Noah

28Lamech lived 182 years. Then he had a son.

And Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son:

29He named him Noah. He said, "This one will comfort us in our hard work. Our hands work hard because the LORD cursed the ground."

And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed.

NoteNoah's name sounds like the old word for rest. Long before, God said the ground would be hard to farm. Weeds and rocks made the work tiring. When LORD is in big letters, it stands for God's own name.

30After Noah was born, Lamech lived 595 more years. He had more sons and daughters.

And Lamech lived after he begat Noah five hundred ninety and five years, and begat sons and daughters:

31Lamech lived 777 years in all. Then he died.

And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years: and he died.

32Noah was 500 years old. Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

NoteShem, Ham, and Japheth come back later. They are in the story of the big flood.

5God saw how much evil people did on the earth. Every thought and plan in their hearts was only evil, all the time.

And 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.

6The LORD was sorry that he had made people on the earth. It made his heart very sad.

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

NoteThe King James says "it repented the LORD." "Repented" is an old way of saying he was sorry.

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

And 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.

8But Noah found favor with the LORD.

But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

NoteTo find favor means someone is pleased with you and kind to you. God was pleased with Noah.

9This is the story of Noah. Noah was a good and fair man. Among the people of his time, no one could find fault with him. Noah walked with God.

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

Note"Walked with God" does not mean going on a walk. It is a way of saying Noah stayed close to God every day.

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

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

11The earth had gone bad in God's sight. It was full of violence, people hurting one another.

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

12God looked at the earth and saw that it had gone bad. Every living thing on the earth had ruined its way of living.

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

13God said to Noah, "The end of all living things has come before me. The earth is full of violence because of them. Look, I will destroy them along with the earth.

And 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.

14"Make yourself an ark out of gopher wood. An ark is a very big boat. Make rooms inside it. Cover it with pitch, a sticky black tar, on the inside and the outside.

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

NoteAn ark here is not a small boat. The word means a big box-shaped boat with no sails. Nobody today knows what tree "gopher wood" came from. Pitch is thick black goo like tar. It fills the cracks so water cannot get in.

15"This is how you are to build it. Make the ark 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high.

And 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.

NoteA cubit is about 18 inches. That is about as long as your arm from elbow to fingertips. So the ark was about 450 feet long. That is longer than a soccer field.

16"Make a window for the ark, and finish it one cubit from the top. Put a door in the side of the ark. Build it with a lower deck, a second deck, and a third deck.

A 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.

NoteDecks are the floors inside a boat. So the ark had three floors, one above another. The window ran near the top, just under the roof.

17"Look, I myself am bringing a flood of water on the earth. It will destroy every living thing under the sky that breathes. Everything on the earth will die.

And, 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.

18"But I will make my covenant with you. A covenant is a strong promise. You will go into the ark. Your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives will go in with you.

But 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.

NoteA covenant is a promise two sides make and keep. It is much stronger than saying "I will try."

19"Bring two of every kind of living creature into the ark. Keep them alive with you. They must be a male and a female.

And 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.

NoteA male and a female animal can have babies together. That way each kind of animal could keep going after the flood.

20"Two of every kind of bird, every kind of animal, and every kind of crawling thing will come to you. Keep them alive.

Of 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.

21"Take with you every kind of food that people eat. Gather it up. It will be food for you and for the animals."

And 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.

22Noah did just that. He did everything God told him to do.

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

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

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.

NoteAn ark here means a very big boat, made to keep things safe inside.

2Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate. Take two of every animal that is not clean, a male and its mate.

Of 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.

NoteClean animals were ones people were allowed to eat and to give to God. Animals that were not clean were kept for other uses. Clean did not mean washed or dirty.

3Take seven pairs of every kind of bird of the sky too, male and female. This will keep each kind alive all over the earth.

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

NoteA pair means two animals, one male and one female. Seven pairs means fourteen.

4In seven days I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights. I will wipe every living thing I have made off the face of the earth.

For 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.

NoteThe face of the earth means the top of the ground, everywhere.

5And Noah did everything the LORD told him to do.

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

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

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

NoteIn these first stories of Genesis, people live for hundreds of years.

7Noah went into the ark. His sons, his wife, and his sons' wives went in with him. They went in because of the flood waters.

And 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.

8Clean animals came, and animals that were not clean. Birds came, and every kind of thing that crawls on the ground.

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

9They came to Noah and went into the ark, two by two, the male and the female. This was as God had commanded Noah.

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

10And after seven days the flood waters came over the earth.

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

11Noah was six hundred years old. It was the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month. On that very day all the springs of the deep waters burst open. The windows of the sky were opened.

In 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.

NoteLong ago people pictured a huge sea under the ground. Springs were the places where that water pushed up. They also pictured water above the sky, kept behind windows.

