Genesis 7:20
New International Version
The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than fifteen cubits.

New Living Translation
rising more than twenty-two feet above the highest peaks.

English Standard Version
The waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits deep.

Berean Standard Bible
The waters rose and covered the mountaintops to a depth of fifteen cubits.

King James Bible
Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.

New King James Version
The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered.

New American Standard Bible
The water prevailed fifteen cubits higher, and the mountains were covered.

NASB 1995
The water prevailed fifteen cubits higher, and the mountains were covered.

NASB 1977
The water prevailed fifteen cubits higher, and the mountains were covered.

Legacy Standard Bible
The water prevailed fifteen cubits higher, and the mountains were covered.

Amplified Bible
[In fact] the waters became fifteen cubits higher [than the highest ground], and the mountains were covered.

Christian Standard Bible
The mountains were covered as the water surged above them more than twenty feet.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
The mountains were covered as the waters surged above them more than 20 feet.

American Standard Version
Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
The waters exceeded fifteen cubits higher and covered the mountains.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Fifteen cubits upwards was the water raised, and it covered all the high mountains.

Douay-Rheims Bible
The water was fifteen cubits higher than the mountains which it covered.

English Revised Version
Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
It rose 23 feet above the mountaintops.

Good News Translation
it went on rising until it was about twenty-five feet above the tops of the mountains.

International Standard Version
The flood waters rose 15 cubits above the mountains.

JPS Tanakh 1917
Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.

Literal Standard Version
the waters prevailed from above the mountains, and cover [them] fifteen cubits;

Majority Standard Bible
The waters rose and covered the mountaintops to a depth of fifteen cubits.

New American Bible
The waters swelled fifteen cubits higher than the submerged mountains.

NET Bible
The waters rose more than twenty feet above the mountains.

New Revised Standard Version
the waters swelled above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits deep.

New Heart English Bible
The waters rose and covered the highest mountains to a depth of more than twenty-six feet.

Webster's Bible Translation
Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail: and the mountains were covered.

World English Bible
The waters rose fifteen cubits higher, and the mountains were covered.

Young's Literal Translation
fifteen cubits upwards have the waters become mighty, and the mountains are covered;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Duration of the Flood
19Finally, the waters completely inundated the earth, so that all the high mountains under all the heavens were covered. 20The waters rose and covered the mountaintops to a depth of fifteen cubits. 21And every living thing that moved upon the earth perished—birds, livestock, animals, every creature that swarms upon the earth, and all mankind.…

Cross References
Genesis 7:19
Finally, the waters completely inundated the earth, so that all the high mountains under all the heavens were covered.

Genesis 8:4
On the seventeenth day of the seventh month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.


Treasury of Scripture

Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.

and the mountains.

Psalm 104:6
Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains.

Jeremiah 3:23
Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains: truly in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel.

Jump to Previous
Covered Covering Cubits Deep Depth Feet Fifteen Higher Mighty Mountains Prevail Prevailed Rose Twenty Upward Upwards Water Waters
Jump to Next
Covered Covering Cubits Deep Depth Feet Fifteen Higher Mighty Mountains Prevail Prevailed Rose Twenty Upward Upwards Water Waters
Genesis 7
1. Noah, his family and the living creatures enter the ark.
6. The flood begins.
17. The increase of the flood for forty days.
21. All flesh is destroyed by it.
24. Its duration of 150 days.














(20) Fifteen cubits upward.--This apparently was the draught of the ark, computed after it had settled. in the region of Ararat. Fifteen cubits would be about twenty-two feet, and as the ark floated onward without interruption until it finally grounded, there must have been this depth of water even on the highest summit in its course. Continuous rains for forty days and nights would scarcely produce so vast a mass of water, unless we suppose that the adamah was some low-lying spot of ground whither the waters from many regions flowed together; but this is negatived by the ark having travelled into Armenia. In England the whole average mean rainfall in a year is not more than twenty-eight or thirty inches in depth. If we suppose this amount to have fallen in every twenty-four hours, the total quantity would be about 100 feet. Such a rain would denude the mountains of all soil, uproot all trees, sweep away all buildings, dig out new courses for the rivers, completely alter the whole surface of the ground, and cover the lower lands with debris. Wherever there was any obstacle in their way, the waters would deepen in volume, and quickly burst a passage through it. But as they would be seeking the lower grounds during the whole forty days, it is difficult to understand how they could cover any of the heights to the depth of twenty-two feet, unless there were some cosmic convulsion (see Note on Genesis 7:11), by which the waters from the equator were carried towards the poles, and in this way there would be no difficulty in the ark being carried against the current of the Tigris and Euphrates up to the high lands of Armenia.

Verse 20. - Fifteen cubits upward - half the height of the ark - did the waters prevail. Literally, become strong; above the highest mountains obviously, and not above the ground simply; as, on the latter alternative, it could scarcely have been added, and the mountains were covered.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
The waters
הַמָּ֑יִם (ham·mā·yim)
Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 4325: Water, juice, urine, semen

rose
גָּבְר֖וּ (gā·ḇə·rū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 1396: To be strong, to prevail, act insolently

and covered
וַיְכֻסּ֖וּ (way·ḵus·sū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Pual - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 3680: To plump, fill up hollows, to cover

the mountaintops
הֶהָרִֽים׃ (he·hā·rîm)
Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 2022: Mountain, hill, hill country

to a depth
מִלְמַ֔עְלָה (mil·ma‘·lāh)
Preposition-m, Preposition-l | Adverb | third person feminine singular
Strong's 4605: The upper part, with prefix upward, above, overhead, from the top

of fifteen
חֲמֵ֨שׁ (ḥă·mêš)
Number - feminine singular construct
Strong's 2568: Five

cubits.
אַמָּה֙ (’am·māh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 520: A mother, a cubit, a door-base


Links
Genesis 7:20 NIV
Genesis 7:20 NLT
Genesis 7:20 ESV
Genesis 7:20 NASB
Genesis 7:20 KJV

Genesis 7:20 BibleApps.com
Genesis 7:20 Biblia Paralela
Genesis 7:20 Chinese Bible
Genesis 7:20 French Bible
Genesis 7:20 Catholic Bible

OT Law: Genesis 7:20 The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward (Gen. Ge Gn)
Genesis 7:19
Top of Page
Top of Page