Genesis 7; Genesis 8; Genesis 9; Matthew 3

1 Then the LORD said to Noah, "Go into the ark with your whole family. I know that you are a godly man among the people of today.

2 "Take seven of every kind of 'clean' animal with you. Take male and female of them. Take two of every kind of animal that is not 'clean.' Take male and female of them.

3 Also take seven of every kind of bird. Take male and female of them. That will keep every kind alive. Then they can spread out again over the whole earth.

4 "Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth. It will rain for 40 days and 40 nights. I will destroy from the face of the earth every living thing I have made."

5 Noah did everything the LORD commanded him to do.

6 Noah was 600 years old when the flood came on the earth.

7 He and his sons entered the ark. His wife and his sons' wives went with them. They entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood.

8 Pairs of "clean" animals and pairs of animals that were not "clean" came to Noah. So did pairs of birds and pairs of all of the creatures that move along the ground.

9 Male and female of all of them came to Noah and entered the ark. Everything happened exactly as God had commanded Noah.

10 After seven days the flood came on the earth.

11 Noah was 600 years old. It was the 17th day of the second month of the year. On that day all of the springs at the bottom of the oceans burst open. God opened the windows of the skies.

12 Rain fell on the earth for 40 days and 40 nights.

13 On that same day Noah entered the ark together with Shem, Ham and Japheth. Noah's wife and the wives of his three sons also entered it.

14 They had every kind of wild animal with them. They had every kind of livestock. They had every kind of creature that moves along the ground. And they had every kind of bird that flies.

15 Pairs of all living creatures that breathe came to Noah and entered the ark.

16 The animals going in were male and female of every living thing. Everything happened exactly as God had commanded Noah. Then the LORD shut him in.

17 For 40 days the flood kept coming on the earth. As the waters rose higher, they lifted the ark high above the earth.

18 The waters rose higher and higher on the earth. And the ark floated on the water.

19 The waters rose on the earth until all of the high mountains under the entire sky were covered.

20 The waters continued to rise until they covered the mountains by more than 20 feet.

21 Every living thing that moved on the earth died. The birds, the livestock and the wild animals died. All of the creatures that fill the earth also died. And so did every human being.

22 Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in it died.

23 Every living thing on the earth was wiped out. People and animals were destroyed. The creatures that move along the ground and the birds of the air were wiped out. Everything was destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark were left.

24 The waters flooded the earth for 150 days.

1 But God showed concern for Noah. He also showed concern for all of the wild animals and livestock that were with Noah in the ark. So God sent a wind over the earth. And the waters began to go down.

2 The springs at the bottom of the oceans had been closed. The windows of the skies had been closed. And the rain had stopped falling from the sky.

3 The water continued to go down from the earth. At the end of the 150 days the water had gone down.

4 On the 17th day of the seventh month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.

5 The waters continued to go down until the tenth month. On the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains could be seen.

6 After 40 days Noah opened the window he had made in the ark.

7 He sent a raven out. It kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth.

8 Then Noah sent a dove out. He wanted to see if the water had gone down from the surface of the ground.

9 But the dove couldn't find any place to put its feet down. There was still water over the whole surface of the earth. So the dove returned to Noah in the ark. Noah reached out his hand and took the dove in. He brought it back to himself in the ark.

10 He waited seven more days. Then he sent the dove out from the ark again.

11 In the evening the dove returned to him. There in its beak was a freshly picked olive leaf! So Noah knew that the water on the earth had gone down.

12 He waited seven more days. Then he sent the dove out again. But that time it didn't return to him.

13 It was the first day of the first month of Noah's 601st year. The water had dried up from the earth. Then Noah removed the covering from the ark. He saw that the surface of the ground was dry.

14 By the 27th day of the second month the earth was completely dry.

15 Then God said to Noah,

16 "Come out of the ark. Bring your wife and your sons and their wives with you.

17 "Bring out every kind of living thing that is with you. Bring the birds, the animals, and all of the creatures that move along the ground. Then they can multiply on the earth. They can have little ones and increase their numbers."

18 So Noah came out of the ark. His sons and his wife and his sons' wives were with him.

19 All of the animals came out of the ark. The creatures that move along the ground also came out. So did all of the birds. Everything that moves on the earth came out of the ark. One kind after another came out.

20 Then Noah built an altar to honor the Lord. He took some of all of the "clean" animals and birds. He sacrificed burnt offerings to the LORD on the altar.

21 Their smell was pleasant to the Lord. He said to himself, "I will never put a curse on the ground again because of man. I will not do it even though his heart is always directed toward what is evil. His thoughts are evil from the time he is young. I will never destroy all living things again, as I have just done.

