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Pentateuch · WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE

Genesis 7

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

Old Testament

Genesis 7

1The LORD said to Noah, “Come with all of your household into the ship, for I have seen your righteousness before me in this generation.

2You shall take seven pairs of every clean animal with you, the male and his female. Of the animals that are not clean, take two, the male and his female.

3Also of the birds of the sky, seven and seven, male and female, to keep seed alive on the surface of all the earth.

4In seven days, I will cause it to rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights. I will destroy every living thing that I have made from the surface of the ground.”

5Noah did everything that the LORD commanded him.

6Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came on the earth.

7Noah went into the ship with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, because of the floodwaters.

8Clean animals, unclean animals, birds, and everything that creeps on the ground

9went by pairs to Noah into the ship, male and female, as God commanded Noah.

10After the seven days, the floodwaters came on the earth.

11In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the sky’s windows opened.

12It rained on the earth forty days and forty nights.

13In the same day Noah, and Shem, Ham, and Japheth—the sons of Noah—and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered into the ship—

14they, and every animal after its kind, all the livestock after their kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, every bird of every sort.

15Pairs from all flesh with the breath of life in them went into the ship to Noah.

16Those who went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God commanded him; then the LORD shut him in.

17The flood was forty days on the earth. The waters increased, and lifted up the ship, and it was lifted up above the earth.

18The waters rose, and increased greatly on the earth; and the ship floated on the surface of the waters.

19The waters rose very high on the earth. All the high mountains that were under the whole sky were covered.

20The waters rose fifteen cubits higher, and the mountains were covered.

21All flesh died that moved on the earth, including birds, livestock, animals, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man.

22All on the dry land, in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died.

23Every living thing was destroyed that was on the surface of the ground, including man, livestock, creeping things, and birds of the sky. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ship.

24The waters flooded the earth one hundred fifty days.

READ IN CONTEXT

Before applying this chapter

Beginnings, creation, human rebellion, covenant, and the family of Abraham. Read Genesis 7 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 7

Genesis 7 contains 24 verses and about 502 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: “The LORD said to Noah, “Come with all of your household into the ship, for I have seen your righteousness before me in this generation.” Ask what situation, voice, image, or argument this opening establishes for everything that follows.

The closing movement

Verse 24 closes: “The waters flooded the earth one hundred fifty days.” 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, noah, ship, waters, days, seven. Follow where each word appears and whether its meaning shifts with the speaker or setting.

COMMON QUESTIONS

About Genesis 7

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 7:1—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