Entering the Ark

1Then the LORD told Noah, “Come—you and all your household—into the ark, because I’ve seen that you alone are righteousa in this generation. 2You are to take with you seven pairsb of every clean animal, a male and its mate, and two of the unclean animals, a male and its mate; 3along with seven pairsc of the flying birds, male and female, in order to keep their offspring alive on the surface of all the earth. 4Seven days from now I’ll send rain on the earth for 40 days and 40 nights, and I’ll destroy every living creature that I’ve made.”

5Noah did everything that the LORD commanded.

The Flood Begins

6Noah was 600 years old when water began to flood the earth. 7Noah, his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives entered the ark with him before the flood waters arrived.d 8From both clean and unclean animals, from birds, and from everything that crawls on the ground, 9two by two, male and female, they entered the ark to join Noah, just as God had commanded.

10Seven days later, the flooding started. 11On the seventeenth day of the second month, when Noah was 600 years old, all the springs of the great deep burst open, the floodgates of the heavens were opened, 12and it rained throughout the earth for 40 days and 40 nights. 13On that very day, Noah entered the ark with hise sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, Noah’s wife, his sons’ three wives with them, 14along with every species of wild animal,f livestock, crawling creature, bird, and every creature that has wings. 15Two of each living creatureg entered the ark with Noah. 16The males and females of each living creatureh entered the ark,i just as God had commanded. Then the LORD sealed them inside.

17The flood continued throughout the earth for 40 days, while the flood waters increased, lifting the ark so that it rose above the surface of thej earth. 18The flood waters continued to surge, increasing throughout the earth, while the ark floated on the surface of the flood water. 19The flood water surged even higher throughout the earth, until all the highest mountains under the sky were covered. 20The flood waters rose 15 cubitsk above the mountains. 21Every living thingl on earth died—flying creatures, livestock, wildlife, all creatures that swarm over the earth, and all human beings. 22Everything that breathedm and everything that had lived on dry land died. 23All existing creatures that had lived on the surface of the ground were annihilated, from humans to livestock, from crawling creatures to birds of the sky. They were wiped off the earth. Only Noah remained, along with those who were with him in the ark. 24The flood waters surged over the earth for 150 days.