Genesis 8

Genesis 8:1

God remembered Noah

"God had not forgotten Noah" or "God thought of Noah" or "God decided to help Noah"

ark

"a large boat" or "a ship" or "a barge"

Genesis 8:2

The fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were closed

"God closed the fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven"

the windows of heaven were closed

"the sky closed" or "the doors in the sky closed"

Genesis 8:4

came to rest

"landed" or "stopped on solid ground"

in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month

Because Moses wrote this book, it is possible he is referring to the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar, but this is uncertain.

Genesis 8:5

On the first day of the month

"On the first day of the tenth month"

Genesis 8:6

It came about ... the window of the ark which he had made

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"

Genesis 8:7

raven

a black bird that eats mainly the flesh of dead animals

it flew back and forth

This means that the raven kept leaving the boat and returning.

until the waters were dried up

"until the wind dried up the waters" or "until the waters dried up"

Genesis 8:8

he sent out 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."

Genesis 8:9

to rest her foot

"to land" or "to perch." It means to land on something in order to rest from flying.

her foot ... she returned ... and brought her

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.

Genesis 8:11

Look

"Pay attention" or "This is important"

a freshly plucked olive leaf

"a leaf that she had just broken off from an olive tree"

Genesis 8:13

in the six hundred and first year

"when Noah was 601 years old"

the waters were dried up from off the earth

"the waters covering the earth dried up" or "the wind dried up the waters covering the earth"

the covering of the ark

This refers to a cover that kept the rain water from going into the ark.

behold

The word "behold" tells us to pay attention to the important information that comes next.

Genesis 8:14

the earth was dry

"the ground was completely dry"

Genesis 8:17

Take out

"Take." Some translations read "Bring out."

every living creature of all flesh

"every kind of living creature."

be fruitful and multiply

See how this is translated in Genesis. God wanted the humans and animals to reproduce, so there would be many of them.

Genesis 8:18

Noah went out

Some translations read "Noah came out."

Genesis 8:19

according to their families

"in groups of their own kinds"

Genesis 8:20

built an altar to Yahweh

"built an altar dedicated to Yahweh" or "built an altar for worshiping Yahweh." He may have built it with stones.

offered burnt offerings

"burned the animals as offerings to Yahweh"

Genesis 8:21

pleasing aroma

This refers to the good smell of the roasted meat.

said in his heart

Here the word "heart" refers to God's thoughts and emotions.

curse the ground

"do very serious harm to the earth"

because of mankind

"because mankind is sinful."

the intention of mankind's heart is evil from childhood

"from their earliest years they tend to do evil things" or "when they are young, they want to do evil things

from childhood

"from their youth"

Genesis 8:22

While the earth remains

"While the earth lasts" or "As long as the earth exists"

seed time

"the season for planting"

cold and heat, summer and winter

These expressions both refer to two major weather conditions in the year. Translators may use local expressions.

summer

the hot, dry time of the year

winter

the cool, wet or snowy time of the year

will not cease

"will continue"