Genesis 6:7 kjv
And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
Genesis 6:7 nkjv
So the LORD said, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them."
Genesis 6:7 niv
So the LORD said, "I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created?and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground?for I regret that I have made them."
Genesis 6:7 esv
So the LORD said, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them."
Genesis 6:7 nlt
And the LORD said, "I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth. Yes, and I will destroy every living thing ? all the people, the large animals, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and even the birds of the sky. I am sorry I ever made them."
Genesis 6 7 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Gen 6:6 | The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. | Immediate preceding verse, states God's emotional state of grief. |
| Gen 7:21-23 | All flesh that moved on the earth perished... every man. ...blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark. | Fulfillment of God's declaration to blot out life. |
| Gen 1:26-28 | Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image... let them rule over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, over the cattle, over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” | Creation account, showing man's dominion, now reversed due to sin. |
| Gen 9:11, 15 | I establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall never again be cut off by the water of the flood, nor shall there ever again be a flood to destroy the earth. | God's post-flood promise to never again use a flood for global judgment. |
| Deut 29:20 | The LORD will never be willing to forgive him, but rather the anger of the LORD and His jealousy will burn against that man, and every curse which is written in this book will lie upon him, and the LORD will blot out his name. | Blotting out of a name/legacy for disobedience, severe judgment. |
| Exod 32:33 | But the LORD said to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book." | God's power to erase names from His record due to sin. |
| Ps 69:28 | Let them be blotted out of the book of life and not be recorded with the righteous. | The ultimate consequence of being "blotted out"—exclusion from life with God. |
| Prov 1:24-32 | Because I have called and you refused... I also will laugh at your calamity... when panic strikes you like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind. | Wisdom's warning against rejecting instruction, leading to destruction. |
| Isa 13:9-13 | Behold, the day of the LORD is coming... to make the land a desolation... And I will punish the world for their evil... and I will lay low the pride of the arrogant. | Prophecy of a future day of God's wrath and universal judgment. |
| Jer 4:26-28 | I looked, and behold, the fruitful land was a desert; And all its cities were torn down... "The whole land will be a desolation... I will not relent." | God's severe judgment causing desolation; echoes the un-creation. |
| Lam 2:2 | The Lord has devoured without mercy... He has thrown down... He has brought to the ground... He has desecrated the kingdom and its princes. | Depicts God's active destruction as a consuming fire. |
| Amos 9:8 | "Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the face of the earth; Nevertheless, I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob," declares the LORD. | God's specific judgment on a nation, yet preserving a remnant. |
| Zeph 1:2-3 | "I will utterly sweep away everything from the face of the earth," declares the LORD. "I will sweep away man and beast; I will sweep away the birds of the sky and the fish of the sea, and the stumbling blocks with the wicked..." | Future comprehensive judgment echoing the scope of the flood, even fish included. |
| Matt 24:37-39 | "For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah... they were eating and drinking... until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away..." | Jesus refers to the Flood as a historical precursor to the end-time judgment. |
| Luke 17:26-27 | "And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all." | Similar to Matt 24, emphasizes the unexpected nature and totality of the judgment. |
| Heb 11:7 | By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. | Noah's obedience through faith in the face of impending judgment. |
| 1 Pet 3:20 | ...when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. | Highlights God's patient long-suffering before enacting judgment. |
| 2 Pet 2:5 | ...and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly. | God's justice in destroying the ungodly world while preserving Noah. |
| 2 Pet 3:5-7 | For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, through which the world at that time was deluged and perished. ...the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment... | Explains the flood as a historical event of judgment, foreshadowing final judgment by fire. |
| Rev 3:5 | "He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels." | Promise against "blotting out" for the faithful, contrasting with God's judgment. |
| Rev 20:15 | And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. | Final judgment based on inclusion or exclusion from the book of life, showing ultimate blotting out. |
Genesis 6 verses
Genesis 6 7 Meaning
Genesis 6:7 states the Lord's definitive declaration of judgment against humanity and all living creatures on the earth, excluding marine life. Following a period of profound human wickedness that grieved the divine heart, God resolved to utterly "blot out" His creation from the earth's surface—from man to land animals, creeping things, and birds. This judgment was a direct, sorrowful, yet just consequence of pervasive sin, indicating God's determination to purge the world of its overwhelming corruption and evil intent. It underscores divine sovereignty over life and creation, establishing a severe precedent for the consequences of persistent unrighteousness.
