Genesis  ◦   Chapter 7

1The Lord said to Noah, “Of all the people on the earth, you are the only one whose heart is right with me, so enter the boat along with your entire family. 2Take seven breeding pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male with its mate; and two of every kind of unclean animal, a male with its mate; 3seven pairs of every kind of bird, a male and female – to keep the various kinds of animals alive throughout the earth. 4Seven days from now I will send rain upon the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will cleanse the earth, washing away from the earth every living thing that I have made.”

5And Noah did everything the Lord instructed him to do.

6Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters covered the earth. 7Noah and his wife, along with his sons and their wives entered the boat to escape the coming destruction. 8Pairs of both clean and unclean animals, birds and all the small creatures that scurry along the ground, 9male and female, came to Noah and entered the boat, just as God had commanded Noah. 10And after seven days, the floodwaters came upon the earth.

11In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day, the flood began: all the deep springs of waters below the earth burst forth in massive geysers, and the water layer above the earth destabilized and it began to rain down in torrents. 12And rain fell on the earth for forty days and forty nights.

13On the very day God instructed them, Noah with his wife and their sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, together with their wives, boarded the boat. 14With them on the boat was every type of wild animal, every type of tame animal, every type of animal that scurries on the ground, and every type of bird. 15Breeding pairs of every kind of living creatures came to Noah and entered the boat. 16A male and female of every kind of living creature entered the boat, just as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord closed the door, securing them within.

17The floodwaters increased upon the earth for forty days, and as the waters grew deeper, they lifted the boat high above the earth. 18The waters surged, increasing in depth and raging over the earth, but the boat floated safely upon the surface of the water. 19The waters came up so high that every mountain was covered and the entire surface of the earth was flooded.20The waters rose to more than 20 feet (15 cubits or 6.9 meters) above the highest mountains. 21Every living creature that moved upon the earth died – birds, tame animals, wild animals, and every human being. 22Everything that lived on dry land and had the breath of life in it, died. 23The face of the earth was cleansed from every living creature that lived upon it – people, every animal and the birds were wiped from the earth. Only Noah and those with him in the boat were left.

24The floodwaters raged over the earth for one hundred and fifty days.