When men began to increase in number on
the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the
daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. Then
the Lord said, "My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is
mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years."
The Nephilim were on the earth in those
days--and also afterward--when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and
had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.
The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on
the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart
was only evil all the time. The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the
earth, and his heart was filled with pain. So the Lord said, "I will wipe
mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth--men and animals, and
creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air--for I am grieved
that I have made them." But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
This is the account of Noah.
Noah was a righteous man, blameless among
the people of his time, and he walked with God. Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham
and Japheth.
Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight
and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the
people on earth had corrupted their ways. So God said to Noah, "I am going
to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of
them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. So make yourself an
ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out.
This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. Make a roof
for it and finish the ark to within 18 inches of the top. Put a door in the side of
the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. I am going to bring floodwaters
on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the
breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. But I will establish my
covenant with you, and you will enter the ark--you and your sons and your wife
and your sons' wives with you. You are to bring into the ark two of all living
creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. Two of every kind of
bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along
the ground will come to you to be kept alive. You are to take every kind of
food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them."
(NIV)
This reading is taken from 30 Scripture Readings on
Strengthening Faith. The complete book can be found here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005IGX9XG
HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION Copyright © 1973,
1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan
Publishing House. All rights reserved.
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