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Entering the Ark

Then the Lord told Noah, “Come—you and all your household—into the ark, because I’ve seen that you alone are righteous[a] in this generation. You are to take with you seven pairs[b] of every clean animal, a male and its mate, and two of the unclean animals, a male and its mate; along with seven pairs[c] of the flying birds, male and female, in order to keep their offspring alive on the surface of all the earth. Seven days from now I’ll send rain on the earth for 40 days and 40 nights, and I’ll destroy every living creature that I’ve made.”

Noah did everything that the Lord commanded.

The Flood Begins

Noah was 600 years old when water began to flood the earth. Noah, his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives entered the ark with him before the flood waters arrived.[d] From both clean and unclean animals, from birds, and from everything that crawls on the ground, two by two, male and female, they entered the ark to join Noah, just as God had commanded.

10 Seven days later, the flooding started. 11 On the seventeenth day of the second month, when Noah was 600 years old, all the springs of the great deep burst open, the floodgates of the heavens were opened, 12 and it rained throughout the earth for 40 days and 40 nights. 13 On that very day, Noah entered the ark with his[e] sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, Noah’s wife, his sons’ three wives with them, 14 along with every species of wild animal,[f] livestock, crawling creature, bird, and every creature that has wings. 15 Two of each living creature[g] entered the ark with Noah. 16 The males and females of each living creature[h] entered the ark,[i] just as God had commanded. Then the Lord sealed them inside.

17 The flood continued throughout the earth for 40 days, while the flood waters increased, lifting the ark so that it rose above the surface of the[j] earth. 18 The flood waters continued to surge, increasing throughout the earth, while the ark floated on the surface of the flood water. 19 The flood water surged even higher throughout the earth, until all the highest mountains under the sky were covered. 20 The flood waters rose 15 cubits[k] above the mountains. 21 Every living thing[l] on earth died—flying creatures, livestock, wildlife, all creatures that swarm over the earth, and all human beings. 22 Everything that breathed[m] and everything that had lived on dry land died. 23 All existing creatures that had lived on the surface of the ground were annihilated, from humans to livestock, from crawling creatures to birds of the sky. They were wiped off the earth. Only Noah remained, along with those who were with him in the ark. 24 The flood waters surged over the earth for 150 days.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 7:1 Lit. righteous before me
  2. Genesis 7:2 Lit. seven seven
  3. Genesis 7:3 Lit. seven seven
  4. Genesis 7:7 The Heb. lacks arrived
  5. Genesis 7:13 Lit. Noah’s
  6. Genesis 7:14 I.e., non-domesticated animals, as opposed to domesticated livestock
  7. Genesis 7:15 Lit. each of all flesh in which there was life
  8. Genesis 7:16 Lit. of all flesh
  9. Genesis 7:16 The Heb. lacks the ark
  10. Genesis 7:17 The Heb. lacks surface of the
  11. Genesis 7:20 I.e. about 22 and a half feet
  12. Genesis 7:21 Lit. flesh that moves
  13. Genesis 7:22 Lit. that had breath in its nostrils

The Lord then said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and your whole family,(A) because I have found you righteous(B) in this generation. Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean(C) animal, a male and its mate, and one pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, and also seven pairs of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive(D) throughout the earth. Seven days from now I will send rain(E) on the earth(F) for forty days(G) and forty nights,(H) and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made.(I)

And Noah did all that the Lord commanded him.(J)

Noah was six hundred years old(K) when the floodwaters came on the earth. And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives entered the ark(L) to escape the waters of the flood. Pairs of clean and unclean(M) animals, of birds and of all creatures that move along the ground, male and female, came to Noah and entered the ark, as God had commanded Noah.(N) 10 And after the seven days(O) the floodwaters came on the earth.

11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life,(P) on the seventeenth day of the second month(Q)—on that day all the springs of the great deep(R) burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens(S) were opened. 12 And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.(T)

13 On that very day Noah and his sons,(U) Shem, Ham and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three sons, entered the ark.(V) 14 They had with them every wild animal according to its kind, all livestock according to their kinds, every creature that moves along the ground according to its kind and every bird according to its kind,(W) everything with wings. 15 Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life in them came to Noah and entered the ark.(X) 16 The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah.(Y) Then the Lord shut him in.

17 For forty days(Z) the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth. 18 The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. 19 They rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered.(AA) 20 The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than fifteen cubits.[a][b] (AB) 21 Every living thing that moved on land perished—birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind.(AC) 22 Everything on dry land that had the breath of life(AD) in its nostrils died. 23 Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; people and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds were wiped from the earth.(AE) Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.(AF)

24 The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days.(AG)

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 7:20 That is, about 23 feet or about 6.8 meters
  2. Genesis 7:20 Or rose more than fifteen cubits, and the mountains were covered