Genesis

And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,

1Time passed. More and more people lived on the earth. Daughters were born to them.

2That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

2The sons of God saw that these daughters were beautiful. They took any of them they wanted as wives.

3And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

3The LORD said, "My Spirit will not argue with people forever. They are only human. Their lives will last 120 years."

4There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

4Giants lived on the earth in those days, and later too. The sons of God had children with the daughters of people. Those children grew up to be strong, famous men long ago.

5And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

5The LORD saw that people on earth did much evil. Everything they thought about was bad, all the time.

6And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

6The LORD was sorry that he had made people on the earth. His heart was full of pain.

Note"It repented the LORD" is old English. It means the LORD was sorry, or full of sadness, about what he had made.

7And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

7So the LORD said, "I will wipe people off the earth. I will wipe away the animals, the crawling things, and the birds too. I am sorry I made them."

8But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

8But Noah pleased the LORD. The LORD was kind to him.

9These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

9This is the story of Noah. Noah did what was right. No one among the people of his time could blame him. Noah stayed close to God.

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

10Noah had three sons. Their names were Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

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

11God saw that the earth had gone bad. It was full of people hurting each other.

12And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

12God looked at the earth and saw that it had gone bad. Every living thing had turned to the wrong way of living.

13And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

13God said to Noah, "I have decided to end all living things. The earth is full of people hurting each other. So I will destroy them, and the earth with them."

14Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.

14"Build yourself a big boat out of gopher wood. Make rooms inside it. Cover it with thick black tar, inside and out."

15And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.

15"Here is how to build it. The boat must be 300 cubits long. It must be 50 cubits wide and 30 cubits high."

NoteA cubit was about 18 inches, the length of a grown-up's forearm. So the boat was about 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high.

16A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.

16"Make a roof for the boat. Finish the walls one cubit from the top. Put a door in the side of the boat. Build three floors inside: a bottom, a middle, and a top."

17And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.

17"Listen. I myself will bring a flood of water over the earth. It will destroy every living thing that breathes. Everything on the earth will die."

18But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee.

18"But I will make a covenant with you. That means a firm promise. You will go into the boat. Your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives will go with you."

19And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.

19"Bring two of every kind of living animal into the boat. Bring a male and a female of each kind. Keep them alive with you."

20Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.

20"Two of every kind of bird will come to you. So will two of every farm animal and crawling animal. Keep them all alive."

21And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.

21"Take every kind of food that people eat. Gather it and store it. It will feed you and the animals."

22Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.

22Noah did all of this. He did just what God told him to do.