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The Human Race Becomes Evil

¹ The number of people on earth began to grow, and daughters were born to them. ² When the sons of God saw that these girls were beautiful, they married any of them they chose. ³ The Lord said, "My Spirit will not remain in human beings forever, because they are flesh. They will live only 120 years."

⁴ The Nephilim were on the earth in those days and also later. That was when the sons of God had sexual relations with the daughters of human beings. These women gave birth to children, who became famous and were the mighty warriors of long ago.

⁵ The Lord saw that the human beings on the earth were very wicked and that everything they thought about was evil. ⁶ He was sorry he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. ⁷ So the Lord said, "I will destroy all human beings that I made on the earth. And I will destroy every animal and everything that crawls on the earth and the birds of the air, because I am sorry I have made them." ⁸ But Noah pleased the Lord.

Noah and the Great Flood

⁹ This is the family history of Noah. Noah was a good man, the most innocent man of his time, and he walked with God. ¹⁰ He had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

¹¹ People on earth did what God said was evil, and violence was everywhere. ¹² When God saw that everyone on the earth did only evil, ¹³ he said to Noah, "Because people have made the earth full of violence, I will destroy all of them from the earth. ¹⁴ Build a boat of cypress wood for yourself. Make rooms in it and cover it inside and outside with tar. ¹⁵ This is how big I want you to build the boat: four hundred fifty feet long, seventy-five feet wide, and forty-five feet high. ¹⁶ Make an opening around the top of the boat that is eighteen inches high from the edge of the roof down. Put a door in the side of the boat. Make an upper, middle, and lower deck in it. ¹⁷ I will bring a flood of water on the earth to destroy all living things that live under the sky, including everything that has the breath of life. Everything on the earth will die. ¹⁸ But I will make an agreement with you—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives will all go into the boat. ¹⁹ Also, you must bring into the boat two of every living thing, male and female. Keep them alive with you. ²⁰ Two of every kind of bird, animal, and crawling thing will come to you to be kept alive. ²¹ Also gather some of every kind of food and store it on the boat as food for you and the animals."

²² Noah did everything that God commanded him.