Genesis 7:1-24

7:1 The Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, for I consider you godly among this generation. 7:2 You must take with you seven of every kind of clean animal, the male and its mate, two of every kind of unclean animal, the male and its mate, 7:3 and also seven of every kind of bird in the sky, male and female, to preserve their offspring on the face of the earth. 7:4 For in seven days I will cause it to rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the ground every living thing that I have made.”

7:5 And Noah did all 10  that the Lord commanded him.

7:6 Noah 11  was 600 years old when the floodwaters engulfed 12  the earth. 7:7 Noah entered the ark along with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives because 13  of the floodwaters. 7:8 Pairs 14  of clean animals, of unclean animals, of birds, and of everything that creeps along the ground, 7:9 male and female, came into the ark to Noah, 15  just as God had commanded him. 16  7:10 And after seven days the floodwaters engulfed the earth. 17 

7:11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month – on that day all the fountains of the great deep 18  burst open and the floodgates of the heavens 19  were opened. 7:12 And the rain fell 20  on the earth forty days and forty nights.

7:13 On that very day Noah entered the ark, accompanied by his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, along with his wife and his sons’ three wives. 21  7:14 They entered, 22  along with every living creature after its kind, every animal after its kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, everything with wings. 23  7:15 Pairs 24  of all creatures 25  that have the breath of life came into the ark to Noah. 7:16 Those that entered were male and female, 26  just as God commanded him. Then the Lord shut him in.

7:17 The flood engulfed the earth for forty days. As the waters increased, they lifted the ark and raised it above the earth. 7:18 The waters completely overwhelmed 27  the earth, and the ark floated 28  on the surface of the waters. 7:19 The waters completely inundated 29  the earth so that even 30  all the high mountains under the entire sky were covered. 7:20 The waters rose more than twenty feet 31  above the mountains. 32  7:21 And all living things 33  that moved on the earth died, including the birds, domestic animals, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all humankind. 7:22 Everything on dry land that had the breath of life 34  in its nostrils died. 7:23 So the Lord 35  destroyed 36  every living thing that was on the surface of the ground, including people, animals, creatures that creep along the ground, and birds of the sky. 37  They were wiped off the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark survived. 38  7:24 The waters prevailed over 39  the earth for 150 days.

Genesis 13:1

Abram’s Solution to the Strife

13:1 So Abram went up from Egypt into the Negev. 40  He took his wife and all his possessions with him, as well as Lot. 41 

Genesis 14:4

14:4 For twelve years 42  they had served Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year 43  they rebelled. 44 

Daniel 2:37-38

Daniel Interprets Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

2:37 “You, O king, are the king of kings. The God of heaven has granted you sovereignty, power, strength, and honor. 2:38 Wherever human beings, 45  wild animals, 46  and birds of the sky live – he has given them into your power. 47  He has given you authority over them all. You are the head of gold.

Revelation 17:3-5

17:3 So 48  he carried me away in the Spirit 49  to a wilderness, 50  and there 51  I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. 17:4 Now 52  the woman was dressed in purple and scarlet clothing, 53  and adorned with gold, 54  precious stones, and pearls. She held 55  in her hand a golden cup filled with detestable things and unclean things from her sexual immorality. 56  17:5 On 57  her forehead was written a name, a mystery: 58  “Babylon the Great, the Mother of prostitutes and of the detestable things of the earth.”

Revelation 17:18

17:18 As for 59  the woman you saw, she is the great city that has sovereignty over the kings of the earth.”

Revelation 18:7

18:7 As much as 60  she exalted herself and lived in sensual luxury, 61  to this extent give her torment and grief because she said to herself, 62  ‘I rule as queen and am no widow; I will never experience grief!’

Revelation 18:16-19

18:16 saying,

“Woe, woe, O great city –

dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet clothing, 63 

and adorned with gold, 64  precious stones, and pearls –

18:17 because in a single hour such great wealth has been destroyed!” 65 

And every ship’s captain, 66  and all who sail along the coast 67  – seamen, and all who 68  make their living from the sea, stood a long way off 18:18 and began to shout 69  when they saw the smoke from the fire that burned her up, 70  “Who is like the great city?” 18:19 And they threw dust on their heads and were shouting with weeping and mourning, 71 

“Woe, Woe, O great city –

in which all those who had ships on the sea got rich from her wealth –

because in a single hour she has been destroyed!” 72 


tn Heb “for you I see [as] godly before me in this generation.” The direct object (“you”) is placed first in the clause to give it prominence. The verb “to see” here signifies God’s evaluative discernment.

tn Or “seven pairs” (cf. NRSV).

sn For a study of the Levitical terminology of “clean” and “unclean,” see L. E. Toombs, IDB 1:643.

tn Heb “a male and his female” (also a second time at the end of this verse). The terms used here for male and female animals (אִישׁ, ’ish) and אִשָּׁה, ’ishah) normally refer to humans.

tn Or “seven pairs” (cf. NRSV).

tn Here (and in v. 9) the Hebrew text uses the normal generic terms for “male and female” (זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה, zakhar unÿqevah).

tn Heb “to keep alive offspring.”

tn Heb “for seven days yet,” meaning “after [or “in”] seven days.”

tn The Hiphil participle מַמְטִיר (mamtir, “cause to rain”) here expresses the certainty of the act in the imminent future.

