Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

⁵ Noah did everything the Eternal One asked him to do.

⁶ Noah was 600 years old when the flood waters swept over the earth. ⁷ Noah and his wife, his sons and their wives, all went into the ark in order to escape the waters of the flood. ⁸ Noah made sure to take along all of the animals (both ritually acceptable and unacceptable), the birds, and all the small creeping creatures ⁹ in pairs by males and females, just as God had told him to do. They all went into the ark with him, two by two. ¹⁰ After seven days, the rains began and waters flooded the earth.

¹¹ On the 17th day of the 2nd month in Noah’s 600th year, all of the subterranean waters erupted from the depths of the earth and burst skyward, covering the land. The casements of the heavens cracked open, ¹² dousing heavy rains over the watery earth for 40 days and 40 nights.

¹³ On the same day, Noah, his wife, his sons (Shem, Ham, and Japheth), and his sons’ wives went into the ark, and all were secured within it. ¹⁴ Inside the ark they had with them all sorts of wild animals, domesticated animals, small creeping creatures, and all kinds of birds, that is, every winged creature. ¹⁵ All of them went along into the ark to Noah in pairs—all flesh into which God had breathed the breath of life. ¹⁶ All those in the ark, males and females of all living flesh, went in just as God had told them to do. And the Eternal One shut them all in for the duration of the flood.

¹⁷ The deluge continued for 40 days on the earth. ¹⁸ The waters kept rising until they lifted up the ark so it floated safely over the land; ¹⁹ the torrent continued to swell and increase in momentum until the highest mountain peaks beneath the heavens were covered. ²⁰ In fact, the waters rose and pitched so forcefully over the earth that the mountain peaks disappeared beneath 22 feet of water. ²¹ And all flesh that moved upon the earth died out—birds, domesticated animals, wild animals, all of the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all human beings. ²² Everything and everyone on the dry land in which God had breathed the breath of life died. ²³ God wiped out every living thing from the face of the earth. Every creature He had made—humans, animals, creeping things, and birds—was wiped off the surface of the earth. Only Noah was left and those with him inside the ark. ²⁴ And the waters raged upon the earth for 150 days.

¹³ One day a moderate south wind began to blow, which made an attempt possible. We weighed anchor and sailed west, staying near shore. ¹⁴ Then things got scary. A violent northeaster, the Euraquilo, blew down across Crete. ¹⁵ We were caught. We couldn’t turn and sail into this fierce wind, so we had no choice but to let it drive us. ¹⁶ We briefly found a bit of shelter from the wind near the island of Clauda. We had been having trouble securing the ship’s lifeboat; ¹⁷ but we were able there to hoist it up and send down cables to brace the hull, which was in danger of breaking apart under the strain of the storm. The wind was relentless, and soon we were again being driven southwest at the mercy of the storm. We feared it would drive us all the way to the Syrtis Banks, down near the North African coast, so we threw out the sea anchor to slow us down. ¹⁸ All through the night, the storm pounded us violently. The next day, the crew threw the ship’s cargo overboard; ¹⁹ and the day after that, they discarded any of the ship’s equipment they could do without. ²⁰ Days passed without relief from the furious winds, without a single break in the clouds to see sun or stars, even for a moment. Despair set in, as if all hope of rescue had been cast overboard as well. ²¹ On top of all of this, the crew had been unable to eat anything because of the turmoil. Paul saw the crew had reached a critical moment. He gathered them.

^27-28 Imagine what happened: It’s the 14th night of our nightmare voyage; we’re being driven by the storm somewhere in the Adriatic Sea. It’s about midnight, and the sailors are taking soundings, fearing we might run aground. “Twenty fathoms,” somebody calls out in the darkness, then a little later, “Fifteen fathoms.” We’re nearing land! ²⁹ But hope quickly gives way to a new fear. At any moment in this darkness, they realize, we could be smashed onto unseen rocks. So they drop four anchors from the stern and pray for first light.

³⁰ Then some of the crew decide to make a run for it on their own. They say they need to let out more anchors from the bow, and this will require lowering the ship’s lifeboat. They actually plan to abandon us; we realize what’s going on. ³¹ Paul quickly speaks to the officer and soldiers.

³² So the soldiers intervene, cut away the lifeboat, and let it drift away. ^{33, 37} We wait. Just before dawn, Paul again gathers everyone on the ship—all 276 of us. He urges everyone to eat and encourages us not to lose hope.^[a]

³⁵ Then Paul takes a loaf of bread and gives thanks to God in front of all of them. He breaks it, takes a piece, and begins to eat. ³⁶ A fresh surge of courage seems to fill their hearts as they also begin to eat. ³⁸ After satisfying their hunger, the crew lightens the ship by throwing the remaining wheat overboard.