12And the rain fell on the earth for forty days and forty nights.

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

13On that very same day Noah went into the ark. His sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth went in. Noah's wife and his three sons' wives went in with them.

In 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;

14They went in, and every kind of wild animal. Every kind of farm animal went in. Every kind of crawling thing that moves on the ground went in. Every kind of bird went in, birds of every sort.

They, 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.

NoteCrawling things means small animals that move low on the ground. Think of lizards, mice, and bugs.

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

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

16The ones that went in were the male and the female of every kind, just as God had told Noah. Then the LORD shut him in.

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

NoteThis means God himself closed the big door of the boat.

17The flood was on the earth for forty days. The water rose and lifted the ark up high above the ground.

And 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.

18The water got stronger and rose much higher on the earth. The ark floated on top of the water.

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

19The water rose higher and higher on the earth. It covered all the high hills under the whole sky.

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

20The water rose fifteen cubits above them, and the mountains were covered.

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

NoteA cubit is an old way to measure. It is about as long as a grown-up's arm from elbow to fingertips. Fifteen cubits is about as tall as two grown-ups standing on each other.

21Every living thing that moved on the earth died. Birds died, and farm animals, and wild animals. Every crawling thing died, and every person died.

And 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:

22Everything on the dry land that breathed through its nose died.

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

23Every living thing on the ground was wiped away. People, farm animals, crawling things, and birds of the sky were wiped away. They were gone from the earth. Only Noah was left alive, and those who were with him in the ark.

And 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.

24And the water stayed high over the earth for a hundred and fifty days.

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

NoteA hundred and fifty days is about five months.

1God remembered Noah. He remembered every living thing and all the farm animals with him in the big boat. God sent a wind over the earth, and the water went down.

And 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" does not mean God had forgotten Noah. It means God now did something to help him.

2The springs deep under the ground were shut. The doors of the sky were shut too. The rain from the sky stopped.

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

NoteLong ago people said water came up from springs under the ground. They said rain came down through doors in the sky. Both were now shut.

3The water kept going back off the land. After the one hundred and fifty days, the water had gone down.

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

NoteOne hundred and fifty days is about five months.

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

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

NoteArarat is a land far away with very tall mountains. "Came to rest" means the boat stopped floating and settled on the ground.

5The water kept going down until the tenth month. On the first day of the tenth month, the tops of the mountains could be seen.

And 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.

6Forty days later, Noah opened the window he had made in the boat.

And 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, a big black bird. It flew back and forth until the water dried up off the land.

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

NoteNoah could not see very far from inside the boat. So he sent out birds to find out if land was dry.

8He also sent out a dove. He wanted to see if the water had gone down off the ground.

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

NoteA dove is a small, gentle bird. Doves need dry ground or trees to land on.

9But the dove found no place to rest her foot. So she came back to him in the boat. Water still covered the whole earth. Noah reached out his hand and took her. He pulled her back inside the boat with him.

But 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 seven more days. Then he sent the dove out of the boat again.

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

11The dove came back to him in the evening. Look! In her mouth was an olive leaf she had picked. So Noah knew the water had gone down off the earth.

And 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 dry land. A fresh leaf meant treetops were above the water again.

12He waited seven more days and sent the dove out again. This time she did not come back to him.

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

NoteThis time the dove stayed away. She had found a place to live, so the land was dry.

13It was the six hundred and first year, the first month, the first day. The water was dried up off the land. Noah took the cover off the boat and looked. The top of the ground was dry.

And 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 Noah was six hundred and one years old. The cover was like the roof of the boat.

14In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day, the earth was dry.

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

NoteNoah and his family had been inside the boat for about a year.

15God spoke to Noah. He said,

And God spake unto Noah, saying,

16"Come out of the boat. Bring your wife, your sons, and your sons' wives with you.

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

17Bring out every living thing that is with you. Bring the birds, the farm animals, and every small crawling animal. Let them have many babies on the earth. Let them grow and fill the earth."

Bring 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.

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

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

19Every animal came out of the boat, kind by kind. Every crawling thing came out. Every bird came out. Everything that moves on the earth came out.

Every 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 for the LORD. He took some of every clean animal and every clean bird. He burned them on the altar as gifts to God.

And 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 table built out of stones. People put gifts for God on it. Clean animals were the ones people were allowed to use for such gifts. Noah burned the gift so the smoke rose up.

21The LORD smelled the sweet smell. The LORD said in his heart, "I will not curse the ground again because of people. The thoughts of a person's heart are bad from the time he is young. I will not strike down every living thing again, as I have done.

And 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.

NoteSaying God "smelled a sweet savour" is a way of saying the gift pleased him. "Said in his heart" means he thought it to himself. To curse the ground means to make it hard for food to grow there.

