GENESIS 6 (NIV)
- When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them,
- the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose.
- Then the Lord said, "My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years."
- The Nephilim were on the earth in those days - and also afterward - when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.
- The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.
- The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.
- So the Lord said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth - men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air - for I am grieved that I have made them."
- But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
- This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.
- Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.
- Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence.
- God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways.
- So God said to Noah, "I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destory both them and the earth.
- So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out.
- This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high.
- Make a roof for it and finish the ark to within 18 inches of the top. Put a door in the side of the ark and amke lower, middle and upper decks.
- I am going to bring flood waters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish.
- But I will establish my covenant with yu, and you will enter the ark - you and your sons and your wife and your sons' wives with you.
- You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you.
- Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive.
- You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them."
- Noah did everything just as God commanded him.