Genesis 8

God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the livestock that was with him in the ark. God made a wind pass over the earth, and the waters went down.

1And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged;

Note"Remembered" here is not a change of mind after forgetting. In Hebrew narrative the word means to turn attention to someone and act on their behalf; it marks the moment the story turns.

2The springs deep underground and the openings of the sky were closed, and the rain from the sky was held back.

2The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained;

NoteThe "springs of the deep" and "openings of the sky" reflect the ancient picture of the world described in Genesis 1: waters held back below the ground and above the sky, released in chapter 7 and now shut off again.

3The waters kept going back off the earth, and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters had gone down.

3And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated.

NoteThe hundred and fifty days are counted from the start of the flood in the previous chapter, where the waters rose for that same span.

4In the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.

4And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.

NoteDates in this chapter are counted by the months of Noah's own life-years (see verse 13), not by any later calendar. "Ararat" is a region, not a single peak, the mountainous country of ancient Urartu, in what is now eastern Turkey and Armenia; the Hebrew says "the mountains of Ararat," a range rather than one named summit.

5The waters kept going down until the tenth month. In the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains could be seen.

5And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.

6At the end of forty days, Noah opened the window of the ark, which he had made.

6And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made:

7He sent out a raven. It went back and forth until the waters had dried up off the earth.

7And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth.

NoteA raven eats carrion and will perch on anything floating, so it could stay out indefinitely without dry ground, unlike the dove sent next, which needs a dry place to settle.

8He also sent out a dove, to see if the waters had gone down off the surface of the ground.

8Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground;

9But the dove found no place to rest the bottom of her foot, and she came back to him in the ark, because the waters were over the surface of the whole earth. So he reached out his hand, took her, and pulled her in to himself in the ark.

9But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark.

10He waited another seven days, and again he sent the dove out of the ark.

10And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark;

11The dove came in to him in the evening, and there in her mouth was an olive leaf she had picked. So Noah knew that the waters had gone down off the earth.

11And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.

NoteOlive trees grow on the lower slopes, not the heights, so a freshly picked olive leaf meant the water had fallen far below the mountaintops already visible in verse 5.

12He waited another seven days and sent out the dove, and she did not come back to him again.

12And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more.

13In the six hundred and first year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the waters were dried up off the earth. Noah took off the covering of the ark and looked, and the surface of the ground was dry.

13And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry.

Note"The six hundred and first year" means the six hundred and first year of Noah's life. The "covering" is the roof or outer sheathing of the ark, which had to be pulled back before he could see out.

14And in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry.

14And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried.

15God spoke to Noah and said,

15And God spake unto Noah, saying,

16"Go out of the ark, you, your wife, your sons, and your sons' wives with you.

16Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons’ wives with thee.

17Bring out with you every living thing that is with you, every kind of creature: birds, livestock, and every crawling thing that crawls on the earth. Let them breed in great numbers on the earth, and be fruitful, and grow many on the earth."

17Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.

Note"Be fruitful and multiply" repeats the wording of the blessing given to the creatures and to humankind at creation in Genesis 1.

18So Noah went out, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him.

18And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him:

19Every animal, every crawling thing, and every bird, and everything that crawls on the earth, went out of the ark by their kinds.

19Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark.

20Noah built an altar to the LORD. He took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.

20And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.

NoteAn altar is a raised platform of earth or stone on which an animal is killed and burned as an offering. In a burnt offering the whole animal is consumed by the fire, with nothing kept back to eat. "Clean" animals are those counted as fit for sacrifice; Noah was told in Genesis 7:2 to take seven pairs of each, which is why he has some to spare.

21The LORD smelled the pleasing smell, and the LORD said in his heart, "I will not curse the ground again because of man, for what man's heart imagines is evil from his youth. And I will not strike down every living thing again, as I have done.

21And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.

Note"Smelled the pleasing smell" is the standard ancient way of saying an offering was accepted; the phrase is used throughout the sacrificial laws. "Said in his heart" means said to himself, not aloud. "Curse the ground" points back to Genesis 3:17, where the ground was cursed because of Adam.

22While the earth lasts, planting time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night will not stop."

22While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.