotes

  1. 6:3 Or strive
  2. 6:3 Or in
  3. 6:3 Lit flesh
  4. 6:4 Possibly means “fallen ones”; traditionally, “giants”; Nm 13:31–33
  5. 6:11 Or injustice, also in v. 13
  6. 6:14 Unknown species of tree; perhaps pine or cypress
  7. 6:15 Or 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high
  8. 6:16 Or window, or hatch; Hb uncertain
  9. 6:16 Lit to a cubit
  10. 7:20 Lit surged 15 cubits
  11. 8:13 = of Noah’s life

Psalm 104

God the Creator

My soul, bless the Lord!
Lord my God, you are very great;
you are clothed with majesty and splendor.(A)
He wraps himself in light as if it were a robe,
spreading out the sky like a canopy,(B)
laying the beams of his palace
on the waters above,(C)
making the clouds his chariot,(D)
walking on the wings of the wind,(E)
and making the winds his messengers,[a]
flames of fire his servants.(F)

He established the earth on its foundations;
it will never be shaken.(G)
You covered it with the deep
as if it were a garment;
the water stood above the mountains.(H)
At your rebuke the water fled;
at the sound of your thunder they hurried away(I)
mountains rose and valleys sank[b]
to the place you established for them.(J)
You set a boundary they cannot cross;
they will never cover the earth again.(K)

10 He causes the springs to gush into the valleys;
they flow between the mountains.(L)
11 They supply water for every wild beast;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.(M)
12 The birds of the sky live beside the springs;
they make their voices heard among the foliage.(N)
13 He waters the mountains from his palace;
the earth is satisfied by the fruit of your labor.(O)

14 He causes grass to grow for the livestock
and provides crops for man to cultivate,
producing food from the earth,(P)
15 wine that makes human hearts glad—
making his face shine with oil—
and bread that sustains human hearts.(Q)

16 The trees of the Lord flourish,[c]
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.(R)
17 There the birds make their nests;
storks make their homes in the pine trees.(S)
18 The high mountains are for the wild goats;
the cliffs are a refuge for hyraxes.(T)

19 He made the moon to mark the[d] festivals;[e]
the sun knows when to set.(U)
20 You bring darkness, and it becomes night,
when all the forest animals stir.(V)
21 The young lions roar for their prey
and seek their food from God.(W)
22 The sun rises; they go back
and lie down in their dens.(X)
23 Man goes out to his work
and to his labor until evening.(Y)

24 How countless are your works, Lord!
In wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.[f](Z)
25 Here is the sea, vast and wide,
teeming with creatures beyond number—
living things both large and small.(AA)
26 There the ships move about,
and Leviathan, which you formed to play there.(AB)

27 All of them wait for you
to give them their food at the right time.(AC)
28 When you give it to them,
they gather it;
when you open your hand,
they are satisfied with good things.(AD)
29 When you hide your face,
they are terrified;
when you take away their breath,
they die and return to the dust.(AE)
30 When you send your breath,[g]
they are created,(AF)
and you renew the surface of the ground.(AG)

31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
may the Lord rejoice in his works.(AH)
32 He looks at the earth, and it trembles;
he touches the mountains,
and they pour out smoke.(AI)
33 I will sing to the Lord all my life;
I will sing praise to my God while I live.(AJ)
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him;
I will rejoice in the Lord.(AK)
35 May sinners vanish from the earth
and wicked people be no more.(AL)
My soul, bless the Lord!
Hallelujah!

Footnotes

  1. 104:4 Or angels
  2. 104:7–8 Or away. They flowed over the mountains and went down valleys
  3. 104:16 Lit are satisfied
  4. 104:19 Lit moon for
  5. 104:19 Or the appointed times
  6. 104:24 Lit possessions
  7. 104:30 Or Spirit

Jesus(A) entered the synagogue(B) again, and a man was there who had a shriveled(C) hand. In order to accuse(D) him, they were watching him closely(E) to see whether he would heal(F) him on the Sabbath.(G) He told the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand before us.” Then he said to them, “Is it lawful(H) to do good(I) on the Sabbath or to do evil,(J) to save life(K) or to kill?”(L) But they were silent.(M) After looking around at them with anger,(N) he was grieved at the hardness(O) of their hearts and told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and his hand was restored.(P) Immediately the Pharisees(Q) went out and started plotting(R) with the Herodians(S) against him, how they might kill(T) him.

Ministering to the Multitude

Jesus(U) departed with his disciples to the sea, and a large crowd followed from Galilee,(V) and a large crowd followed from Judea,(W) Jerusalem,(X) Idumea, beyond the Jordan,(Y) and around Tyre(Z) and Sidon.(AA) The large crowd came to him because they heard about everything he was doing. Then he told his disciples to have a small boat(AB) ready for him, so that the crowd wouldn’t crush him. 10 Since he had healed(AC) many, all who had diseases were pressing toward him to touch(AD) him. 11 Whenever the unclean(AE) spirits(AF) saw him, they fell down(AG) before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God!” (AH) 12 And he would strongly warn(AI) them not to make him known.(AJ)

The Twelve Apostles

13 Jesus(AK) went up the mountain(AL) and summoned those he wanted, and they came to him. 14 He appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles,[a](AM) to be with him, to send them out to preach,(AN) 15 and to have authority to[b] drive out demons. 16 He appointed the Twelve:[c](AO) To Simon,(AP) he gave the name Peter;(AQ) 17 and to James(AR) the son of Zebedee,(AS) and to his brother John,(AT) he gave the name “Boanerges” (that is, “Sons of Thunder”(AU)); 18 Andrew;(AV) Philip(AW) and Bartholomew; Matthew(AX) and Thomas;(AY) James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot, 19 and Judas Iscariot,(AZ) who also betrayed him.

A House Divided

20 Jesus entered a house, and the crowd gathered again so that they were not even able to eat.[d] 21 When his family(BA) heard this, they set out to restrain him, because they said, “He’s out of his mind.”(BB)

22 The scribes(BC) who had come down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,”(BD) and, “He drives out(BE) demons(BF) by the ruler(BG) of the demons.”(BH)

23 So he summoned(BI) them and spoke to them in parables:(BJ) “How can Satan(BK) drive out Satan?(BL) 24 If a kingdom(BM) is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand but is finished. 27 But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his possessions unless he first ties up(BN) the strong man. Then he can plunder his house.

28 “Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for all sins and whatever blasphemies(BO) they utter. 29 But whoever blasphemes(BP) against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness,(BQ) but is guilty(BR) of an eternal sin”[e](BS) 30 because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”(BT)

True Relationships

31 His(BU) mother(BV) and his brothers(BW) came, and standing outside, they sent word to him and called him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him and told him, “Look, your mother, your brothers,(BX) and your sisters[f] are outside asking for you.”

33 He replied to them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 Looking at those sitting in a circle around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!(BY) 35 Whoever does the will of God(BZ) is my brother and sister and mother.”

Footnotes

  1. 3:14 Other mss omit he also named them apostles
  2. 3:15 Other mss add heal diseases, and to
  3. 3:16 Other mss omit He appointed the Twelve
  4. 3:20 Or eat a meal; lit eat bread
  5. 3:29 Other mss read is subject to eternal judgment
  6. 3:32 Other mss omit and your sisters

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