22As long as the earth lasts, these things will not stop. There will be planting time and harvest time. There will be cold and heat. There will be summer and winter, and day and night."

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

NoteHarvest time is when people gather the food they planted.

1God blessed Noah and his sons. He said to them, "Have many children. Fill the earth with people."

And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.

Note"Blessed" means God said good things over them and gave them a gift. The old word "replenish" just means fill up.

2Every animal on land will fear you. So will every bird, every crawling thing, and every fish. God has put them all in your hands.

And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.

Note"Into your hand are they delivered" means the animals were put in people's care. It does not mean God handed them over one by one.

3Every living thing that moves will be food for you. I gave you green plants before. Now I give you all these too.

Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.

NoteIn 1611 the word "meat" meant any kind of food, not just animal flesh. Here it means people could now eat animals too.

4But do not eat meat that still has its blood in it. The blood is its life.

But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.

NotePeople long ago thought of blood as the life inside an animal. So they were told to drain the blood out before eating meat.

5And I will surely ask about your blood, your own lives. I will make any animal that takes a life answer for it. I will make any person who takes a life answer for it too.

And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man.

Note"I will require" means God will ask for an answer. If a life is taken, God wants to know why.

6Whoever kills a person, a person will kill him. God made people in his own image.

Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.

NoteAn "image" is a picture of someone, like your face in a mirror. To be made in God's image means people are made to be like God.

7As for you, have many children. Grow into many people. Fill the earth and grow more.

And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.

8Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons who were with him. He said:

And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,

9"Look, I am making my covenant with you. It is for your children after you too.

And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;

NoteA covenant is a strong promise between two sides. It is bigger than an everyday promise, and it is meant to last.

10It is also with every living creature that is with you. That means the birds, the farm animals, and every wild animal. It is for all that came out of the big boat.

And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth.

NoteThe "ark" was the huge boat Noah built. All the animals rode inside it while the water covered the land.

11I make my promise with you. Never again will all living things be swept away by a flood. Never again will a flood destroy the earth."

And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.

12God said, "Here is the sign of the promise I am making. It is between me and you and every living creature with you. It will last for all time to come.

And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:

NoteA "token" in old English means a sign. It is something you can see that reminds you of a promise.

13I am putting my rainbow in the clouds. It will be the sign of the promise between me and the earth.

I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.

NoteIn 1611 the word "bow" by itself meant the rainbow. God says the rainbow is the reminder of his promise.

14When I bring clouds over the earth, the rainbow will show in the clouds.

And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:

15Then I will remember my promise to you and to every living creature. The waters will never again become a flood to destroy all living things.

And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.

16The rainbow will be in the clouds. I will look at it and remember. It is the promise that lasts forever, between God and every living creature on the earth."

And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.

17God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the promise. I have made it between me and every living thing on the earth."

And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.

18Noah's sons who came out of the boat were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham was the father of Canaan.

And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Canaan.

NoteCanaan was Ham's son. Later a whole land and its people were named after him, so his name comes up again and again.

19These were Noah's three sons. All the people of the earth came from them.

These are the three sons of Noah: and of them was the whole earth overspread.

20Noah began to work the ground as a farmer. He planted a vineyard, a field of grape vines.

And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:

NoteA "husbandman" is an old word for a farmer. A vineyard is a field where grapes grow on vines.

21He drank some of the wine and got drunk. He lay with no clothes on inside his tent.

And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.

NoteWine is a strong drink made from grapes. Drinking too much made Noah drunk, so he could not think or act clearly.

22Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father lying with no clothes on. He told his two brothers outside.

And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.

NoteBack then, seeing your father with no clothes on was shameful. A good son would look away and cover him, not go tell others.

23Shem and Japheth took a robe and laid it across both their shoulders. They walked in backward and covered their father. Their faces were turned away, so they did not see him.

And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father’s nakedness.

NoteThey held the robe behind them and walked in backward on purpose. That way they could cover their father without seeing him.

24Noah woke up from the wine. He found out what his younger son had done to him.

And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.

25He said, "A curse is on Canaan. He will be the lowest servant to his brothers."

And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.

NoteA curse is words spoken to wish trouble on someone. "A servant of servants" is a way of saying the very lowest servant.

26He also said, "Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem! And may Canaan be Shem's servant.

And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.

NoteWhen you see LORD in capital letters, it stands for God's own special name. The Hebrew writers used it for God alone.

27May God give Japheth more room. May he live in the tents of Shem. And may Canaan be his servant."

God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.

Note"Enlarge" here means to give more room and more land. Families back then lived in tents they could pack up and move.

28After the flood, Noah lived 350 years.

And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years.

29Noah lived 950 years in all. Then he died.

And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years: and he died.