Genesis 6 7 Context
Genesis 6:7 is situated within a critical narrative section that marks a profound downturn in human moral and spiritual condition following the Fall. The preceding verses (Gen 6:1-4) describe the proliferation of unholy alliances ("sons of God" and "daughters of men") leading to the rise of powerful figures ("Nephilim") and intensifying spiritual corruption. More directly, Gen 6:5 portrays God's observation of humanity: "The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." This profound depravity served as the immediate justification for God's impending judgment. Genesis 6:6 then expresses God's sorrow and grief over having made man, laying the emotional groundwork for the decisive action of verse 7. This verse initiates the divine decree for the global flood, setting the stage for the extensive flood narrative that follows in chapters 7 and 8, where Noah finds favor and becomes the instrument of preservation for life on earth. Historically and culturally, this narrative stands in contrast to ancient Near Eastern flood myths (e.g., Epic of Gilgamesh, Atra-Hasis Epic), which often depict floods as chaotic events resulting from the capricious whims or irritation of deities. In Genesis, the flood is a just, measured, and morally necessary judgment by a sovereign and holy God responding to humanity's profound wickedness and moral corruption, a clear polemic against pagan deities lacking moral purpose.
Genesis 6 7 Word analysis
- So the Lord said: Indicates a divine decree and sovereign utterance. It highlights God's active agency and deliberateness in judgment.
- I will blot out: Hebrew: machah (מָחָה). This strong verb means to wipe away, erase, efface, or obliterate. It implies a total and deliberate removal, as if erasing writing from a tablet or a stain from cloth. It is not merely punishment but the annulment of existence from the surface of the earth.
- man whom I have created: Hebrew: ha'adam asher barati (הָאָדָם אֲשֶׁר בָּרָאתִי). Directly links the decision to wipe out with the act of creation. It emphasizes that the very beings brought into existence by God Himself are now subject to His judgment. This highlights the severity of man's fallen state, requiring a reversal of the creative act.
- from the face of the land: Hebrew: m`al p'nei ha'adamah (מֵעַל פְּנֵי הָאֲדָמָה). This phrase signifies the earth's surface and reinforces the global scope of the destruction. It connects man's destiny to the adamah (ground) from which he was formed, emphasizing a comprehensive purging of the inhabited world.
- from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky: Hebrew: mi'adam ad-behemah ad-remes ve'ad-'oph ha'shamayim. This is a merism, indicating the totality of all air-breathing terrestrial and avian life. Animals are included because they were part of the creation over which man had dominion, and their existence was intertwined with human fate and the earth's integrity. Their inclusion underscores the comprehensive nature of the judgment against a corrupted world, which affects all life connected to its "face."
- for I am sorry that I have made them: Hebrew: ki nikhamti ki asitim. The verb nacham (נָחַם) here implies "regret," "grieved," or "relented." This is an anthropopathic expression of God's deep sorrow and changed stance in relation to His creatures' actions, not a change in His eternal character or purposes. God does not make mistakes (Num 23:19). Rather, it describes a righteous shift in divine interaction—from gracious creation to just judgment—because humanity profoundly rejected His moral order. It communicates divine anguish over human sin and a consequent resolute will to act.
Genesis 6 7 Bonus section
The phrase "I am sorry that I have made them" employs a powerful anthropomorphism, portraying God's reaction in terms understandable to human experience. It signifies a profound grief and change in God's administrative approach due to humanity's radically changed state, rather than a theological change in His perfect, unchangeable nature. God’s grief here indicates His absolute holiness cannot coexist indefinitely with pervasive, unrepented sin. The universality of the judgment, including animals, underscores the interconnectedness of creation and how human sin affects the entire created order, anticipating Paul's declaration in Romans 8:20-22 that creation itself groans under the curse of human fallenness. This event also establishes a theological precedent for future global judgments, such as the final judgment often referred to as the "Day of the Lord," affirming God's ongoing sovereignty and His just response to persistent sin throughout history.
Genesis 6 7 Commentary
Genesis 6:7 reveals a pivotal moment in divine history, showcasing God's profound grief over pervasive human wickedness and His subsequent decisive resolve to judge the corrupted world. The language used, "I will blot out," conveys a deliberate and thorough removal of all air-breathing life from the earth, reversing the divine act of creation due to man's continuous evil. This wasn't a whimsical or arbitrary decision but a sorrowful necessity stemming from God's holiness and justice in response to humanity's rebellion that corrupted even the animal kingdom tethered to it. The "blotting out" reflects an un-creation, a wiping clean of the earth's slate. While God expressed "sorrow," it's crucial to understand this as an anthropopathic expression of deep, righteous indignation and anguish over human sin, leading to a shift in His covenantal dealing with humanity, not a sign of imperfection or changeableness in His divine character. This verse sets the stage for the universal judgment of the flood, which, though devastating, paradoxically also preserves a remnant through Noah, demonstrating that even in judgment, God maintains a plan for redemption.