1 When men began to increase in
number on the earth and daughters
were born to them,
2 the sons of God saw that the daughters
of men were beautiful, and they married
any of them they chose.
3 Then the Lord said, "My Spirit will not
contend with man forever, for he is
mortal ; his days will be a hundred and
twenty years."
4 The Nephilim were on the earth in
those days-and also afterward-when the
sons of God went to the daughters of
men and had children by them. They
were the heroes of old, men of renown.
5 The Lord saw how great man's
wickedness on the earth had become,
and that every inclination of the thoughts
of his heart was only evil all the time.
6 The Lord was grieved that he had
made man on the earth, and his heart
was filled with pain.
7 So the Lord said, "I will wipe mankind,
whom I have created, from the face of
the earth-men and animals, and
creatures that move along the ground,
and birds of the air-for I am grieved that
I have made them."
8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the
Lord .
9 This is the account of Noah. Noah was
a righteous man, blameless among the
people of his time, and he walked with
God.
10 Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and
Japheth.
11 Now the earth was corrupt in God's
sight and was full of violence.
12 God saw how corrupt the earth had
become, for all the people on earth had
corrupted their ways.
13 So God said to Noah, "I am going to
put an end to all people, for the earth is
filled with violence because of them. I
am surely going to destroy both them
and the earth.
14 So make yourself an ark of cypress
wood; make rooms in it and coat it with
pitch inside and out.
15 This is how you are to build it: The ark
is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and
45 feet high.
16 Make a roof for it and finish the ark to
within 18 inches of the top. Put a door in
the side of the ark and make lower,
middle and upper decks.
17 I am going to bring floodwaters on the
earth to destroy all life under the
heavens, every creature that has the
breath of life in it. Everything on earth
will perish.
18 But I will establish my covenant with
you, and you will enter the ark-you and
your sons and your wife and your sons'
wives with you.
19 You are to bring into the ark two of all
living creatures, male and female, to
keep them alive with you.
20 Two of every kind of bird, of every kind
of animal and of every kind of creature
that moves along the ground will come
to you to be kept alive.
21 You are to take every kind of food that
is to be eaten and store it away as food
for you and for them."
22 Noah did everything just as God
commanded him.
