New International Version NIV
The Message Bible MSG
1 When human beings began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them,
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When the human race began to increase, with more and more daughters being born,
2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose.
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the sons of God noticed that the daughters of men were beautiful. They looked them over and picked out wives for themselves.
3 Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal ; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”
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Then God said, "I'm not going to breathe life into men and women endlessly. Eventually they're going to die; from now on they can expect a life span of 120 years."
4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.
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This was back in the days (and also later) when there were giants in the land. The giants came from the union of the sons of God and the daughters of men. These were the mighty men of ancient lore, the famous ones. Noah and His Sons
5 The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.
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God saw that human evil was out of control. People thought evil, imagined evil - evil, evil, evil from morning to night.
6 The LORD regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled.
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God was sorry that he had made the human race in the first place; it broke his heart.
7 So the LORD said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.”
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God said, "I'll get rid of my ruined creation, make a clean sweep: people, animals, snakes and bugs, birds - the works. I'm sorry I made them."
8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
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But Noah was different. God liked what he saw in Noah.
9 This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.
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This is the story of Noah: Noah was a good man, a man of integrity in his community. Noah walked with God.
10 Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.
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Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence.
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As far as God was concerned, the Earth had become a sewer; there was violence everywhere.
12 God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways.
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God took one look and saw how bad it was, everyone corrupt and corrupting - life itself corrupt to the core.
13 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 destroy both them and the earth.
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God said to Noah, "It's all over. It's the end of the human race. The violence is everywhere; I'm making a clean sweep.
14 So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out.
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"Build yourself a ship from teakwood. Make rooms in it. Coat it with pitch inside and out.
15 This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high.
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Make it 450 feet long, seventy-five feet wide, and forty-five feet high.
16 Make a roof for it, leaving below the roof an opening one cubit high all around. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks.
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Build a roof for it and put in a window eighteen inches from the top; put in a door on the side of the ship; and make three decks, lower, middle, and upper.
17 I am going to bring floodwaters 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.
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"I'm going to bring a flood on the Earth that will destroy everything alive under Heaven. Total destruction.
18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you.
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"But I'm going to establish a covenant with you: You'll board the ship, and your sons, your wife and your sons' wives will come on board with you.
19 You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you.
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You are also to take two of each living creature, a male and a female, on board the ship, to preserve their lives with you:
20 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.
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two of every species of bird, mammal, and reptile - two of everything so as to preserve their lives along with yours.
21 You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.”
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Also get all the food you'll need and store it up for you and them."
22 Noah did everything just as God commanded him.
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Noah did everything God commanded him to do.
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.