Genesis 7

Genesis 7:1

Come ... into the ark

"Enter ... into the ark." Many translations read "Go ... into the ark."

your household

"your family"

righteous before me

This means that God saw Noah as righteous.

in this generation

"among all the people who are now living"

Genesis 7:2

clean animal

This was an animal that God allowed his people to eat and to sacrifice.

animals that are not clean

These were animals that God did not allow people to eat or to sacrifice.

Genesis 7:3

to keep their offspring alive

"so that they will have offspring that will live" or "so that, after the flood, animals will continue to live"

Genesis 7:4

forty days and forty nights

"forty days and nights"

living

This refers to physical life.

Genesis 7:6

came upon the earth

"happened" or "came on the earth"

Genesis 7:7

because of the waters of the flood

"because of the flood that would come" or "to escape the flood water"

Genesis 7:9

two by two

The animals entered the boat in pairs of one male and one female.

Genesis 7:10

It came about that

This phrase is used here to mark an important event in the story: the start of the flood. If your language has a way for doing this, you could consider using it here.

the waters of the flood came upon the earth

"it started to rain and the waters of the flood came upon the earth"

Genesis 7:11

In the six hundredth year of Noah's life

"When Noah was 600 years old"

on the same day

This refers to the specific day when the rain began. This phrase emphasizes how all of these major events happened quickly when the time arrived.

the fountains of the great deep burst open

"water from under the earth rushed up to the earth's surface"

the great deep

This refers to the sea that was thought to be under the earth.

the windows of heaven were opened

"the sky opened" or "the doors in the sky opened"

Genesis 7:14

wild animal ... livestock ... creeping thing ... bird

These four groups are listed to show that every kind of animal was included. If your language has another way of grouping all the animals, you can use that, or you can use these groups. See how you translated this in Genesis 1:24.

creeping thing

This refers to animals that crawl on the ground, like rodents, insects, lizards, and snakes.

according to its kind

"so that each kind of animal will produce more of its own kind." See how you translated this in Genesis 1:24.

Genesis 7:15

Two of all flesh

Here, "flesh" represents animals.

in which was the breath of life

"that lived"

of all flesh

"of every kind of animal"

Genesis 7:16

after them

"after they entered the ark"

Genesis 7:17

the water increased

"the water became very deep." This happened during the forty days while the water kept coming.

lifted the ark

"it caused the ark to float"

raised it above the earth

"causes the ark to rise up high over the ground" or "he ark floated on top of the deep water"

Genesis 7:19

The waters rose greatly on the earth

"The water totally overwhelmed the earth"

Genesis 7:20

fifteen cubits

"six meters."

Genesis 7:21

all the living creatures that lived in great numbers upon the earth

This refers to all the animals that move around on the ground in large groups.

Genesis 7:22

who breathed the breath of life through their noses

"everyone that breathed"

the breath of life

The words "breath" and "life" represent the power that causes people and animals to be alive.

Genesis 7:23

So every living thing ... was wiped out

"So every living thing ... perished" or "So the flood completely destroyed every living thing"

They were all destroyed

"God destroyed them all"

from the earth

"so they were no longer on the earth"

those with him

"the people and animals that were with him"

were left

"remained" or "lived" or "remained alive"