Grasp the Gospel — Bible Comprehension Quizzes

Genesis 6 Study Notes

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General

According to Genesis 6:14-16, what material and general structure did God instruct Noah to use in building the ark?

Answer: Gopher wood, coated with pitch, with multiple decks and a door in its side

Genesis 6:14-16 gives Noah remarkably specific instructions: build the vessel from gopher wood, coat it inside and out, give it set dimensions, and include a roof, a door in its side, and three separate levels stacked one above another. These are detailed, practical building instructions, not vague or symbolic language. The specificity underlines that this was a real, substantial construction project that Noah had to actually carry out over time, requiring real obedience sustained across however long it took to complete, not a single act of belief.

  • Genesis 6:14-16 (BSB)
    “Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; make rooms in the ark and coat it with pitch inside and out. And this is how you are to build it: The ark is to be 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high. You are to make a roof for the ark, finish its walls a cubit from the top, place a door in the side of the ark, and build lower, middle, and upper decks.”
    Gives Noah the specific dimensions and structural details for constructing the ark.
  • Matthew 24:37-38 (BSB)
    “As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark.”
    Highlights that Noah's contemporaries carried on with ordinary life despite this massive, visible project underway.
  • 1 Peter 3:20 (BSB)
    “who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In the ark a few people, only eight souls, were saved through water.”
    Treats the construction period itself as a theologically significant window of God's patience.

Theological

Genesis 6:14-16 gives Noah specific, practical construction instructions for the ark. What does the level of detail in these verses contribute to the passage's larger point about Noah's obedience?

Answer: It shows Noah's faith expressed not as a single moment of assent but as sustained, costly obedience carried out over the length of time required to complete a major building project

Genesis 6:14-16 supplies concrete building instructions — material, dimensions, and structural features — rather than a vague command to prepare for a flood. This concreteness matters for how the passage frames Noah's obedience: building to these specifications was not a single decisive act but a sustained project, almost certainly requiring years of labor carried out in full view of a mocking, unbelieving generation. Matthew 24:37-38 later highlights exactly this contrast, describing Noah's contemporaries carrying on with ordinary life right until the moment Noah finally boarded the finished vessel, apparently unmoved despite watching this massive project underway. 1 Peter 3:20 similarly locates God's patience specifically within the years the vessel was under construction, treating the building process itself as theologically significant — an extended window of opportunity for repentance that Noah's visible, costly obedience did nothing to shorten or hide.

  • Genesis 6:14-16 (BSB)
    “Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; make rooms in the ark and coat it with pitch inside and out. And this is how you are to build it: The ark is to be 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high. You are to make a roof for the ark, finish its walls a cubit from the top, place a door in the side of the ark, and build lower, middle, and upper decks.”
    Gives Noah the specific dimensions and structural details for constructing the ark.
  • Matthew 24:37-38 (BSB)
    “As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark.”
    Highlights that Noah's contemporaries carried on with ordinary life despite this massive, visible project underway.
  • 1 Peter 3:20 (BSB)
    “who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In the ark a few people, only eight souls, were saved through water.”
    Treats the construction period itself as a theologically significant window of God's patience.

General

In Genesis 6:17-18, what does God promise Noah in the middle of announcing the coming flood?

Answer: God announces He will establish His covenant with Noah, who would come aboard the ark together with his family

Genesis 6:17-18 pairs a warning with a promise: God tells Noah floodwaters are coming to wipe out every creature that breathes, but immediately adds a pledge to establish His covenant with Noah, promising that Noah, his wife, his sons, and his sons' wives would come aboard the ark together. This is the very first appearance of the word covenant anywhere in the Bible, introduced here as God's own initiative to preserve Noah's family through the coming judgment. It's a striking pairing: total, catastrophic judgment on one hand, and a specific, personal, unbreakable promise of rescue on the other, held together in the same two verses.

  • Genesis 6:17-18 (BSB)
    “And behold, I will bring floodwaters upon the earth to destroy every creature under the heavens that has the breath of life. Everything on the 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.”
    The Bible's first use of the word covenant, paired with the flood announcement.
  • Genesis 9:11 (BSB)
    “And I establish My covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.””
    Formalizes this same covenant after the flood has ended.
  • Hebrews 6:17-18 (BSB)
    “So when God wanted to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear to the heirs of the promise, He guaranteed it with an oath. Thus by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged.”
    Reflects on the general reliability of God's covenant commitments.
  • Psalm 89:34 (BSB)
    “I will not violate My covenant or alter the utterance of My lips.”
    States the underlying principle of covenant reliability already displayed toward Noah.

Theological

Genesis 6:17-18 contains the first occurrence of the word covenant (berith) in Scripture, introduced in the same breath as the announcement of the flood. What theological significance attaches to this being the Bible's introductory use of covenant language?

Answer: It establishes covenant as God's own sovereign initiative to guarantee preservation through judgment, a pattern the rest of Scripture's covenants will develop further

Genesis 6:17-18 marks Scripture's first use of the word covenant, and its placement is theologically loaded: God announces it in the same breath as the flood's destruction, framing covenant from its very first appearance as God's own unilateral commitment to preserve a chosen party through judgment, rather than a contract negotiated between equal parties. Noah does not propose or bargain for this covenant; God simply declares He will establish it. This pattern — covenant as God's sovereign initiative rather than mutual negotiation — recurs and develops throughout Scripture's subsequent covenants. Genesis 9:11 later formalizes this same covenant explicitly after the flood, and Hebrews 6:17-18 reflects on the general reliability of God's covenant commitments, guaranteed by His own unchanging nature. Psalm 89:34 states the underlying principle directly: God will not violate His covenant or alter what He has spoken, the same reliability already on display in this covenant's first announcement to Noah.

