Genesis 7

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.

1Then the LORD said to Noah, "Come into the ark, you and all your family. The ark is the huge boat you built. I have seen that you do what is right, out of everyone alive now."

2Of 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.

2"Take seven pairs of every clean animal, a male and a female in each pair. Take two of every animal that is not clean, a male and a female."

Note"Clean" animals were the kinds people were allowed to eat and to give to God as gifts. "Not clean" animals were all the other kinds.

3Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.

3"Take seven pairs of every kind of bird too, male and female. That way each kind will stay alive on the earth."

4For 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.

4"In seven days I will send rain on the earth. It will rain forty days and forty nights. I will wipe away every living thing I have made."

5And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him.

5Noah did everything the LORD told him to do.

6And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.

6Noah was 600 years old when the flood waters came over the earth.

7And 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.

7Noah went into the ark. His wife, his sons, and his sons' wives went in too. They went in to be safe from the flood.

8Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,

8The clean animals came, and so did the animals that were not clean. The birds came. Every small creature that crawls on the ground came too.

9There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.

9They came to Noah and went into the ark two by two, a male and a female. It happened just as God had told Noah.

10And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.

10Seven days later, the flood waters came over the earth.

11In 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.

11It was the six hundredth year of Noah's life. It was the seventeenth day of the second month. On that very day, deep waters under the ground burst open. The sky opened, and rain poured down.

NoteThe KJV says "the windows of heaven were opened." That is a word picture for very heavy rain, not real windows.

12And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.

12Rain fell on the earth for forty days and forty nights.

13In 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;

13On that same day Noah went into the ark. His sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth went with him. So did his wife and the wives of his three sons.

14They, 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.

14With them came every kind of wild animal and farm animal. Every kind of crawling creature came. Every kind of bird and winged creature came too.

15And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life.

15They came to Noah and went into the ark two by two. Every kind of creature that breathes was there.

16And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.

16A male and a female of every kind went in, just as God had said. Then the LORD shut the door behind them.

17And 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.

17The flood kept coming for forty days. The water rose and lifted the ark high above the ground.

18And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters.

18The water rose higher and higher over the earth. The ark floated on top of it.

19And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.

19The water rose so high that it covered all the tall mountains everywhere.

20Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.

20The water rose fifteen cubits higher than the mountains. Even the mountaintops were under water.

NoteA cubit was about 18 inches, the length of a grown-up's forearm. Fifteen cubits is about 22 feet, or 7 meters.

21And 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:

21Every living thing that moved on the earth died. Birds, farm animals, wild animals, crawling creatures, and all people died.

22All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died.

22Everything on dry land that breathed air died.

23And 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.

23Every living thing on the ground was wiped away. People, farm animals, crawling creatures, and birds were all gone. Only Noah was left alive, along with those who were with him in the ark.

24And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.

24The water stayed high over the earth for 150 days.