22 "As long as the earth lasts, there will always be a time to plant and a time to gather the crops. As long as the earth lasts, there will always be cold and heat. There will always be summer and winter, day and night."

1 Then God gave his blessing to Noah and his sons. He said to them, "Have children and increase your numbers. Fill the earth.

2 "All of the land animals will be afraid of you. All of the birds of the air will fear you. Every creature that moves along the ground will fear you. Every fish in the oceans will also be afraid of you. Every living thing is put under your control.

3 "Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. I have already given you the green plants for food. Now I am giving you everything.

4 "But you must not eat meat that still has blood in it.

5 You can be sure that I will hold someone accountable if you are murdered. I will even hold animals accountable if they kill you. I will also hold anyone accountable who murders another person.

6 "Anyone who murders man will be killed by man. That is because I have made man in my own likeness.

7 "Have children and increase your numbers. Multiply on the earth and increase your numbers on it."

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

9 "I am now making my covenant with you and with all of your children who will be born after you.

10 I am making it also with every living thing that was with you in the ark. I am making my covenant with the birds, the livestock and all of the wild animals. I am making it with all of the creatures that came out of the ark with you. I am making it with every living thing on earth.

11 "Here is my covenant that I am making with you. The waters of a flood will never destroy all life again. A flood will never destroy the earth again."

12 God continued, "My covenant is between me and you and every living thing with you. It is a covenant for all time to come. "Here is the sign of the covenant I am making.

13 I have put my rainbow in the clouds. It will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.

14 Sometimes when I bring clouds over the earth, a rainbow will appear in them.

15 Then I will remember my covenant between me and you and every kind of living thing. The waters will never become a flood to destroy all life again.

16 "When the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it. I will remember that my covenant will last forever. It is a covenant between me and every kind of living thing on earth."

17 So God said to Noah, "The rainbow is the sign of my covenant. I have made my covenant between me and all life on earth."

18 The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth. Ham was the father of Canaan.

19 The people who were scattered over the earth came from Noah's three sons.

20 Noah was a man who worked the ground. He decided to plant a vineyard.

21 He drank some of its wine. It made him drunk. Then he lay down inside his tent without any clothes on.

22 Ham saw his father's naked body. Ham was the father of Canaan. Ham went outside and told his two brothers.

23 But Shem and Japheth took a piece of clothing. They laid it across their shoulders. Then they walked backward into the tent. They covered their father's body. They turned their faces away. They didn't want to see their father's naked body.

24 Then Noah woke up from his sleep that was caused by the wine. He found out what his youngest son had done to him.

25 He said, "May a curse be put on Canaan. He will be the lowest of slaves to his brothers."

26 Noah also said, "May the Lord, the God of Shem, be blessed. May Canaan be the slave of Shem.

27 May God add land to Japheth's territory. May Japheth live in the tents of Shem. And may Canaan be their slave."

28 After the flood Noah lived 350 years.

29 Noah lived a total of 950 years. Then he died.

1 In those days John the Baptist came and preached in the Desert of Judea.

2 He said, "Turn away from your sins! The kingdom of heaven is near."

3 John is the one the prophet Isaiah had spoken about. He had said, "A messenger is calling out in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord. Make straight paths for him.' " (Isaiah 40:3)

4 John's clothes were made out of camel's hair. He had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.

5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all of Judea. They also came from the whole area around the Jordan River.

6 When they admitted they had sinned, John baptized them in the Jordan.

7 John saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing. He said to them, "You are like a nest of poisonous snakes! Who warned you to escape the coming of God's anger?

8 Produce fruit that shows you have turned away from your sins.

9 Don't think you can say to yourselves, 'Abraham is our father.' I tell you, God can raise up children for Abraham even from these stones.

10 The ax is already lying at the roots of the trees. All the trees that don't produce good fruit will be cut down. They will be thrown into the fire.

11 "I baptize you with water, calling you to turn away from your sins. But after me, one will come who is more powerful than I am. And I'm not fit to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

12 His pitchfork is in his hand to clear the straw from his threshing floor. He will gather his wheat into the storeroom. But he will burn up the husks with fire that can't be put out."

13 Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan River. He wanted to be baptized by John.

14 But John tried to stop him. He told Jesus, "I need to be baptized by you. So why do you come to me?"

15 Jesus replied, "Let it be this way for now. It is right for us to do this. It carries out God's holy plan." Then John agreed.

16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he came up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened. Jesus saw the Spirit of God coming down on him like a dove.

17 A voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, and I love him. I am very pleased with him."