  • Genesis 6:17-18 (BSB)
    “And behold, I will bring floodwaters upon the earth to destroy every creature under the heavens that has the breath of life. Everything on the 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.”
    The Bible's first use of the word covenant, paired with the flood announcement.
  • Genesis 9:11 (BSB)
    “And I establish My covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.””
    Formalizes this same covenant after the flood has ended.
  • Hebrews 6:17-18 (BSB)
    “So when God wanted to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear to the heirs of the promise, He guaranteed it with an oath. Thus by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged.”
    Reflects on the general reliability of God's covenant commitments.
  • Psalm 89:34 (BSB)
    “I will not violate My covenant or alter the utterance of My lips.”
    States the underlying principle of covenant reliability already displayed toward Noah.

General

According to Genesis 6:11-12, how does the text describe the state of the earth just before the flood?

Answer: Morally corrupted and overrun with violence

Genesis 6:11-12 states twice, in close succession, that the earth had become corrupt in God's sight, and adds that it was filled with violence, because living creatures generally had abandoned right conduct for their own twisted paths. This is a picture of thoroughgoing moral collapse — not an isolated pocket of wrongdoing, but a description covering the whole earth and, remarkably, extending to creaturely life broadly. The repeated use of the same key term across these two verses emphasizes just how total the LORD found this condition when He looked at what had become of His creation. This sets up directly the LORD's decision, announced in the very next verse, to bring both humanity and the corrupted earth itself to an end.

  • Genesis 6:11-12 (BSB)
    “Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and full of violence. And God looked upon the earth and saw that it was corrupt; for all living creatures on the earth had corrupted their ways.”
    Describes the earth's total moral collapse just before the flood is announced.
  • Psalm 14:2-3 (BSB)
    “The LORD looks down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if any understand, if any seek God. All have turned away, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.”
    Describes the same trajectory from a heart-level corruption to a comprehensive lack of good among people.
  • Romans 1:29-31 (BSB)
    “They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful. They invent new forms of evil; they disobey their parents. They are senseless, faithless, heartless, merciless.”
    Catalogs the concrete social sins that flow from a corrupted inner life, paralleling the pattern in Genesis 6:11-12.
  • Ezekiel 8:17 (BSB)
    ““Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see this? Is it not enough for the house of Judah to commit the abominations they are practicing here, that they must also fill the land with violence and continually provoke Me to anger? Look, they are even putting the branch to their nose!”
    Uses strikingly similar language of a land filled with violence, applied later to Judah's own covenant unfaithfulness.

Theological

Genesis 6:11-12 repeats a key term for corruption and specifically names violence as filling the earth. What is the theological weight of the passage naming these two particular realities?

Answer: It presents sin's corruption as comprehensive, extending even to creaturely life broadly, and identifies violence specifically as the concrete social manifestation of that corruption warranting judgment

Genesis 6:11-12 doubles down on a single term for corruption, applying it first to the earth generally and then explaining that it results from creaturely life having corrupted its own way, before naming violence as the specific, visible expression that fills the earth. This pairing is theologically significant: the inward condition of the heart named in 6:5 here produces a concrete, outward social reality — violence — that provokes divine judgment. Psalm 14:2-3 and Romans 1:29-31 both describe the same trajectory from a corrupted inner life to a catalog of visible social sins, confirming this as a consistent biblical pattern rather than an isolated description. Ezekiel 8:17 later uses strikingly similar language — a land filled with violence — to describe Judah's own covenant unfaithfulness, showing that Genesis 6:11-12 established a recognizable category later prophets deliberately invoke.

  • Genesis 6:11-12 (BSB)
    “Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and full of violence. And God looked upon the earth and saw that it was corrupt; for all living creatures on the earth had corrupted their ways.”
    Describes the earth's total moral collapse just before the flood is announced.
  • Psalm 14:2-3 (BSB)
    “The LORD looks down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if any understand, if any seek God. All have turned away, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.”
    Describes the same trajectory from a heart-level corruption to a comprehensive lack of good among people.
  • Romans 1:29-31 (BSB)
    “They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful. They invent new forms of evil; they disobey their parents. They are senseless, faithless, heartless, merciless.”
    Catalogs the concrete social sins that flow from a corrupted inner life, paralleling the pattern in Genesis 6:11-12.
  • Ezekiel 8:17 (BSB)
    ““Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see this? Is it not enough for the house of Judah to commit the abominations they are practicing here, that they must also fill the land with violence and continually provoke Me to anger? Look, they are even putting the branch to their nose!”
    Uses strikingly similar language of a land filled with violence, applied later to Judah's own covenant unfaithfulness.

General

True or False: In Genesis 6:13, God tells Noah directly that He has decided to destroy both living creatures and the earth itself because of the violence that fills it.

Answer: True

Genesis 6:13 records God speaking directly to Noah for the first time in this account, telling him plainly that living creatures' time has run out, because violence has overtaken the earth on their account, and that He will wipe out every creature along with the ground they live on. This is a formal, decisive announcement — not a vague warning, but a clear statement of what God has determined to do and why. The reason given is specific: violence, the same corruption described in the verses just before this one. This sets up the instructions that immediately follow, in which God tells Noah exactly how to build the vessel that will preserve him and his family from this coming judgment.

  • Genesis 6:13 (BSB)
    “Then God said to Noah, “The end of all living creatures has come before Me, because through them the earth is full of violence. Now behold, I will destroy both them and the earth.”
    God's formal announcement to Noah of coming judgment, with violence named as the specific cause.
  • 2 Peter 2:5 (BSB)
    “if He did not spare the ancient world when He brought the flood on its ungodly people, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, among the eight;”
    Confirms that the flood was God's judgment on genuinely ungodly people, not an arbitrary act.
  • Romans 6:23 (BSB)
    “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
    States the general principle underlying every such judgment: sin has a real, deserved consequence.
  • Psalm 145:20 (BSB)
    “The LORD preserves all who love Him, but all the wicked He will destroy.”
    Frames the same pattern of preservation and destruction that plays out for Noah and his generation.