10 tn Heb “according to all.”

11 tn Heb “Now Noah was.” The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + predicate nominative after implied “to be” verb) provides background information. The age of Noah receives prominence.

12 tn Heb “and the flood was water upon.” The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) is circumstantial/temporal in relation to the preceding clause. The verb הָיָה (hayah) here carries the nuance “to come” (BDB 225 s.v. הָיָה). In this context the phrase “come upon” means “to engulf.”

13 tn The preposition מִן (min) is causal here, explaining why Noah and his family entered the ark.

14 tn Heb “two two” meaning “in twos.”

15 tn The Hebrew text of vv. 8-9a reads, “From the clean animal[s] and from the animal[s] which are not clean and from the bird[s] and everything that creeps on the ground, two two they came to Noah to the ark, male and female.”

16 tn Heb “Noah”; the pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

17 tn Heb “came upon.”

18 tn The Hebrew term תְּהוֹם (tÿhom, “deep”) refers to the watery deep, the salty ocean – especially the primeval ocean that surrounds and underlies the earth (see Gen 1:2).

19 sn On the prescientific view of the sky reflected here, see L. I. J. Stadelmann, The Hebrew Conception of the World (AnBib), 46.

20 tn Heb “was.”

21 tn Heb “On that very day Noah entered, and Shem and Ham and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and the wife of Noah, and the three wives of his sons with him into the ark.”

22 tn The verb “entered” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

23 tn Heb “every bird, every wing.”

24 tn Heb “two two” meaning “in twos.”

25 tn Heb “flesh.”

26 tn Heb “Those that went in, male and female from all flesh they went in.”

27 tn Heb “and the waters were great and multiplied exceedingly.” The first verb in the sequence is וַיִּגְבְּרוּ (vayyigbÿru, from גָּבַר, gavar), meaning “to become great, mighty.” The waters did not merely rise; they “prevailed” over the earth, overwhelming it.

28 tn Heb “went.”

29 tn Heb “and the waters were great exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition emphasizes the depth of the waters.

30 tn Heb “and.”

31 tn Heb “rose fifteen cubits.” Since a cubit is considered by most authorities to be about eighteen inches, this would make the depth 22.5 feet. This figure might give the modern reader a false impression of exactness, however, so in the translation the phrase “fifteen cubits” has been rendered “more than twenty feet.”

32 tn Heb “the waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward and they covered the mountains.” Obviously, a flood of twenty feet did not cover the mountains; the statement must mean the flood rose about twenty feet above the highest mountain.

33 tn Heb “flesh.”

34 tn Heb “everything which [has] the breath of the spirit of life in its nostrils from all which is in the dry land.”

35 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

36 tn Heb “wiped away” (cf. NRSV “blotted out”).

37 tn Heb “from man to animal to creeping thing and to the bird of the sky.”

38 tn The Hebrew verb שָׁאָר (shaar) means “to be left over; to survive” in the Niphal verb stem. It is the word used in later biblical texts for the remnant that escapes judgment. See G. F. Hasel, “Semantic Values of Derivatives of the Hebrew Root r,” AUSS 11 (1973): 152-69.

39 sn The Hebrew verb translated “prevailed over” suggests that the waters were stronger than the earth. The earth and everything in it were no match for the return of the chaotic deep.

40 tn Or “the South [country]” (also in v. 3).

41 tn Heb “And Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all which was his, and Lot with him, to the Negev.”

42 tn The sentence simply begins with “twelve years”; it serves as an adverbial accusative giving the duration of their bondage.

43 tn This is another adverbial accusative of time.

44 sn The story serves as a foreshadowing of the plight of the kingdom of Israel later. Eastern powers came and forced the western kingdoms into submission. Each year, then, they would send tribute east – to keep them away. Here, in the thirteenth year, they refused to send the tribute (just as later Hezekiah rebelled against Assyria). And so in the fourteenth year the eastern powers came to put them down again. This account from Abram’s life taught future generations that God can give victory over such threats – that people did not have to live in servitude to tyrants from the east.

45 tn Aram “the sons of man.”

46 tn Aram “the beasts of the field.”

