Some translations set poetry farther to the right than the rest of the text to show that it is poetry. The ULB does this with the poetry in 8:22, which is part of what Yahweh was telling Noah.
The waters receded after this great flood. Because there was so much water, and it came from God, it is described in a unique way.
It is unclear where Ararat was located. Many people believe it is located in the modern country of Turkey.
This does not mean that God had forgotten about Noah and suddenly remembered him. The words "God remembered Noah" mean that God was now going to help Noah after the flood. Alternate translation: "God had not forgotten Noah" or "God thought of Noah" or "God decided to help Noah"
This refers to a very large box that would be able to float on water even in a very bad storm. See how you translated this in Genesis 6:14. Alternate translation: "a large boat" or "a ship" or "a barge"
"The water stopped coming out of the ground and the rain stopped falling." This can be stated in active form. Alternate translation: "God closed the fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven" (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=jit#figs-activepassive)
"water from under the earth." See how this is translated in Genesis 7:11.
This refers to the rain stopping. It describes the sky as a ceiling that keeps the waters above it from falling down to the earth. When the windows, or doors, in the sky were closed, the water stopped coming through them. See how "the windows of heaven" is translated in Genesis 7:11. Alternate translation: "the sky closed" or "the doors in the sky closed"
This page has intentionally been left blank.
"landed" or "stopped on solid ground"
Because Moses wrote this book, it is possible he is referring to the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar, but this is uncertain. (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=jit#translate-hebrewmonths and /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=jit#translate-ordinal)
Because Moses wrote this book, it is possible he is referring to the tenth month of the Hebrew calendar, but this is uncertain. (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=jit#translate-hebrewmonths and /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=jit#translate-ordinal)
"On the first day of the tenth month"
This can be made more explicit: "appeared above the surface of the water." (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=jit#figs-explicit)
This phrase is used here to mark the beginning of a new part of the story. If your language has a way for doing this, you could consider using it here. Alternate translation: "It happened that"
The phrase "which he had made" tells about the window. Some languages may need to make this phrase a separate sentence: "Noah had made a window in the boat. It came about after forty days that he opened the window" (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=jit#figs-distinguish)
a black bird that eats mainly the flesh of dead animals
This means that the raven kept leaving the boat and returning.
This can be stated in active form. Alternate translation: "until the wind dried up the waters" or "until the waters dried up" (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=jit#figs-activepassive)
If you use masculine pronouns for the word "dove," you may need to insert Noah's name here to avoid confusion: "Noah sent out a dove."
"to land" or "to perch." It means to land on something in order to rest from flying.
The word "dove" is feminine in the author's language. You could translate these phrases with the pronouns "its ... it ... it" or "his ... he ... him," depending on how your language refers to a dove.
If you use masculine pronouns for the word "dove," you may need to insert Noah's name here to avoid confusion: "Noah sent out a dove," "Noah stretched forth his hand," etc.
"He again waited for seven days"
"Pay attention" or "This is important"
"a leaf that she had just plucked from an olive tree"
"broken off"
If people would not understand, you could state the reason explicitly: "She did not return again to him because she found a place to land." (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=jit#figs-explicit)
This phrase is used here to mark the beginning of a new part of the story. If your language has a way for doing this, you could consider using it here.
"when Noah was 601 years old" (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=jit#translate-ordinal)
Since Moses wrote this book it is possible he is referring to the first month of the Hebrew calendar, but this is uncertain. (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=jit#translate-hebrewmonths and /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=jit#translate-ordinal)
This can be stated in active form. Alternate translation: "the waters covering the earth dried up" or "the wind dried up the waters covering the earth" (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=jit#figs-activepassive)
This refers to a cover that kept the rain water from going into the ark.
The word "behold" tells us to pay attention to the important information that comes next.
"On the twenty seventh day of the second month." This may refer to the second month of the Hebrew calendar, but this is uncertain. (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=jit#translate-hebrewmonths and /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=jit#translate-ordinal)
"the ground was completely dry"
This page has intentionally been left blank.
"Leave." Some translations read "Come out." (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=jit#figs-go)
"Take." Some translations read "Bring out." (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=jit#figs-go)
"every kind of living creature." See how "all flesh" is translated in Genesis 6:12.
This is an idiom. See how this is translated in Genesis 1:28. God wanted the humans and animals to reproduce, so there would be many of them. (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=jit#figs-doublet and /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=jit#figs-idiom)
Some translations read "Noah came out." (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=jit#figs-go)
"in groups of their own kinds"
"built an altar dedicated to Yahweh" or "built an altar for worshiping Yahweh." He may have built it with stones.
Here "clean" means that God allowed these animals to be used in sacrifice. Some animals were not used for sacrifices and were called "unclean."
Noah killed the animals and then completely burned them up as an offering to God. Alternate translation: "burned the animals as offerings to Yahweh"
This refers to the good smell of the roasted meat.
Here the word "heart" refers to God's thoughts and emotions.
"do very serious harm to the earth"
This can be made more explicit: "because mankind is sinful." (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=jit#figs-explicit)
"from their earliest years they tend to do evil things" or "when they are young, they want to do evil things"
Here the word "heart" refers to people's thoughts, emotions, desires, and will. Alternate translation: "their tendency" or "their habit"
This refers to an older child. Alternate translation: "from their youth"
"While the earth lasts" or "As long as the earth exists"
"the season for planting"
These expressions both refer to two major weather conditions in the year. Translators may use local expressions. (See: /WA-Catalog/en_tm?section=jit#figs-merism)
the hot, dry time of the year
the cool, wet or snowy time of the year
"will continue"