Theological

Genesis 6:13 records God's formal announcement to Noah of coming judgment, explicitly grounded in the earth being filled with violence. What does the specificity of this stated cause establish about the nature of the flood?

Answer: The flood is presented as God's righteous, morally grounded response to actual, named sin — not an arbitrary or capricious act

Genesis 6:13 has God speak directly to Noah, announcing the end of living creatures and explicitly naming the reason: the earth's violence, which He states He will judge by destroying both the creatures and the earth itself. The specificity here matters theologically — this judgment is not narrated as arbitrary or capricious but as a righteous response to a named, described moral reality. This grounds the flood firmly within the pattern the rest of Scripture consistently affirms: that sin has real, deserved consequences, and that God's judgments are just rather than random. 2 Peter 2:5 later confirms this reading directly, describing the flood as God's judgment on an ungodly people, while Romans 6:23 states the general principle underlying every such judgment — sin's wage is death. Psalm 145:20 frames the same truth positively and negatively at once: the LORD keeps safe those devoted to Him, while bringing the wicked to ruin, precisely the pattern that plays out for Noah and his generation.

  • Genesis 6:13 (BSB)
    “Then God said to Noah, “The end of all living creatures has come before Me, because through them the earth is full of violence. Now behold, I will destroy both them and the earth.”
    God's formal announcement to Noah of coming judgment, with violence named as the specific cause.
  • 2 Peter 2:5 (BSB)
    “if He did not spare the ancient world when He brought the flood on its ungodly people, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, among the eight;”
    Confirms that the flood was God's judgment on genuinely ungodly people, not an arbitrary act.
  • Romans 6:23 (BSB)
    “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
    States the general principle underlying every such judgment: sin has a real, deserved consequence.
  • Psalm 145:20 (BSB)
    “The LORD preserves all who love Him, but all the wicked He will destroy.”
    Frames the same pattern of preservation and destruction that plays out for Noah and his generation.

General

True or False: Genesis 6:6-7 describes the LORD as genuinely affected by human sin, even though Scripture elsewhere insists that God does not change His mind the way people do.

Answer: True

Genesis 6:6-7 says that the LORD regretted having made mankind and felt deep sorrow over it, and it is in response to this genuine sorrow that He decides to send judgment. This is strong, personal language — God is not shown as a distant, unaffected observer of human sin, but as one who is truly moved by it. At the same time, other passages state plainly that God is not like a person who acts on impulse or changes course on a whim — His purposes remain settled and reliable. These two truths sit together rather than contradict one another: God's response to sin is completely genuine, and His ultimate purposes remain unshaken, both at once. The Bible describes God being affected by sin again elsewhere, showing this is not a one-time or isolated way of speaking about Him.

  • Genesis 6:6-7 (BSB)
    “And the LORD regretted that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the LORD said, “I will blot out man, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—every man and beast and crawling creature and bird of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them.””
    Describes God's genuine sorrow over human sin, leading directly to His decision to judge.
  • 1 Samuel 15:29 (BSB)
    “Moreover, the Glory of Israel does not lie or change His mind, for He is not a man, that He should change His mind.””
    States that God does not change His mind the way a person does, balancing the anthropomorphic language of Genesis 6:6-7.
  • Numbers 23:19 (BSB)
    “God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?”
    Affirms God's unchanging reliability, showing His grief in Genesis 6:6-7 does not mean He is unstable or capricious.
  • Ephesians 4:30 (BSB)
    “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”
    Shows this same pattern of God being genuinely affected by sin continuing into the New Testament.

Theological

Genesis 6:6-7 attributes regret and sorrow to the LORD in response to human sin, while texts like Numbers 23:19 and 1 Samuel 15:29 insist that God is not a man who changes His mind. How should these be held together?

Answer: As genuinely compatible: God's response to sin is real and personal, expressed in human terms Scripture itself uses, without implying He is caught by surprise or that His settled purposes are unstable

Genesis 6:6-7 describes the LORD as genuinely regretting having made mankind and sorrowful within Himself, language strong and personal enough that it drives directly into the decision to judge the earth. Numbers 23:19 and 1 Samuel 15:29, by contrast, insist that, unlike a human being, God does not deceive or reverse course on impulse. These are not competing claims requiring one to be discarded; classical theology has long described language like this as an accommodation — Scripture speaking of God's real response to evil in terms creatures can grasp, without implying that God is caught off guard, subject to shifting moods, or unstable in His ultimate purposes. God's sorrow here is genuinely His response to genuine evil, not a mere figure of speech emptied of content. Ephesians 4:30 shows the same pattern continuing into the New Testament, where believers are told not to cause the Holy Spirit sorrow — further evidence that Scripture consistently speaks of God's holy response to sin as real, personal, and compatible with His unchanging character.

  • Genesis 6:6-7 (BSB)
    “And the LORD regretted that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the LORD said, “I will blot out man, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—every man and beast and crawling creature and bird of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them.””
    Describes God's genuine sorrow over human sin, leading directly to His decision to judge.
  • 1 Samuel 15:29 (BSB)
    “Moreover, the Glory of Israel does not lie or change His mind, for He is not a man, that He should change His mind.””
    States that God does not change His mind the way a person does, balancing the anthropomorphic language of Genesis 6:6-7.
  • Numbers 23:19 (BSB)
    “God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?”
    Affirms God's unchanging reliability, showing His grief in Genesis 6:6-7 does not mean He is unstable or capricious.
  • Ephesians 4:30 (BSB)
    “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”
    Shows this same pattern of God being genuinely affected by sin continuing into the New Testament.

