Genesis 6:1-13

When people began to populate the earth, they had many lovely daughters. Divine beings found them very appealing, so they took the women they wanted as their wives. YAHWEH said, “My Spirit will not strive with humanity indefinitely, for they are mortal. Their life span will be shortened to only one hundred and twenty years.” Back then, and later, there were giants on the earth, who were born as a result of the unholy union of heavenly beings with the human daughters. They were the mighty ones of old, warriors of renown. But YAHWEH saw how extremely wicked humanity had become, for they imagined only evil, for all they thought about was doing evil all the time. And YAHWEH was saddened that he had made humanity, and his heart was filled with pain. So YAHWEH decided, “I will do away with my ruined creation—human beings that I created—people and animals, creeping things and flying birds, for it breaks my heart that I made them!” But one man discovered grace before the face of YAHWEH: Noah. This is the story of Noah. Noah was a godly man of integrity, without fault in his generation, and he lived close to God. Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Injustice and violence filled the world; the earth was ruined in the sight of God, for he saw how debased the world had become, for everyone was corrupt to the core. So God said to Noah, “I have decided that all living creatures must die, for their violence has filled the earth, and I will wipe them off the face of the earth!