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Greek: Septuagint (LXX)
English: John Barach
Chapter 6
Corruption of Mankind
1 Καὶ ἐγένετο ἡνίκα ἤρξαντο οἱ ἄνθρωποι πολλοὶ γίνεσθαι ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, καὶ θυγατέρες ἐγενήθησαν αὐτοῖς. 2 ἰδόντες δὲ οἱ υἱοὶ τοῦ θεοῦ τὰς θυγατέρας τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ὅτι καλαί εἰσιν, ἔλαβον ἑαυτοῖς γυναῖκας ἀπὸ πασῶν, ὧν ἐξελέξαντο. 3 καὶ εἶπεν κύριος ὁ θεός, οὐ μὴ καταμείνῃ τὸ πνεῦμά μου ἐν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τούτοις εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, διὰ τὸ εἶναι αὐτοὺς σάρκας· ἔσονται δὲ αἱ ἡμέραι αὐτῶν, ἑκατὸν εἴκοσι ἔτη. 4 οἱ δὲ γίγαντες ἦσαν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις, καὶ μετ' ἐκεῖνο, ὡς ἄν εἰσεπορεύοντο οἱ υἱοὶ τοῦ θεοῦ πρὸς τὰς θυγατέρας τῶν ἀνθρώπων, καὶ ἐγεννῶσαν ἑαυτοῖς·1 ἐκεῖνοι ἦσαν οἱ γίγαντες οἱ ἀπ' αἰῶνος, οἱ ἄνθρωποι οἱ ὀνομαστοί. 1 And it came to pass when men began to become many upon the earth, and daughters were born to them, 2 that the sons of God, having seen the daughters of men that they were beautiful, took for themselves wives from all whom they chose. 3 And the Lord God said, "My spirit shall not remain in these men forever, because they are flesh; but their days shall be one hundred and twenty years." 4 Now the giants were upon the earth in those days, and after that, whenever the sons of God went in to the daughters of men, they bore children to them; those were the giants of old, the men of renown.
5 Ἰδὼν δὲ κύριος ὁ θεός, ὅτι ἐπληθύνθησαν αἱ κακίαι τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, καὶ πᾶς τις διανοεῖται ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ ἐπιμελῶς ἐπὶ τὰ πονηρὰ πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας. 6 καὶ ἐνεθυμήθη ὁ θεός, ὅτι ἐποίησεν τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, καὶ διενοήθη. 7 καὶ εἶπεν ὁ θεός, ἀπαλείψω τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ὃν ἐποίησα, ἀπὸ προσώπου τῆς γῆς ἀπὸ ἀνθρώπου ἕως κτήνους, καὶ ἀπὸ ἑρπετῶν ἕως τῶν πετεινῶν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ· ὅτι ἐθυμώθην, ὅτι ἐποίησα αὐτούς. 5 And the Lord God, having seen that the wickednesses of men were multiplied upon the earth, and that everyone intended in his heart carefully toward evil things all the days, 6 then God considered that He had made man upon the earth, and He reflected.[1] 7 And God said, "I will blot out man, whom I made, from the face of the earth, from man to cattle, and from creeping things to the birds of the heaven; for I am grieved that I made them."
[1]In some translations, God is said to "repent" (metamelomai). However, the LXX here uses ἐνεθυμήθη (to consider/reflect) and διενοήθη (to ponder/weigh). This choice avoids the theological difficulty of implying that an omniscient God "changed His mind" in the sense of a mistake, focusing instead on His emotional response to human corruption.
8 Νῶε δὲ εὗρεν χάριν ἐναντίον κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ. 9 αὗται δὲ αἱ γενέσεις Νῶε· Νῶε ἄνθρωπος δίκαιος, τέλειος ὢν ἐν τῇ γενεᾷ αὐτοῦ, τῷ θεῷ εὐηρέστησεν Νῶε. 10 ἐγέννησεν δὲ Νῶε τρεῖς υἱούς, τὸν Σήμ, τὸν Χάμ, τὸν Ἰάφεθ. 11 ἐφθάρη δὲ ἡ γῆ ἐναντίον τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ ἐπλήσθη ἡ γῆ ἀδικίας. 12 καὶ εἶδεν κύριος ὁ θεὸς τὴν γῆν, καὶ ἦν κατεφθαρμένη· ὅτι κατέφθειρεν πᾶσα σὰρξ τὴν ὁδὸν αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. 13 καὶ εἶπεν [κύριος] ὁ θεὸς [πρὸς] Νῶε, καιρὸς παντὸς ἀνθρώπου ἥκει ἐναντίον μου, ὅτι ἐπλήσθη ἡ γῆ ἀδικίας ἀπ' αὐτῶν· καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ καταφθείρω αὐτοὺς καὶ τὴν γῆν. 8 But Noah found grace before the Lord God. 9 And these are the generations of Noah: Noah was a righteous man, being perfect in his generation;[1] Noah was well-pleasing to God. 10 And Noah fathered three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11 And the earth was corrupted before God, and the earth was filled with injustice. 12 And the Lord God saw the earth, and it was corrupted; for all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth. 13 And the Lord God said to Noah, "The time of every man has come before me, because the earth has been filled with injustice by them; and behold, I am destroying them and the earth."
