Genesis 6

1 And it cometh to pass that mankind have begun to multiply on the face of the ground, and daughters have been born to them,

People started to increase in number and spread out across the earth. Daughters were born to them,

2 and sons of God see the daughters of men that they [are] fair, and they take to themselves women of all whom they have chosen.

and the sons of God saw that these women were beautiful, and they took whichever ones they wanted.

3 And Jehovah saith, 'My Spirit doth not strive in man — to the age; in their erring they [are] flesh:' and his days have been an hundred and twenty years.

Then the Lord said, “My life-giving Spirit will not remain in these people forever, because they are only mortal. The time they have left will be 120 years.”

4 The fallen ones were in the earth in those days, and even afterwards when sons of God come in unto daughters of men, and they have borne to them — they [are] the heroes, who, from of old, [are] the men of name.

There were giants on earth in those days, and also later on. They were born after the sons of God slept with the daughters of these people. Their sons became the great warriors and famous men of ancient times.

5 And Jehovah seeth that abundant [is] the wickedness of man in the earth, and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart only evil all the day;

The Lord saw how terribly evil people on earth had become—every single thought in their minds was evil all the time!

6 and Jehovah repenteth that He hath made man in the earth, and He grieveth Himself — unto His heart.

The Lord was sorry he'd made human beings to live on the earth; it made him very sad to think about it.

7 And Jehovah saith, 'I wipe away man whom I have prepared from off the face of the ground, from man unto beast, unto creeping thing, and unto fowl of the heavens, for I have repented that I have made them.'

So the Lord said, “I'm going to wipe out these people I created from the earth, and not only them but also the animals, the creatures that run along the ground, and the birds, because I'm sorry I made them.”

8 And Noah found grace in the eyes of Jehovah.

But the Lord was pleased with Noah.

9 These [are] births of Noah: Noah [is] a righteous man; perfect he hath been among his generations; with God hath Noah walked habitually.

This is the story of Noah and his family. Noah was a man of integrity, living a moral life among the people of his time. He had a close relationship with God.

10 And Noah begetteth three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

11 And the earth is corrupt before God, and the earth is filled [with] violence.

God saw how corrupt the whole world had become, full of violent and lawless people.

12 And God seeth the earth, and lo, it hath been corrupted, for all flesh hath corrupted its way on the earth.

God recognized that the corruption in the world was due to everyone on earth living corrupt lives.

13 And God said to Noah, 'An end of all flesh hath come before Me, for the earth hath been full of violence from their presence; and lo, I am destroying them with the earth.

So God told Noah, “I have decided to put an end to all people on earth because they are all violent and lawless. I myself am going to destroy all of them, along with the earth.

14 'Make for thyself an ark of gopher-wood; rooms dost thou make with the ark, and thou hast covered it within and without with cypress;

Build an ark out of cypress wood. Make rooms inside the ark, and coat it with tar, both inside and out.

15 and this [is] that which thou dost with it: three hundred cubits [is] the length of the ark, fifty cubits its breadth, and thirty cubits its height;

This is how to build it: the ark is to measure 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high.

16 a window dost thou make for the ark, and unto a cubit thou dost restrain it from above; and the opening of the ark thou dost put in its side, — lower, second, and third [stories] dost thou make it.

Make a roof for the ark, leaving a cubit-wide opening between the roof and the top of the sides. Put a door in the side of the ark, and construct three decks inside.

17 'And I, lo, I am bringing in the deluge of waters on the earth to destroy all flesh, in which [is] a living spirit, from under the heavens; all that [is] in the earth doth expire.

I myself am going to flood the earth with water that will destroy everything that breathes, Every living thing everywhere on earth will die.

18 'And I have established My covenant with thee, and thou hast come in unto the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy son's wives with thee;

But I will keep my agreement with you. You are to go into the ark, taking with you your wife and your sons and their wives.

19 and of all that liveth, of all flesh, two of every [sort] thou dost bring in unto the ark, to keep alive with thee; male and female are they.

Take a pair, male and female, of every kind of animal into the ark and make sure you keep them alive.

20 Of the fowl after its kind, and of the cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every [sort] they come in unto thee, to keep alive.

The same applies to every kind of bird, livestock, and the creatures that run along the ground—a pair of every kind will come to you so they can be kept alive.

21 'And thou, take to thyself of all food that is eaten; and thou hast gathered unto thyself, and it hath been to thee and to them for food.'

Take all kinds of food with you too. Store it so you and the animals will have enough to eat.”

22 And Noah doth according to all that God hath commanded him; so hath he done.

Noah did exactly what God ordered him to do.

The World is Destroyed by Water