General

How does Genesis 6:22 summarize Noah's response to all of God's detailed instructions in this chapter?

Answer: Noah carried out every instruction exactly as God had given it

Genesis 6:22 closes the chapter with a simple but complete statement: Noah carried out every instruction exactly as God had given it. After many detailed instructions — about the ark's construction, the covenant, and the animals to be gathered — this verse reports full, exact obedience, with no exceptions noted. This single sentence covers what was, in reality, years of sustained effort and unwavering trust, carried out even though the flood itself hadn't happened yet and Noah had only God's word to go on. The New Testament later points back to exactly this kind of trusting obedience as a model of genuine faith in action.

  • Genesis 6:22 (BSB)
    “So Noah did everything precisely as God had commanded him.”
    Summarizes Noah's complete obedience to every instruction given in this chapter.
  • Hebrews 11:7 (BSB)
    “By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in godly fear built an ark to save his family. By faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.”
    Identifies Noah's obedience explicitly as an act of faith in things not yet seen.
  • Exodus 39:32 (BSB)
    “So all the work for the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, was completed. The Israelites did everything just as the LORD had commanded Moses.”
    Uses an almost identical formula for Israel's obedience in building the tabernacle, echoing the pattern set here.
  • James 2:22 (BSB)
    “You see that his faith was working with his actions, and his faith was perfected by what he did.”
    States the general principle that genuine faith is expressed through, and completed by, obedient action.

Theological

Genesis 6:22 summarizes an entire chapter of detailed divine instructions with a single statement of complete compliance. How does the New Testament interpret this obedience theologically?

Answer: As faith in action — trust in God's word about the unseen, expressed through sustained, costly obedience, which Hebrews explicitly calls Noah's faith

Genesis 6:22's summary — Noah carried out every instruction exactly as God had given it — closes out a chapter of extensive, costly instructions with a single statement of total compliance. Hebrews 11:7 interprets this obedience explicitly as an act of faith: Noah, alerted to a danger no one could yet observe, acted out of reverent fear to build the ark, and through that same faith stood as an implicit verdict against his generation while becoming one who inherits righteousness through faith. This is a significant theological move — outward obedience here is not opposed to faith but is precisely how the author of Hebrews identifies genuine faith taking concrete shape. James 2:22 states the same principle generally: faith works together with action, and is perfected by what is done. Exodus 39:32 later uses an almost identical formula, applying the same pattern of complete covenant obedience to the building of the tabernacle, showing Genesis 6:22 as the first instance of a recurring biblical picture: genuine faith expressed through full, sustained obedience to God's revealed word.

  • Genesis 6:22 (BSB)
    “So Noah did everything precisely as God had commanded him.”
    Summarizes Noah's complete obedience to every instruction given in this chapter.
  • Hebrews 11:7 (BSB)
    “By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in godly fear built an ark to save his family. By faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.”
    Identifies Noah's obedience explicitly as an act of faith in things not yet seen.
  • Exodus 39:32 (BSB)
    “So all the work for the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, was completed. The Israelites did everything just as the LORD had commanded Moses.”
    Uses an almost identical formula for Israel's obedience in building the tabernacle, echoing the pattern set here.
  • James 2:22 (BSB)
    “You see that his faith was working with his actions, and his faith was perfected by what he did.”
    States the general principle that genuine faith is expressed through, and completed by, obedient action.

General

What does Genesis 6:8 say happened to Noah in the middle of the LORD's decision to judge the earth?

Answer: God showed Noah undeserved favor

Right after describing the full extent of human wickedness and God's sorrowful decision to blot out life from the earth, the text turns to a single verse about one man: God showed Noah undeserved kindness. Notice the order — this favor comes first, before the next verse goes on to describe Noah's righteous life in any detail. This ordering is worth noticing: Noah's righteous walk with God, described right after, flows out of God's favor toward him rather than being the reason for it. This matches a pattern seen throughout the Bible: God's undeserved kindness comes first and produces a changed, faithful life, not the other way around. Genesis uses this same kind of language elsewhere for someone else spared from a coming judgment, showing that this idea has a consistent meaning: rescue that isn't earned.

  • Genesis 6:8 (BSB)
    “Noah, however, found favor in the eyes of the LORD.”
    Reports God's undeserved kindness toward Noah in the midst of judgment on everyone else.
  • Genesis 19:19 (BSB)
    “Your servant has indeed found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness by sparing my life. But I cannot run to the mountains; the disaster will overtake me, and I will die.”
    Uses the same expression for Lot's rescue from Sodom's destruction, confirming this language marks unearned rescue.
  • Ephesians 2:8-9 (BSB)
    “For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.”
    States the broader biblical principle that grace precedes and is not earned by works.
  • Romans 11:5-6 (BSB)
    “In the same way, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if it is by grace, then it is no longer by works. Otherwise, grace would no longer be grace.”
    Makes explicit that grace and works-based merit are mutually exclusive explanations for God's favor.

Theological

Genesis 6:8 states that Noah was shown undeserved favor by the LORD immediately before 6:9 describes his righteous life. What is significant about this textual sequence?

