Genesis 6

Living Bible

6 ^1-2 Now a population explosion took place upon the earth. It was at this time that beings from the spirit world^[a] looked upon the beautiful earth women and took any they desired to be their wives. ³ Then Jehovah said, “My Spirit must not forever be disgraced in man, wholly evil as he is. I will give him 120 years to mend his ways.”

⁴ In those days, and even afterwards, when the evil beings from the spirit world were sexually involved with human women, their children became giants, of whom so many legends are told. ⁵ When the Lord God saw the extent of human wickedness, and that the trend and direction of men’s lives were only towards evil, ⁶ he was sorry he had made them. It broke his heart.

⁷ And he said, “I will blot out from the face of the earth all mankind that I created. Yes, and the animals too, and the reptiles and the birds. For I am sorry I made them.”

⁸ But Noah was a pleasure to the Lord. Here is the story of Noah: ^9-10 He was the only truly righteous man living on the earth at that time. He tried always to conduct his affairs according to God’s will. And he had three sons—Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

¹¹ Meanwhile, the crime rate was rising rapidly across the earth, and, as seen by God, the world was rotten to the core.

^12-13 As God observed how bad it was, and saw that all mankind was vicious and depraved, he said to Noah, “I have decided to destroy all mankind; for the earth is filled with crime because of man. Yes, I will destroy mankind from the earth. ¹⁴ Make a boat from resinous wood, sealing it with tar; and construct decks and stalls throughout the ship. ¹⁵ Make it 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. ¹⁶ Construct a skylight all the way around the ship, eighteen inches below the roof; and make three decks inside the boat—a bottom, middle, and upper deck—and put a door in the side.

¹⁷ “Look! I am going to cover the earth with a flood and destroy every living being—everything in which there is the breath of life. All will die. ¹⁸ But I promise to keep you safe in the ship, with your wife and your sons and their wives. ^19-20 Bring a pair of every animal—a male and a female—into the boat with you, to keep them alive through the flood. Bring in a pair of each kind of bird and animal and reptile. ²¹ Store away in the boat all the food that they and you will need.” ²² And Noah did everything as God commanded him.