and named him Noah. Lamech said, “He will comfort us when we are working. He’ll comfort us when our hands work so hard they hurt. We have to work hard because the Lord put a curse on the ground.”

Lamech lived 595 years after Noah was born. He also had other sons and daughters.

After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham and Japheth.

But the Lord was very pleased with Noah.

Noah and the Flood

Here is the story of Noah’s family line. Noah was a godly man. He was without blame among the people of his time. He walked faithfully with God.

Noah had three sons. Their names were Shem, Ham and Japheth.

So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to everyone. They have filled the earth with their harmful acts. I am certainly going to destroy them and the earth.

Noah did everything just as God commanded him.

Then the Lord said to Noah, “Go into the ark with your whole family. I know that you are a godly man among the people of today.

Noah did everything the Lord commanded him to do.

Noah was 600 years old when the flood came on the earth.

Male and female pairs of “clean” animals and pairs of animals that were not “clean” came to Noah. So did male and female pairs of birds and of all the creatures that move along the ground.

All of them came to Noah and entered the ark. Everything happened just as God had commanded Noah.

Noah was 600 years old. It was the 17th day of the second month of the year. On that day all of the springs at the bottom of the oceans burst open. God opened the windows of the sky.

On that same day Noah entered the ark together with his sons Shem, Ham and Japheth. Noah’s wife and the wives of his three sons also entered it.

Pairs of all living creatures that breathe came to Noah and entered the ark.

The animals going in were male and female of every living thing. Everything happened just as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord shut him in.

Every living thing on earth was wiped out. People and animals were destroyed. The creatures that move along the ground and the birds in the sky were wiped out. Everything on earth was destroyed. Only Noah and those with him in the ark were left.

But God showed concern for Noah. He also showed concern for all the wild animals and livestock that were with Noah in the ark. So God sent a wind to sweep over the earth. And the waters began to go down.

After 40 days Noah opened a window he had made in the ark.

Then Noah sent out a dove. He wanted to see if the water on the surface of the ground had gone down.

But the dove couldn’t find any place to rest. Water still covered the whole surface of the earth. So the dove returned to Noah in the ark. Noah reached out his hand and took the dove in. He brought it back to himself in the ark.

In the evening the dove returned to him. There in its beak was a freshly picked olive leaf! So Noah knew that the water on the earth had gone down.

It was the first day of the first month of Noah’s 601st year. The water on the earth had dried up. Then Noah removed the covering from the ark. He saw that the surface of the ground was dry.

Then God said to Noah,