Limitless Word
The waters receded steadily from the earth, and after 150 days the waters had gone down.
Genesis 8:3 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB The waters continually receded from the earth. After the end of one hundred fifty days the waters decreased.
  • KJV And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated.
  • NKJV And the waters receded continually from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters decreased.
  • NASB and the water receded steadily from the earth, and at the end of 150 days the water decreased.
  • NLT So the floodwaters gradually receded from the earth. After 150 days,

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 steadily receded, decreasing after one hundred fifty days. God begins to dry the earth for new life.

Overview

The gradual receding shows God's orderly reversal of the flood and his faithfulness to preserve Noah. The mention of the appointed period underscores that all unfolds on God's timetable. This steady restoration of the land anticipates the renewal of life that God will establish after judgment.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 2

  • Gen 7:24And the waters prevailed upon the earth for 150 days.
  • Gen 7:11In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month, all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.

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 8:3YouTube · 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 8:3 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.