Genesis 6:13
in Genesis 6Then God said to Noah, “The end of all living creatures has come before Me, because through them the earth is full of violence. Now behold, I will destroy both them and the earth.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
KJV
And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
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This verse in Genesis 6
Commentary
8 notes on this verseI will destroy them with the earth - Not only the human race was to he destroyed, but all terrestrial animals, i.e. those which could not live in the waters. These must necessarily be destroyed when the whole surface of the earth was drowned. But destroying the earth may probably mean the alteration of its constitution. Dr. Woodward, in his natural history of the earth, has rendered it exceedingly probable that the whole terrestrial substance was amalgamated with the waters, after which the different materials of its composition settled in beds or strata according to their respective gravities.
This site's exposition
The end of all living creatures has come before Me
on Genesis 6:13-14
God tells Noah what is coming and then tells him to build the thing that will carry him through it. The Hebrew word for ark, tebah, stands in one other place in Scripture, the basket of reeds daubed with pitch that carried the infant Moses at Exodus 2:3. Gopher wood is named once, and the species is unknown. The word for the pitch is close kin to the word for atonement.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
He said to Noah: The end of all flesh has come before me; the earth is filled with iniquity because of them, and I will destroy them with the earth.
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
): The end of all flesh has come before me; I will destroy them; that is, the ruin of this wicked world is decreed and determined; it has come, that is, it will come surely, and come quickly.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
I will take care to preserve thee alive." Note, Singular piety shall be recompensed with distinguishing salvations, which are in a special manner obliging. This will add much to the honour and happiness of glorified saints, that they shall be saved when the greatest part of the world is left to perish.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
And God said unto Noah,....
I will take care to preserve thee alive." Note, Singular piety shall be recompensed with distinguishing salvations, which are in a special manner obliging. This will add much to the honour and happiness of glorified saints, that they shall be saved when the greatest part of the world is left to perish.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The public opinion of mankind would ridicule it. The whole world would be ranged against him. Yet, persuaded the communication was from God, through faith (Heb 11:7), he set about preparing the means for preserving himself and family from the impending calamity.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
GOPHER. Gopher is the name of a wood that rides lightly upon the water. It is mentioned nowhere else in Scripture.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֨אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֜ים | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| לְנֹ֗חַ | lenoach | to Noah | H5146 → | 46 times |
| קֵ֤ץ | ketz | [the] end of | H7093 → | 67 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| בָּשָׂר֙ | basar | flesh | H1320 → | 270 times |
| בָּ֣א | ba' | [is] coming | H935 → | 2568 times |
| לְפָנַ֔י | lefanai | <to> before me | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| מָלְאָ֥ה | malah | <it> is full | H4390 → | 249 times |
| הָאָ֛רֶץ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| חָמָ֖ס | chamas | violence | H2555 → | 60 times |
| מִפְּנֵיהֶ֑ם | mipeneihem | <from> because of them | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| וְהִנְנִ֥י | vehini | and here [am] I | H2005 → | 316 times |
| מַשְׁחִיתָ֖ם | mashchitam | about to destroy them | H7843 → | 146 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | with | H854 → | 929 times |
| הָאָֽרֶץ׃ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֱלֹהִ֜יםGod
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
לְנֹ֗חַto Noah
lenoachH5146 →46 times
קֵ֤ץ[the] end of
ketzH7093 →67 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
בָּשָׂר֙flesh
basarH1320 →270 times
בָּ֣א[is] coming
ba'H935 →2568 times
לְפָנַ֔י<to> before me
lefanaiH6440 →2123 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
מָלְאָ֥ה<it> is full
malahH4390 →249 times
הָאָ֛רֶץthe earth
haaretzH776 →2504 times
חָמָ֖סviolence
chamasH2555 →60 times
מִפְּנֵיהֶ֑ם<from> because of them
mipeneihemH6440 →2123 times
וְהִנְנִ֥יand here [am] I
vehiniH2005 →316 times
מַשְׁחִיתָ֖םabout to destroy them
mashchitamH7843 →146 times
אֶת־with
ʾet-H854 →929 times
הָאָֽרֶץ׃the earth
haaretzH776 →2504 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Peter 4:7The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear-minded and sober, so that you can pray.
it leads to
- James 5:8–9
You, too, be patient and strengthen your hearts, because the Lord’s coming is near.
- 1 Peter 1:13
Therefore prepare your minds for action. Be sober-minded. Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
- 2 Timothy 4:5
But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
- 1 Peter 5:8
Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
- Luke 21:34
But watch yourselves, or your hearts will be weighed down by dissipation, drunkenness, and the worries of life—and that day will spring upon you suddenly like a snare.
- James 5:8–9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies11
On this verse
About Genesis
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.