Noah Enters the Ark
Study note
God tells Noah to enter the ark because Noah is the only righteous person in his generation. God gives more detailed instructions about the animals: seven pairs of every clean animal and one pair of every unclean animal. Clean animals are those later considered acceptable for sacrifice and food. God warns that in seven days the rain will begin. Noah obeys completely. He is 600 years old when the flood comes.
1 Then the Lord told Noah, "Get your whole family and go into the boat. Out of everyone alive right now, you are the only one who truly lives right." And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.
2 "Bring seven pairs of every clean animal. That means seven males and seven females. Bring one pair of every unclean animal. That means one male and one female." Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.
3 "Also bring seven pairs of every type of bird, male and female. This will keep every species alive across the whole earth." Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.
4 "One week from now, I will send rain pouring down on the earth for forty days and forty nights straight. I will wash away every living thing I created." For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth.
5 Noah obeyed everything the Lord told him to do. And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him.
6 Noah was 600 years old when the floodwaters poured over the earth. And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.
7 Noah went into the boat with his wife, his sons, and his sons' wives to get away from the coming flood. And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.
8 The clean animals, the unclean animals, the birds, and the creatures that move along the ground Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,
9 They all came to Noah and walked into the boat in pairs -- one male and one female. This happened just the way God had told Noah. There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.
10 Seven days later, the floodwaters started pouring over the earth. And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.
The Flood Begins
Study note
On the seventeenth day of the second month, the flood begins with dramatic force. Water comes from two directions — the fountains of the deep burst open from below, and the windows of heaven open from above. This describes a complete reversal of creation, as the waters God had separated on day two come crashing back together. Noah's family and the animals enter the ark, and God himself shuts the door behind them.
11 Noah was 600 years old. On the second month's seventeenth day, all the springs deep underground burst open. The sky split apart and poured down water. In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
12 The rain came hammering down on the earth for forty days and forty nights without stopping. And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
13 That very same day, Noah got into the boat. His three sons — Shem, Ham, and Japheth — went with him. So did Noah's wife and the three wives of his sons. In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark;
14 They brought every kind of wild animal. They brought every kind of farm animal. They brought every kind of crawling thing. They brought every kind of bird. They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort.
15 Every creature that breathes came to Noah and got on the boat, two by two. And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life.
16 A male and female of every living thing entered, just as God had ordered. After they were all inside, the Lord himself shut the door behind them. And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.
The Flood Covers the Earth
Study note
The rain continues for forty days, and the water keeps rising. The ark floats on the surface as the waters increase. Eventually, even the highest mountains are covered by more than twenty feet of water. Every living thing on land dies — birds, livestock, wild animals, crawling creatures, and all people. Only Noah and those with him in the ark survive. The waters remain on the earth for 150 days.
17 The rain kept flooding the earth for forty days. As the water got deeper, it picked the boat right up off the ground. And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth.
18 The water kept rising higher and higher, and the boat floated along on top of it. And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters.
19 The water rose so high that it covered even the tallest mountains anywhere under the sky. And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.
20 The water climbed more than twenty feet above the tops of the mountains. Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.
21 Every living thing on land died. Birds died. Farm animals died. Wild animals died. Crawling things died. Every person died. And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man:
22 Every creature on dry land that breathed air through its nose stopped breathing and died. All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died.
23 God wiped out every living thing on the surface of the earth — people, animals, crawling creatures, and birds. They were all gone. The only survivors were Noah and the others who were safely inside the boat. And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.
24 The water stayed high over the earth for 150 days. And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.