When people began to multiply on the face of the ground, and daughters were born to them,2the sons of God saw that they were fair; and they took wives for themselves of all that they chose.3Then the L
ord said, “My spirit shall not abide in mortals forever, for they are flesh; their days shall be one hundred twenty years.”4The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went in to the daughters of humans, who bore children to them. These were the
heroes that were of old, warriors of renown.
5 The L
ord saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually.6And the L
ord was sorry that he had made humankind on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.7So the L
ord said, “I will blot out from the earth the human beings I have created—people together with animals and creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I
have made them.”8But Noah found favor in the sight of the L
ord.
Noah Pleases God
9 These are the descendants of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God.10And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence.12And God saw that the earth was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted its ways upon the earth.13And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence because of them; now I am going to destroy them along with
the earth.14Make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch.15This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.16Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above; and put the door of the ark in its side; make it with lower, second, and third decks.17For my part, I am going to bring a flood of waters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the
earth shall die.18But I will establish my covenant with you; and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.19And of every living thing, of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female.20Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground according to its kind, two of every kind
shall come in to you, to keep them alive.21Also take with you every kind of food that is eaten, and store it up; and it shall serve as food for you and for them.”22Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by
permission. All rights reserved.
6.And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earthThe repentance which is here ascribed to God does not properly belong to him, but has reference to our
understanding of him. For since we cannot comprehend him as he is, it is necessary that, for our sakes he should, in a certain sense, transform himself. That repentance cannot take place in God, easily appears from this single considerations that nothing happens which is by him unexpected or unforeseen. The same reasoning, and remark, applies to what follows, that God was affected with grief. Certainly God is not sorrowful or sad; but remains forever like himself in his celestial and happy
repose: yet, because it could not otherwise be known how great is God’s hatred and detestation of sin, therefore the Spirit accommodates himself to our capacity. Wherefore, there is no need for us to involve ourselves in thorny and difficult questions, when it is obvious to what end these words of repentance and grief are applied; namely, to teach us, that from the time when man was so greatly corrupted, God would not reckon him among his creatures; as if he would say, ‘This is not my
workmanship; this is not that man who was formed in my image, and whom I had adorned with such excellent gifts: I do not deign now to acknowledge this degenerate and defiled creature as mine.’ Similar to this is what he says, in the second place, concerning grief; that God was so offended by the atrocious wickedness of men, as if they had wounded his heart with mortal grief: There is here, therefore, an unexpressed antithesis between that upright nature which had been created by God, and that
corruption which sprung from sin. Meanwhile, unless we wish to provoke God, and to put him to grief, let us learn to abhor and to flee from sin. Moreover, this paternal goodness and tenderness ought, in no slight degree, to subdue in us the love of sin; since God, in order more effectually to pierce our hearts, clothes himself with our affections. This figure, which represents God as transferring to himself what is peculiar to human nature, is called ἀνθρωποπάθεια