Answer: Favor is narrated prior to the description of Noah's righteousness, consistent with the broader biblical pattern of grace preceding and producing righteous fruit rather than being earned by it

Genesis 6:8 reports that Noah received undeserved favor from the LORD, and only in the next verse does the text describe him as righteous and blameless, walking with God. Many Reformed readers find this ordering significant, since it places God's unmerited kindness before the description of Noah's character rather than after it as a reward. This coheres with the pattern the New Testament makes explicit: standing before God rests on grace, not on works that could give grounds for boasting, with a transformed life following as fruit rather than functioning as the cause. Genesis itself uses this same expression elsewhere for Lot's rescue from Sodom, confirming that it consistently marks unearned rescue rather than compensation for merit. Romans 11:5-6 makes the underlying logic explicit for a later remnant: if a blessing is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, or grace would cease to be grace — the same principle this passage's ordering illustrates in Noah's case.

  • Genesis 6:8 (BSB)
    “Noah, however, found favor in the eyes of the LORD.”
    Reports God's undeserved kindness toward Noah in the midst of judgment on everyone else.
  • Genesis 19:19 (BSB)
    “Your servant has indeed found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness by sparing my life. But I cannot run to the mountains; the disaster will overtake me, and I will die.”
    Uses the same expression for Lot's rescue from Sodom's destruction, confirming this language marks unearned rescue.
  • Ephesians 2:8-9 (BSB)
    “For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.”
    States the broader biblical principle that grace precedes and is not earned by works.
  • Romans 11:5-6 (BSB)
    “In the same way, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if it is by grace, then it is no longer by works. Otherwise, grace would no longer be grace.”
    Makes explicit that grace and works-based merit are mutually exclusive explanations for God's favor.

General

According to Genesis 6:9, how is Noah described among the people of his generation?

Answer: Someone upright and above reproach among his peers, living in close fellowship with God

Genesis 6:9 describes Noah with three specific phrases: he was righteous, he was blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God. Each phrase adds something — righteous points to his standing before God, blameless points to his integrity of life among those around him, and walking with God describes an ongoing, close relationship, the same phrase used earlier of Enoch. Given the description of overwhelming corruption in the verses just before this one, Noah's description here stands out sharply: he is presented as a genuine exception in a thoroughly corrupt generation. Later biblical writers treat Noah as a model of exactly this kind of standout righteousness, naming him alongside other well-known examples of faithfulness.

  • Genesis 6:9 (BSB)
    “This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God.”
    Sums up Noah's exceptional character against the backdrop of his corrupt generation.
  • Genesis 5:24 (BSB)
    “Enoch walked with God, and then he was no more, because God had taken him away.”
    Uses the identical description for Enoch, establishing this as a recognized mark of close relationship with God.
  • Ezekiel 14:14 (BSB)
    “then even if these three men—Noah, Daniel, and Job—were in it, their righteousness could deliver only themselves, declares the Lord GOD.”
    Groups Noah with Daniel and Job as a paradigm example of personal righteousness.
  • 2 Peter 2:5 (BSB)
    “if He did not spare the ancient world when He brought the flood on its ungodly people, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, among the eight;”
    Explicitly calls Noah a preacher of righteousness, extending the character description in Genesis 6:9.

Theological

Genesis 6:9 calls Noah righteous, blameless in his generation, and one who walked with God, immediately after 6:5-8 has described comprehensive human corruption and Noah's favor before the LORD. How do these descriptions relate to one another?

Answer: Noah's righteous, blameless walk is presented as the fruit and evidence of the favor just described in 6:8, standing out precisely against the backdrop of universal corruption in 6:5

Genesis 6:9 layers three descriptions onto Noah: righteous, blameless among his contemporaries, and walking with God — the same phrase Genesis 5:24 used of Enoch. Read against 6:5's description of universal, unrelenting evil and 6:8's report of Noah receiving favor, this description functions as the visible fruit of that prior favor rather than an independent achievement standing apart from it. Blamelessness among his contemporaries need not mean sinless in an absolute sense, but marks Noah out as genuinely exceptional relative to the moral collapse just described. Later Scripture treats Noah as a paradigm case of this same kind of righteousness: Ezekiel 14:14 names him alongside Daniel and Job as one whose righteousness was personally exemplary, and 2 Peter 2:5 explicitly identifies him as someone who proclaimed righteousness to his generation, preserved by God precisely because of the character this verse describes. Together these texts present Noah's righteousness as real and consequential, while still standing downstream of the favor already shown him.

  • Genesis 6:9 (BSB)
    “This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God.”
    Sums up Noah's exceptional character against the backdrop of his corrupt generation.
  • Genesis 5:24 (BSB)
    “Enoch walked with God, and then he was no more, because God had taken him away.”
    Uses the identical description for Enoch, establishing this as a recognized mark of close relationship with God.
  • Ezekiel 14:14 (BSB)
    “then even if these three men—Noah, Daniel, and Job—were in it, their righteousness could deliver only themselves, declares the Lord GOD.”
    Groups Noah with Daniel and Job as a paradigm example of personal righteousness.
  • 2 Peter 2:5 (BSB)
    “if He did not spare the ancient world when He brought the flood on its ungodly people, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, among the eight;”
    Explicitly calls Noah a preacher of righteousness, extending the character description in Genesis 6:9.

General

True or False: Genesis 6:10 names Noah's three sons as Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Answer: True

Genesis 6:10 simply records the names of Noah's three boys: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. This short verse is easy to skip past, but it matters for what follows — these three sons and their wives will be the only other people, besides Noah and his wife, to survive the flood, and every person alive afterward traces back through one of these three lines. The same three names are repeated consistently throughout the flood account and beyond, underlining how central this specific family is to the rest of the story.

  • Genesis 6:10 (BSB)
    “And Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.”
    Names the three sons who, with their wives, will survive the flood alongside Noah.
  • Genesis 5:32 (BSB)
    “After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.”
    Records the same three sons at their birth, confirming the family line introduced here.
  • Genesis 10:1 (BSB)
    “This is the account of Noah’s sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, who also had sons after the flood.”
    Shows these same three sons becoming the ancestors of every nation after the flood.
  • 1 Chronicles 1:4 (BSB)
    “The sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.”
    Confirms the same three names in a later genealogical record.