[1]Noah is described as δίκαιος (righteous) and τέλειος (perfect/complete). In the LXX, these terms align Noah with the later Greek philosophical ideals of virtue (aretē), setting him apart from the "injustice" (adikia) that filled the rest of the earth.
14 Ποίησον οὖν σεαυτῷ κιβωτὸν ἐκ ξύλων τετραγώνων· νοσσιὰς ποιήσεις τὴν κιβωτόν· καὶ ἀσφαλτώσεις ποιήσεις αὐτὴν ἔσωθεν καὶ ἔξωθεν τῇ ἀσφάλτῳ. 15 καὶ οὕτως ποιήσεις τὴν κιβωτόν· τριακοσίων πήχεων τὸ μῆκος τῆς κιβωτοῦ, καὶ πεντήκοντα πήχεων τὸ πλάτος, καὶ τριάκοντα πήχεων τὸ ὕψος αὐτῆς. 16 ἐπισυνάγων ποιήσεις τὴν κιβωτόν, καὶ εἰς πῆχυν συντελέσεις αὐτὴν ἄνωθεν· τὴν δὲ θύραν τῆς κιβωτοῦ ποιήσεις ἐκ πλαγίων· κατάγαια διώροφα καὶ τριώροφα ποιήσεις αὐτήν. 17 ἐγὼ δὲ ἰδοὺ ἐπάγω τὸν κατακλυσμόν ὕδωρ ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν, καταφθεῖραι πᾶσαν σάρκα, ἐν ᾗ ἐστιν πνεῦμα ζωῆς ὑποκάτω τοῦ οὐρανοῦ· καὶ ὅσα ἐὰν ᾖ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς τελευτήσει. 14 "Make therefore for yourself an ark of squared timber; you shall make the ark in nests;[1] and you shall cover it with pitch inside and outside with the pitch. 15 And thus you shall make the ark: three hundred cubits the length of the ark, and fifty cubits the breadth, and thirty cubits the height of it.[2] 16 Narrowing it, you shall make the ark, and to a cubit you shall finish it from above; and the door of the ark you shall make from the sides; you shall make it with lower, second, and third stories. 17 And behold, I am bringing the flood, water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the spirit of life under heaven; and as many things as may be upon the earth shall die."
[1]The Greek word νοσσιάς (nossias) literally means "nests" or "broods." This translates the Hebrew word for "rooms" or "compartments," perhaps emphasizing the ark as a place of protection for the "young" or "offspring" of every species.
[2] 300x50x30 cubits = 133x22x13 metres (437x73x44 ft)
18 Καὶ στήσω τὴν διαθήκην μου πρὸς σέ2· εἰσελεύσῃ δὲ εἰς τὴν κιβωτόν σύ, καὶ οἱ υἱοί σου, καὶ ἡ γυνή σου, καὶ αἱ γυναῖκες τῶν υἱῶν σου μετά σου. 19 καὶ ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν κτηνῶν, καὶ ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν ἑρπετῶν, καὶ ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν θηρίων, καὶ ἀπὸ πάσης σαρκός δύο δύο ἀπὸ πάντων εἰσάξεις εἰς τὴν κιβωτόν, ἵνα τρέφῃς μετὰ σεαυτοῦ· ἄρσεν καὶ θῆλυ ἔσονται. 20 ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν ὀρνέων τῶν πετεινῶν κατὰ γένος, καὶ ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν κτηνῶν κατὰ γένος, καὶ ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν ἑρπετῶν τῶν ἑρπόντων ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς κατὰ γένος αὐτῶν, δύο δύο ἀπὸ πάντων εἰσελεύσονται πρὸς σὲ τρέφεσθαι μετὰ σου, ἄρσεν καὶ θῆλυ. 21 σὺ δὲ λήμψῃ σεαυτῷ ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν βρωμάτων ἃ ἔδεσθε, καὶ συνάξεις πρὸς σεαυτόν, καὶ ἔσται σοί καὶ ἐκείνοις φαγεῖν. 22 καὶ ἐποίησεν Νῶε πάντα ὅσα ἐνετείλατο αὐτῷ κύριος ὁ θεός, οὕτως ἐποίησεν. 18 "And I will establish my covenant with you; and you shall enter into the ark, you and your sons, and your wife, and the wives of your sons with you. 19 And from all the cattle, and from all the creeping things, and from all the wild animals, and from all flesh, two of each from all you shall bring into the ark, that you may nourish them with yourself; they shall be male and female. 20 From all the winged birds according to kind, and from all the cattle according to kind, and from all the creeping things that creep upon the earth according to their kind, two of each from all shall come in to you to be nourished with you, male and female. 21 And you shall take for yourself from all the foods which you eat, and you shall gather them to yourself, and it shall be for you and for them to eat." 22 And Noah did all things as many as the Lord God commanded him; so he did.