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Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people
of his time. Noah walked with God and served Him daily.
Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.
Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight
and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt
the earth had became. So God said to Noah make
yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it
and coat it with pitch inside and out.
Build it 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high.
Make a roof for it and finish the ark to within 18 inches
of the top. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower,
middle and upper decks.
I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy
all life under the Heavens. But I will establish my covenant
with you, and you in the ark. You and your sons and your wife
and your sons' wives will be safe. You are to bring two
of all living creatures, male and female into the ark.
You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten
and store it away as food for you and for them. Noah
did everything as God commanded him. Noah was 600
years old when the flood waters came.
The floodgates of the Heavens were opened.
Rain fell on the earth 40 days and 40 nights.
The waters rose and covered the mountains.
Every living creature that moved upon the earth perished.
Only Noah and those in the ark was left. God remembered Noah
and all that was with him and He sent a wind over the earth,
and the waters receded.
After 40 days Noah opened the window of the ark
and sent out a raven. It kept flying back and forth until
the water had dried up from the earth.
Then he sent a dove to see if the water had gone.
But the dove returned and could find no place to set its feet.
Noah waited 7 more days and sent the dove out again.
When the dove returned it had in its beak a freshly plucked
olive leaf. He waited 7 more days and sent out the dove again,
but this time it did not return. The earth was completely dry
and God told Noah to come out and bring all with him.
So Noah came out with all the creatures and his family.
Then Noah built an altar to the Lord.
The Lord said never again will I curse the ground.
And never again will I destroy all living creatures.
As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest,
cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.
God set His sign in the sky a rainbow as a covenant between
Him and the earth.
When the rainbow appears in the clouds,
remember Noah and the promise God made.
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