Genesis 7-9

Holman Christian Standard Bible

Entering the Ark

7 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.^{(A) 2} You are to take with you seven pairs, a male and its female, of all the clean animals,^(B) and two of the animals that are not clean, a male and its female, ³ and seven pairs, male and female, of the birds of the sky—in order to keep offspring alive on the face of the whole earth. ⁴ Seven days from now I will make it rain on the earth 40 days and 40 nights, and I will wipe off from the face of the earth every living thing I have made.” ⁵ And Noah did everything that the Lord commanded him.^(C)

⁶ Noah was 600 years old when the flood came and water covered the earth. ⁷ So Noah, his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives entered the ark because of the waters of the flood. ⁸ From the clean animals, unclean animals, birds, and every creature that crawls on the ground, ⁹ two of each, male and female, entered the ark with Noah, just as God had commanded him. ¹⁰ Seven days later the waters of the flood 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 watery depths burst open,^(D) the floodgates of the sky were opened,^{(E) 12} and the rain fell on the earth 40 days and 40 nights. ¹³ On that same day Noah along with his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, Noah’s wife, and his three sons’ wives entered the ark with him. ¹⁴ They entered it with all the wildlife according to their kinds, all livestock according to their kinds, the creatures that crawl on the earth according to their kinds, all birds, every fowl, and everything with wings according to their kinds. ¹⁵ Two of all flesh that has the breath of life in it entered the ark with Noah. ¹⁶ Those that entered, male and female of all flesh, entered just as God had commanded him. Then the Lord shut him in.

¹⁷ The flood continued for 40 days on the earth; the waters increased and lifted up the ark so that it rose above the earth. ¹⁸ The waters surged and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. ¹⁹ Then the waters surged even higher on the earth, and all the high mountains under the whole sky were covered. ²⁰ The mountains were covered as the waters surged above them more than 20 feet.^{[a] 21} Every creature perished—those that crawl on the earth, birds, livestock, wildlife, and those that swarm^[b] on the earth, as well as all mankind. ²² Everything with the breath of the spirit of life in its nostrils^(F)—everything on dry land died. ²³ He wiped out every living thing that was on the surface of the ground, 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.^{(G) 24} And the waters surged on the earth 150 days.

The Flood Recedes

8 God remembered Noah,^(H) as well as all the wildlife and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. God caused a wind^[c] to pass over the earth,^(I) and the water began to subside. ² The sources of the watery depths and the floodgates of the sky were closed, and the rain from the sky stopped.^{(J) 3} The water steadily receded from the earth, and by the end of 150 days the waters had decreased significantly.^{(K) 4} The ark came to rest in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat.^[d](L)

⁵ The waters 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. ⁶ After 40 days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made, ⁷ and he sent out a raven. It went back and forth until the waters had dried up from the earth. ⁸ Then he sent out a dove to see whether the water on the earth’s surface had gone down, ⁹ but the dove found no resting place for her foot. She returned to him in the ark because water covered the surface of the whole earth. He reached out and brought her 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 her 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 she did not return to him again. ¹³ In the six hundred and first year,^[e] 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^[f] that are with you—birds, livestock, those that crawl on the ground—and they will spread over the earth and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.”^{(M) 18} So Noah, along with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, came out. ¹⁹ All wildlife, all livestock, every bird, and every creature that crawls on the earth came out of the ark by their groups.

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,^(N) He said to Himself, “I will never again curse the ground^(O) because of man, even though man’s inclination is evil from his youth.^(P) And I will never again strike down every living thing as I have done.^(Q)

God’s Covenant with Noah

9 God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.^{(S) 2} The fear and terror of you will be in every living creature on the earth, every bird of the sky, every creature that crawls on the ground, and all the fish of the sea. They are placed under your authority.^{[g] 3} Every living creature will be food for you;^(T) as I gave the green plants, I have given you everything.^{(U) 4} However, you must not eat meat with its lifeblood in it.^{(V) 5} I will require the life of every animal^(W) and every man for your life and your blood. I will require the life of each man’s brother for a man’s life.^(X)

⁷ But you, be fruitful and multiply; spread out over the earth and multiply on it.”^(AA)

⁸ Then God said to Noah and his sons with him, ⁹ “Understand that I am confirming My covenant^(AB) with you and your descendants after you, ¹⁰ and with every living creature that is with you—birds, livestock, and all wildlife of the earth that are with you—all the animals of the earth that came out of the ark. ¹¹ I confirm My covenant with you that never again will every creature be wiped out by the waters of a flood; there will never again be a flood to destroy the earth.”^(AC)

¹² And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant^(AD) I am making between Me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all future generations: ¹³ I have placed My bow in the clouds,^(AE) and it will be a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. ¹⁴ Whenever I form clouds over the earth and the bow appears in the clouds, ¹⁵ I will remember My covenant^(AF) between Me and you and all the living creatures:^[h] water will never again become a flood to destroy every creature. ¹⁶ The bow will be in the clouds, and I will look at it and remember the everlasting covenant^(AG) between God and all the living creatures^[i] on earth.” ¹⁷ God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have confirmed between Me and every creature on earth.”

Prophecies about Noah’s Family

¹⁸ Noah’s sons who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham was the father of Canaan. ¹⁹ These three were Noah’s sons, and from them the whole earth was populated.^(AH)

²⁰ Noah, a man of the soil, was the first to plant^[j] a vineyard. ²¹ He drank some of the wine, became drunk, and uncovered himself inside his tent. ²² Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside.^{(AI) 23} Then Shem and Japheth took a cloak and placed it over both their shoulders, and walking backward, they covered their father’s nakedness. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father naked.

²⁴ When Noah awoke from his drinking and learned what his youngest son had done to him, ²⁵ he said:

²⁶ He also said:

²⁸ Now Noah lived 350 years after the flood. ²⁹ So Noah’s life lasted 950 years; then he died.