God wiped out every living thing on the earth—people, livestock, small animals that scurry along the ground, and the birds of the sky. All were destroyed. The only people who survived were Noah and those with him in the boat.
Parallel translations
- WEB Every living thing was destroyed that was on the surface of the ground, including man, livestock, creeping things, and birds of the sky. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ship.
- KJV And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.
- BSB And every living thing on the face of the earth was destroyed—man and livestock, crawling creatures and birds of the air; they were blotted out from the earth, and only Noah and those with him in the ark remained.
- NKJV So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive.
- NASB So He wiped out every living thing that was upon the face of the land, from mankind to animals, to crawling things, and the birds of the sky, and they were wiped out from the earth; and only Noah was left, together with those that were with him in the ark.
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
Every living thing was blotted out, and only Noah and those with him remained. Grace preserves a remnant through judgment.
Overview
The verse contrasts universal destruction with the survival of Noah's household, highlighting the theme of a saved remnant that runs through Scripture. "Only Noah was left" magnifies God's grace amid sweeping judgment. This remnant preserved through the waters anticipates the salvation God secures for his people, ultimately in Christ, the one through whom many are saved.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- 2 Pet 2:5and didn’t spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah with seven others, a preacher of righteousness, when he brought a flood on the world of the ungodly;
- 1 Pet 3:20who before were disobedient, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, while the ship was being built. In it, few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.
- Heb 11:7By faith, Noah, being warned about things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared a ship for the saving of his house, through which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
- Luke 17:26–27As it was in the days of Noah, even so will it be also in the days of the Son of Man.
- 2 Pet 3:6by which means the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished.
- Matt 24:37–39“As the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
- Gen 7:21–22All flesh died that moved on the earth, including birds, livestock, animals, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man.
- Mal 3:17–18They shall be mine,” says Yahweh of Armies, “my own possession in the day that I make, and I will spare them, as a man spares his own son who serves him.
- Job 22:15–17Will you keep the old way, which wicked men have trodden,
- Isa 24:1–8Behold, Yahweh makes the earth empty, makes it waste, turns it upside down, and scatters its inhabitants.
- Matt 25:46These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
- Ps 91:1He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
- Ps 91:9–10Because you have made Yahweh your refuge, and the Most High your dwelling place,
- Job 5:19He will deliver you in six troubles; yes, in seven no evil shall touch you.
- Ezek 14:14–20though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver only their own souls by their righteousness,” says the Lord Yahweh.
- Exod 14:28–30The 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.
- 2 Pet 2:9the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment;
- Prov 11:4Riches don’t profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.
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 7:23 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
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