Of all that was on dry land, everything that had the breath of life in its nostrils died.
Parallel translations
- WEB All on the dry land, in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died.
- KJV All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died.
- NKJV All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land, died.
- NASB of all that was on the dry land, all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died.
- NLT Everything that breathed and lived on dry land died.
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
Everything on dry land with the breath of life in its nostrils died. The judgment is total for land-dwelling life.
Overview
The phrase recalling the "breath of life" given at creation underscores that the flood reversed the gift of life for the unrepentant world. Only those preserved in the ark escaped. This solemn verse displays both the gravity of sin and God's righteous response, while pointing to the refuge he graciously provides.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Gen 2:7Then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.
- Gen 6:17And 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.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 7:22 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.