Theological

Genesis 6:10 names Noah's three sons — Shem, Ham, and Japheth — a detail repeated consistently through the flood narrative and beyond. Why does this simple genealogical note matter for the chapters that follow?

Answer: These three sons and their wives constitute the entire surviving human line after the flood, making this detail foundational to everything that follows in Genesis 9-11

Genesis 6:10's brief note identifying Noah's offspring by name, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, anchors the genealogical and narrative structure of everything that follows the flood. These three men and their wives make up the entirety of the human race that survives, meaning every subsequent nation in the table of nations traces its origin through one of these three lines. The same three names recur with deliberate consistency at each major narrative beat: their entry into the ark, their exit from it, and the formal genealogy that opens the account of the post-flood world. Far from a throwaway detail, this verse functions as the structural hinge connecting the pre-flood and post-flood worlds through one specific, named family.

  • Genesis 6:10 (BSB)
    “And Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.”
    Names the three sons who, with their wives, will survive the flood alongside Noah.
  • Genesis 5:32 (BSB)
    “After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.”
    Records the same three sons at their birth, confirming the family line introduced here.
  • Genesis 10:1 (BSB)
    “This is the account of Noah’s sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, who also had sons after the flood.”
    Shows these same three sons becoming the ancestors of every nation after the flood.
  • 1 Chronicles 1:4 (BSB)
    “The sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.”
    Confirms the same three names in a later genealogical record.

General

Genesis 6:1-4 describes a mysterious event: certain beings called "the sons of God" married "the daughters of men," producing offspring called the Nephilim. How should a careful reader approach the identity of the "sons of God" in this passage?

Answer: The text describes a real event but does not spell out exactly who the "sons of God" were, and thoughtful, Bible-believing readers disagree on the answer

Genesis 6:1-4 reports something unusual: a group the text names the sons of God took wives from among the daughters of men. This pairing produced offspring known as the Nephilim, remembered afterward for their great size and reputation. The passage never pauses to explain exactly who this group was, and careful, Bible-believing readers have understood it differently for centuries. Some think the label points to heavenly beings who overstepped their proper place, since similar wording elsewhere describes beings present at creation. Others think it points to the line of Seth, who had recently begun calling on God's name, marrying into the ungodly line of Cain. Still others think it points to powerful human rulers taking multiple wives by force, since comparable titles are sometimes applied to rulers elsewhere in the Old Testament. Whichever view is correct, the passage plainly treats this event as part of the spreading corruption that leads directly into the LORD's decision, announced right afterward, to send the flood.

  • Genesis 6:1-2 (BSB)
    “Now when men began to multiply on the face of the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they took as wives whomever they chose.”
    Introduces the union between the sons of God and the daughters of men that sets up the rest of the passage.
  • Genesis 6:4 (BSB)
    “The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and afterward as well—when the sons of God had relations with the daughters of men. And they bore them children who became the mighty men of old, men of renown.”
    Names the offspring of this union as the Nephilim, remembered as figures of great strength.
  • Job 38:7 (BSB)
    “while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”
    Uses the same designation for heavenly beings present at creation, part of why some interpreters read Genesis 6:2 the same way.
  • Genesis 4:26 (BSB)
    “And to Seth also a son was born, and he called him Enosh. At that time men began to call upon the name of the LORD.”
    Establishes a distinct, God-worshiping line descended from Seth just before this passage, part of why some read this as that line intermarrying with Cain's ungodly line.
  • Psalm 82:6 (BSB)
    “I have said, ‘You are gods; you are all sons of the Most High.’”
    Applies similar language to human judges or rulers, part of why some interpreters read this passage as referring to powerful human rulers.

Theological

Genesis 6:1-4 introduces the sons of God, the daughters of men, and their offspring, the Nephilim — a passage long debated among serious interpreters (the "Watchers" view of fallen angelic beings, the Sethite view, and the royal/dynastic view being the major options). What does responsible exegesis require here?

Answer: Reading the passage's own silence on the identity question as a call for interpretive restraint, while still taking the union and its offspring as historically real

Genesis 6:1-4 narrates an intermarriage between a group called the sons of God and the daughters of men, naming their offspring the Nephilim and describing them as renowned figures of great stature. The identity of the sons of God is one of the most genuinely disputed exegetical questions in Genesis among serious, conservative interpreters, not a matter the text itself resolves. The angelic-being view draws on this designation's usage elsewhere for heavenly beings and on later Jewish and possibly apostolic testimony; the Sethite view draws on the immediately preceding contrast between Seth's God-calling line and Cain's line; the royal or dynastic view draws on ancient Near Eastern usage of similar titles for rulers. Each position carries genuine textual support and genuine exegetical difficulty, which is why responsible interpreters continue to hold more than one view without dividing fellowship over it. What is not in dispute is the passage's function in this chapter: it is presented as part of the spreading corruption that provokes the LORD's grieved decision, narrated immediately afterward, to judge the earth.

