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Pentateuch · WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE

Genesis 6

Beginnings, creation, human rebellion, covenant, and the family of Abraham.

Old Testament

Genesis 6

1When men began to multiply on the surface of the ground, and daughters were born to them,

2God’s sons saw that men’s daughters were beautiful, and they took any that they wanted for themselves as wives.

3The LORD said, “My Spirit will not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; so his days will be one hundred twenty years.”

4The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also after that, when God’s sons came in to men’s daughters and had children with them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.

5The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of man’s heart was continually only evil.

6The LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him in his heart.

7The LORD said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the surface of the ground—man, along with animals, creeping things, and birds of the sky—for I am sorry that I have made them.”

8But Noah found favor in the LORD’s eyes.

9This is the history of the generations of Noah: Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time. Noah walked with God.

10Noah became the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

11The earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

12God saw the earth, and saw that it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.

13God said to Noah, “I will bring an end to all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them and the earth.

14Make a ship of gopher wood. You shall make rooms in the ship, and shall seal it inside and outside with pitch.

15This is how you shall make it. The length of the ship shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.

16You shall make a roof in the ship, and you shall finish it to a cubit upward. You shall set the door of the ship in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third levels.

17I, even I, will bring the flood of waters on this earth, to destroy all flesh having the breath of life from under the sky. Everything that is on the earth will die.

18But I will establish my covenant with you. You shall come into the ship, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.

19Of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ship, to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female.

20Of the birds after their kind, of the livestock after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every sort will come to you, to keep them alive.

21Take with you some of all food that is eaten, and gather it to yourself; and it will be for food for you, and for them.”

22Thus Noah did. He did all that God commanded him.

READ IN CONTEXT

Before applying this chapter

Beginnings, creation, human rebellion, covenant, and the family of Abraham. Read Genesis 6 within the complete Genesis overview, and use the contextual Bible reading guide before forming a personal application. Chapter divisions aid navigation, but the literary unit may begin earlier or continue into the next chapter.

Observe first

Mark repeated words, changes of speaker, commands, promises, contrasts, questions, and the relationship between paragraphs.

Apply responsibly

Distinguish description from command and immediate audience from later readers before forming a personal application.

TEXT-DERIVED READING NOTES

What to notice in Genesis 6

Genesis 6 contains 22 verses and about 518 words in this translation. These observations come from the chapter itself; they are prompts for close reading, not claims about its only possible meaning.

The opening movement

Verse 1 begins: “When men began to multiply on the surface of the ground, and daughters were born to them,” Ask what situation, voice, image, or argument this opening establishes for everything that follows.

The closing movement

Verse 22 closes: “Thus Noah did. He did all that God commanded him.” Compare the ending with the opening and note what changed, resolved, intensified, or remained open.

Vocabulary worth tracing

Recurring or prominent content words include earth, will, noah, ship, sons, flesh. Follow where each word appears and whether its meaning shifts with the speaker or setting.

COMMON QUESTIONS

About Genesis 6

Which Bible translation is shown here?+

This page reproduces the World English Bible Protestant edition (WEBP), a modern-English translation dedicated to the public domain.

How should I cite a specific verse?+

Use the book, chapter, and verse—for example, Genesis 6:1—and name the World English Bible if the wording matters. Each verse number above is a direct anchor link.

Does the chapter number define the complete literary unit?+

Not always. Chapter and verse numbers were added for navigation. Check the paragraphs, scenes, poetic stanzas, or argument before and after this chapter.

A SMALL NEXT STEP

You do not have to have everything figured out.

Begin with one honest question, one passage read carefully, and one faithful next step.

Start with prayer