47 tn Aram “hand.”

48 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the angel’s invitation to witness the fate of the prostitute.

49 tn Or “in the spirit.” “Spirit” could refer either to the Holy Spirit or the human spirit, but in either case John was in “a state of spiritual exaltation best described as a trance” (R. H. Mounce, Revelation [NICNT], 75).

50 tn Or “desert.”

51 tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.

52 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the detailed description of the woman, which is somewhat parenthetical in nature.

53 tn The word “clothing” is supplied to clarify that the words “purple” and “scarlet” refer to cloth or garments rather than colors.

54 tn Grk “gilded with gold” (an instance of semantic reinforcement, see L&N 49.29).

55 tn Grk “pearls, having in her hand.” Due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

56 tc Several mss (including 1611 1854 2053 ÏK pc) read “sexual immorality on/of the earth” (πορνείας τῆς γῆς, porneia" th" gh") instead of “her sexual immorality.” Other mss (א syh** [co]) read “her sexual immorality and the earth’s” (πορνείας αὐτῆς καὶ τῆς γῆς, porneia" aujth" kai th" gh"). The translation is a rendering of πορνείας αὐτῆς, found in {A 1006 2344 al}. It seems that the first reading “sexuality immorality on/of the earth” was a scribal mistake in which letters may have been confused (auths would have been read as thsghs), or was perhaps influenced by the presence of “of the world” (τῆς γῆς) at the end of v. 5. The original wording seems to be “her sexual immorality”; codex א has conflated the two readings.

57 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

58 tn Some translations consider the word μυστήριον (musthrion, “mystery”) a part of the name written (“Mystery Babylon the Great,” so KJV, NIV), but the gender of both ὄνομα (onoma, “name”) and μυστήριον are neuter, while the gender of “Babylon” is feminine. This strongly suggests that μυστήριον should be understood as an appositive to ὄνομα (“a name, i.e., a mystery”).

59 tn Grk “And.” Because this remark is somewhat resumptive in nature, “as for” is used in the translation.

60 tn “As much as” is the translation of ὅσα (Josa).

61 tn On the term ἐστρηνίασεν (estrhniasen) BDAG 949 s.v. στρηνιάω states, “live in luxury, live sensually Rv 18:7. W. πορνεύειν vs. 9.”

62 tn Grk “said in her heart,” an idiom for saying something to oneself.

63 tn The word “clothing” is supplied to clarify that the words “purple” and “scarlet” refer to cloth or garments rather than colors.

64 tn Grk “gilded with gold” (an instance of semantic reinforcement, see L&N 49.29).

65 tn On ἠρημώθη (hrhmwqh) L&N 20.41 states, “to suffer destruction, with the implication of being deserted and abandoned – ‘to be destroyed, to suffer destruction, to suffer desolation.’ ἐρημόομαι: μιᾷ ὥρᾳ ἠρημώθη ὁ τοσοῦτος πλοῦτος ‘such great wealth has been destroyed within a single hour’ Re 18:17.”

66 tn On κυβερνήτης (kubernhth") BDAG 574 s.v. 1 states, “one who is responsible for the management of a ship, shipmaster, lit. Rv 18:17.”

67 tn Or perhaps, “everyone who sails as a passenger.” On πλέων (plewn) BDAG 825 s.v. πλέω states, “πᾶς ὁ ἐπὶ τόπον πλέων everyone who sails to a place = seafarer, sea traveler…Rv 18:17. The vv.ll.…have led to various interpretations. Some render: everyone who sails along the coast…See EbNestle, Einführung in das Griech. NT 1909, 182; AFridrichsen, K. Hum. Vetensk.-Samf. i Upps. Årsb. ’43, 31 note ὁ ἐπίτοπον πλέων=one who sails occasionally, a passenger. – S. also IHeikel, StKr 106, ’34/’35, 317).”

68 tn Grk “and as many as.”

69 tn Here the imperfect ἔκραζον (ekrazon) has been translated ingressively.

70 tn Grk “from the burning of her, saying.” For the translation “the smoke from the fire that burned her up,” see L&N 14.63. Here the participle λέγοντες (legontes, “saying”) has not been translated because it is redundant in contemporary English.

71 tn Grk “with weeping and mourning, saying.” Here the participle λέγοντες (legontes) has not been translated because it is redundant in contemporary English.

72 tn On ἡρημώθη (Jhrhmwqh) L&N 20.41 states, “to suffer destruction, with the implication of being deserted and abandoned – ‘to be destroyed, to suffer destruction, to suffer desolation.’ ἐρημόομαι: μιᾷ ὥρᾳ ἠρημώθη ὁ τοσοῦτος πλοῦτος ‘such great wealth has been destroyed within a single hour’ Re 18:17.”