  • Genesis 6:1-2 (BSB)
    “Now when men began to multiply on the face of the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they took as wives whomever they chose.”
    Introduces the union between the sons of God and the daughters of men that sets up the rest of the passage.
  • Genesis 6:4 (BSB)
    “The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and afterward as well—when the sons of God had relations with the daughters of men. And they bore them children who became the mighty men of old, men of renown.”
    Names the offspring of this union as the Nephilim, remembered as figures of great strength.
  • Job 38:7 (BSB)
    “while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”
    Uses the same designation for heavenly beings present at creation, part of why some interpreters read Genesis 6:2 the same way.
  • Genesis 4:26 (BSB)
    “And to Seth also a son was born, and he called him Enosh. At that time men began to call upon the name of the LORD.”
    Establishes a distinct, God-worshiping line descended from Seth just before this passage, part of why some read this as that line intermarrying with Cain's ungodly line.
  • Psalm 82:6 (BSB)
    “I have said, ‘You are gods; you are all sons of the Most High.’”
    Applies similar language to human judges or rulers, part of why some interpreters read this passage as referring to powerful human rulers.

General

True or False: In Genesis 6:3, the LORD declares that His patience with sinful humanity will not last forever, setting a limit before judgment comes.

Answer: True

In Genesis 6:3, the LORD announces a limit on how long He will contend with mankind's sin, pointing to human mortality and naming a period of 120 years. Interpreters differ on whether that number counts down to the flood itself or announces a future limit on human lifespans generally, but the plain point of the verse either way is that God's patience with humanity's sin, though real, is not unending. This matches a pattern seen elsewhere in Scripture: God delays judgment out of genuine patience, giving space for people to turn back, but that patience has a limit and judgment eventually arrives. The chapters that follow show exactly this pattern playing out, as humanity's wickedness continues until the LORD finally acts.

  • Genesis 6:3 (BSB)
    “So the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days shall be 120 years.””
    The LORD announces a limit on His patience with humanity, naming 120 years.
  • 1 Peter 3:20 (BSB)
    “who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In the ark a few people, only eight souls, were saved through water.”
    Describes this same period as one in which God extended patience before judgment fell.
  • 2 Peter 3:9 (BSB)
    “The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise as some understand slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance.”
    States the general principle that God's delay of judgment reflects patience aimed at repentance, not indifference.
  • Psalm 78:38-39 (BSB)
    “And yet He was compassionate; He forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them. He often restrained His anger and did not unleash His full wrath. He remembered that they were but flesh, a passing breeze that does not return.”
    Reflects on God restraining deserved anger toward a sinful people, echoing the limited patience described in Genesis 6:3.

Theological

Genesis 6:3 announces a limit on the Spirit's contending with mankind. Interpreters differ on whether the 120 years names a countdown to the flood or a future reduction in the human lifespan. What theological point does the verse make regardless of that question?

Answer: God's forbearance toward human sin, while real and patient, is not indefinite

Genesis 6:3 declares a limit on the Spirit's contending with humanity, grounding that limit in man's mortality and naming a period of 120 years. Serious interpreters differ over whether this number counts down to the flood itself or announces a future ceiling on human lifespans generally, and the passage does not require settling that question here. What the verse does establish plainly is a principle that recurs throughout Scripture: divine forbearance toward sin, however genuine and often lengthy, is not indefinite. First Peter 3:20 later describes this very stretch of time as a season in which God extended patience during the years Noah spent constructing the vessel, and 2 Peter 3:9 generalizes the pattern, insisting that apparent divine slowness to judge reflects a desire for repentance rather than indifference. Psalm 78:38-39 reflects on this same divine restraint at a different point in Israel's history, showing that God held back deserved anger toward a sinful people without that anger ceasing to be real. Genesis 6:3 thus functions as a hinge, holding together God's genuine patience and His certain, eventual judgment, both of which the following verses bear out.

  • Genesis 6:3 (BSB)
    “So the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days shall be 120 years.””
    The LORD announces a limit on His patience with humanity, naming 120 years.
  • 1 Peter 3:20 (BSB)
    “who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In the ark a few people, only eight souls, were saved through water.”
    Describes this same period as one in which God extended patience before judgment fell.
  • 2 Peter 3:9 (BSB)
    “The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise as some understand slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance.”
    States the general principle that God's delay of judgment reflects patience aimed at repentance, not indifference.
  • Psalm 78:38-39 (BSB)
    “And yet He was compassionate; He forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them. He often restrained His anger and did not unleash His full wrath. He remembered that they were but flesh, a passing breeze that does not return.”
    Reflects on God restraining deserved anger toward a sinful people, echoing the limited patience described in Genesis 6:3.

General

True or False: In Genesis 6:19-21, God instructs Noah to bring two of every kind of living creature into the ark, along with enough food for both people and animals.

Answer: True

Genesis 6:19-21 has God instruct Noah to bring a breeding pair, one male and one female, from each kind of animal aboard so that none would be lost, along with enough provisions gathered ahead of time to feed both his household and every creature through the ordeal to come. This shows God's instructions extending beyond just Noah's own family to the preservation of animal life generally, and includes the very practical detail of stockpiling supplies in advance. The next chapter will refine this instruction further, distinguishing between clean and unclean animals, but the basic principle given here is a simple pattern: a pair from each kind, spared from extinction.

  • Genesis 6:19-21 (BSB)
    “And you are to bring two of every living creature into the ark—male and female—to keep them alive with you. Two of every kind of bird and animal and crawling creature will come to you to be kept alive. You are also to take for yourself every kind of food that is eaten and gather it as food for yourselves and for the animals.””
    God's instruction to preserve two of every kind of creature along with sufficient provisions.
  • Genesis 7:2-3 (BSB)
    “You are to take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate; a pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate; and seven pairs of every kind of bird of the air, male and female, to preserve their offspring on the face of all the earth.”
    Refines this initial instruction by distinguishing clean animals, which are brought in larger numbers.
  • Psalm 36:6 (BSB)
    “Your righteousness is like the highest mountains; Your judgments are like the deepest sea. O LORD, You preserve man and beast.”
    States as a general truth that God's preserving care extends to animal life as well as human life.
  • Job 12:10 (BSB)
    “The life of every living thing is in His hand, as well as the breath of all mankind.”
    Grounds all creaturely life in God's hand, consistent with His concern for the animals preserved here.

