Limitless Word
As the waters rose higher and higher above the ground, the boat floated safely on the surface.
Genesis 7:18 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB The waters rose, and increased greatly on the earth; and the ship floated on the surface of the waters.
  • KJV And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters.
  • BSB So the waters continued to surge and rise greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the waters.
  • NKJV The waters prevailed and greatly increased on the earth, and the ark moved about on the surface of the waters.
  • NASB The water prevailed and increased greatly upon the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

The waters rose greatly, and the ark floated on the surface. God preserves the ark amid the rising flood.

Overview

As the waters increase, the ark floats securely, sustained by God's care. The floating ark testifies that those in God's refuge are kept safe even when judgment is at its height. This quiet preservation amid overwhelming waters foreshadows the believer's security in Christ through every storm.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 4

  • Exod 14:28The waters returned, and covered the chariots and the horsemen, even all Pharaoh’s army that went in after them into the sea. There remained not so much as one of them.
  • Job 22:16who were snatched away before their time, whose foundation was poured out as a stream,
  • Ps 104:26There the ships go, and leviathan, whom you formed to play there.
  • Ps 69:15Don’t let the flood waters overwhelm me, neither let the deep swallow me up. Don’t let the pit shut its mouth on me.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Genesis videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Genesis 7:18YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on GenesisMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.

How Genesis 7:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.