Theological

Genesis 6:19-21 instructs Noah to preserve two of every kind of living creature, plus provisions. How does this instruction relate to the scope of God's concern expressed throughout the flood narrative?

Answer: It shows God's preserving purpose in the flood extending beyond humanity alone to encompass the entire created order of animal life

Genesis 6:19-21 has God direct Noah to spare a breeding pair from each kind of creature and lay in enough provisions for the duration ahead — a command whose scope reaches well beyond the survival of Noah's own household to the preservation of animal life as such. This detail matters theologically: the flood narrative consistently presents God's concern as extending to the whole created order, not narrowly to humanity, a pattern confirmed when the covenant formally established in Genesis 9 explicitly includes every living creature. Psalm 36:6 states this same broader providential care as a general truth, that the LORD keeps safe both people and animals, and Job 12:10 grounds all creaturely life, without qualification, in God's hand. Genesis 7:2-3 will shortly refine this initial arrangement by distinguishing clean from unclean animals, but the governing principle established here already frames the flood as an act of preservation for creation broadly, not judgment on humanity alone.

  • Genesis 6:19-21 (BSB)
    “And you are to bring two of every living creature into the ark—male and female—to keep them alive with you. Two of every kind of bird and animal and crawling creature will come to you to be kept alive. You are also to take for yourself every kind of food that is eaten and gather it as food for yourselves and for the animals.””
    God's instruction to preserve two of every kind of creature along with sufficient provisions.
  • Genesis 7:2-3 (BSB)
    “You are to take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate; a pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate; and seven pairs of every kind of bird of the air, male and female, to preserve their offspring on the face of all the earth.”
    Refines this initial instruction by distinguishing clean animals, which are brought in larger numbers.
  • Psalm 36:6 (BSB)
    “Your righteousness is like the highest mountains; Your judgments are like the deepest sea. O LORD, You preserve man and beast.”
    States as a general truth that God's preserving care extends to animal life as well as human life.
  • Job 12:10 (BSB)
    “The life of every living thing is in His hand, as well as the breath of all mankind.”
    Grounds all creaturely life in God's hand, consistent with His concern for the animals preserved here.

General

According to Genesis 6:5, how does the text describe the state of human wickedness just before God decides to send the flood?

Answer: Human hearts were bent toward evil in every thought and desire, without exception

Genesis 6:5 gives one of the starkest descriptions of sin anywhere in Scripture: not just that people did wicked things, but that their inner life, everything they imagined and wanted, had turned consistently toward evil. This is a diagnosis of the root problem, not just the visible symptoms — the corruption reached down to what people desired and pictured in their minds before they ever acted on it. This matches what the rest of the Bible says about the depth of human sin apart from God's grace: a heart naturally bent toward evil, not merely capable of occasional wrongdoing. Strikingly, a nearly identical description of the human heart reappears later in the flood account, after the judgment itself has already fallen, showing that the flood did not fix the underlying problem — only God's ongoing patience and grace explain what happens next.

  • Genesis 6:5 (BSB)
    “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was altogether evil all the time.”
    Describes the depth and constancy of human sin just before God's decision to judge the earth.
  • Jeremiah 17:9 (BSB)
    “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”
    Generalizes the same diagnosis of the human heart as untrustworthy and beyond self-cure.
  • Romans 3:10-12 (BSB)
    “As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.””
    Draws on this same tradition to argue that no one is righteous or seeks God apart from grace.
  • Genesis 8:21 (BSB)
    “When the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, He said in His heart, “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from his youth. And never again will I destroy all living creatures as I have done.”
    Repeats this same description of the human heart after the flood's judgment, showing the flood did not resolve humanity's underlying condition.

Theological

Genesis 6:5 describes the human heart's every intention as consistently oriented toward evil. What doctrine does this verse classically ground, and how does the flood narrative itself qualify any assumption that judgment alone could resolve it?

Answer: Total depravity — sin's corruption of the whole person, including the will and imagination, not merely outward behavior — a diagnosis the flood judgment itself does not cure

Genesis 6:5 states that the human heart's every intention had turned consistently toward evil — a description reaching to the level of desire and imagination, not merely outward deed. This is a foundational Old Testament text behind the doctrine of total depravity: not that every person commits every conceivable sin, but that sin has corrupted the whole person, including the will's basic orientation, so that evil is the heart's settled bent apart from grace. Jeremiah 17:9 later applies the same diagnosis to the human heart as such, calling it untrustworthy and beyond self-cure, and Romans 3:10-12 draws on this same tradition to argue that no one is righteous or seeks God on their own initiative. Tellingly, Genesis 8:21 repeats this identical diagnosis of the heart after the flood's judgment has already fallen, showing that the flood, however severe, did not resolve humanity's underlying condition — a fact that sets up the necessity of God's own subsequent initiative in grace, rather than judgment alone, to address the human heart.

  • Genesis 6:5 (BSB)
    “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was altogether evil all the time.”
    Describes the depth and constancy of human sin just before God's decision to judge the earth.
  • Jeremiah 17:9 (BSB)
    “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”
    Generalizes the same diagnosis of the human heart as untrustworthy and beyond self-cure.
  • Romans 3:10-12 (BSB)
    “As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.””
    Draws on this same tradition to argue that no one is righteous or seeks God apart from grace.
  • Genesis 8:21 (BSB)
    “When the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, He said in His heart, “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from his youth. And never again will I destroy all living creatures as I have done.”
    Repeats this same description of the human heart after the flood's judgment, showing the flood did not resolve humanity's underlying condition.