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The Waters Recede
8 God kept Noah in mind, along with all the wildlife[a] and livestock that were with him in the ark. God’s Spirit[b] moved throughout the earth, causing the flood waters to subside. 2 The water sources from the ocean depths were blocked and the floodgates of the heavens were closed. 3 Then the flood waters steadily receded,[c] diminishing completely by the end of the 150 days. 4 The ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat[d] on the seventeenth day of the seventh month. 5 The flood water continued to recede until the tenth month, when, on the first of that month, the tops of the mountains could be seen.
6 After 40 days, Noah opened the window of the ark that he had built 7 and sent out a raven. It went back and forth as the flood water continued to evaporate throughout the earth. 8 Later, he sent a dove out from the ark[e] to see whether the water that covered the land’s surface had completely[f] receded, 9 but the dove could not yet find a place to rest,[g] so it returned to Noah[h] on the ark, since water still covered the land. Noah reached out his hand and took the dove back[i] into the ark with him.
10 Noah[j] waited another seven days and sent the dove out from the ark again. 11 The dove returned to him in the evening, but in its beak there was an olive leaf that it had plucked! So Noah knew that the flood waters had decreased on the land. 12 He waited seven more days and sent the dove out again, but it did not return to him anymore.
13 In the six hundred and first year of Noah’s life,[k] during the first month, the flood water began to evaporate from the land. Noah then removed the ark’s cover and saw that the surface of the land was drying. 14 By the twenty-seventh day of the second month, the ground was dry.
The Lord’s Covenant
15 God spoke to Noah, 16 “It’s time for you, your wife, your sons, and your sons’ wives who are with you to leave the ark. 17 Bring out with you every living creature—including the flying creatures, animals, and everything that crawls on the ground—so they may disperse throughout the land, be fruitful, and multiply throughout the earth.” 18 So Noah, his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives emerged. 19 Every animal, every crawling thing, every flying creature, and everything that moves on the earth emerged from the ark by groups.[l]
20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and offered burnt offerings on it[m] from every clean animal and every clean bird. 21 When the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, he told himself, “I will never again curse the land because of human beings—even though human inclinations remain evil from youth—nor will I destroy every living being ever again, as I’ve done.
22 “Never[n] again, as long as the earth exists,
will sowing and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
and day and night ever cease.”
The Covenant with Noah
9 God blessed Noah and his sons and ordered them, “Be productive, multiply, and fill the earth. 2 All the living creatures of the earth will be filled with fear and terror of you from now on, including all the creatures that fly in the sky, everything that crawls on the ground, and all the fish of the ocean. They’ve been assigned to live under your dominion.[o]
3 “Every living, moving creature will be food for you. Just as I gave you green plants before, so now you have everything. 4 However, you are not to eat meat with its life—that is, its blood—in it! 5 Also, I will certainly demand an accounting regarding bloodshed, from every animal and from every human being. I’ll demand an accounting from every human being for the life of another human being.
6 “Whoever sheds human blood,
by a human his own blood is to be shed;
because God made human beings
in his own image.
7 Now as for you, be productive
and multiply;
spread out over the land
and multiply throughout it.”
8 Later, God told Noah and his sons, 9 “Pay attention! I’m establishing my covenant with you and with your descendants after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you—the flying creatures, the livestock, and all the wildlife of the earth that are with you—all the earth’s animals that came out of the ark. 11 I will establish my covenant with you: No living beings will ever be cut off again by flood waters, and there will never again be a flood that destroys the earth.”
The Sign of God’s Covenant
12 God also said, “Here’s the symbol that represents the covenant that I’m making between me and you and every living being with you, for all future generations: 13 I’ve set my rainbow in the sky[p] to symbolize the covenant between me and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow becomes visible in the clouds, 15 I’ll remember my covenant between me and you and every living creature, so that water will never again become a flood to destroy all living beings. 16 When the rainbow is in the clouds, I will observe it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living beings on the earth.”
17 God also told Noah, “This is the symbol of the covenant that I’ve established between me and everything[q] that lives on the earth.”
Noah and His Family
18 Noah’s sons who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham later fathered Canaan.) 19 These three were Noah’s sons, and from these men the whole earth was repopulated.
20 Noah, a man of the soil, was the first to plant and farm a vineyard. 21 He drank some of the wine, got drunk, and lay down naked[r] right in the middle of his tent. 22 Ham, who fathered Canaan, saw his father’s genitals and told his two brothers outside. 23 Then Shem and Japheth took their father’s[s] cloak, laid it across both their shoulders, and walking backwards, they both covered their father’s genitals. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father’s genitals. 24 When Noah sobered up and learned what his youngest son had done to him, 25 he said,
“Canaan is cursed!
He will be the lowest of slaves to his relatives.”
26 He also said,
“Blessed be the Lord God of Shem,
and may Canaan be his slave.
27 May God make room for[t] Japheth;
may God[u] live in Shem’s tents,
and may Canaan serve him.”
28 Noah lived 350 years after the flood. 29 After Noah had lived a total of 950 years, he died.
Descendants and Nations from Noah
10 These are the records[v] of Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, to whom descendants[w] were born after the flood.
2 Japheth’s descendants included[x] Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.
3 Gomer’s descendants included Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.
4 Javan’s descendants included Elisha, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim,[y] 5 from whom the coastal nations[z] spread into their own lands and nations, each with their own language and family groups.
Ham’s Descendants
6 Ham’s descendants included Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan.
7 Cush’s descendants included Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca.
Raamah’s descendants included Sheba and Dedan.
8 Cush fathered Nimrod, who became the first fearless[aa] leader throughout the land. 9 He became a fearless[ab] hunter in defiance of[ac] the Lord. That is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a fearless hunter in defiance of[ad] the Lord.” 10 His kingdom began in the region[ae] of Shinar[af] with the cities of[ag] Babylon, Erech,[ah] Akkad, and Calneh. 11 From there[ai] he went north[aj] to Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth-ir, and Calah, 12 along with Resen, which was located between Nineveh and the great city of Calah.
13 Egypt fathered the Ludites, the Anamites, the Lehabites, the Naphtuhites, 14 the Pathrusites, the Casluhites (from which came the Philistines), and the Caphtorites.
15 Canaan fathered Sidon his firstborn, along with the Hittites, 16 the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, 17 the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, 18 the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites.
Later, the Canaanite families were widely scattered. 19 The Canaanite border extended south[ak] from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and east[al] toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.
20 These are Ham’s descendants, listed by their families, each with their own lands, language, and family groups.
Shem’s Descendants
21 Shem, Japheth’s older brother, also had descendants.[am] Shem was the father of the descendants of Eber. 22 Shem’s sons included Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram.
23 Aram’s descendants included Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash.
24 Arpachshad fathered Cainan, Cainan fathered Shelah, and Shelah fathered Eber.[an] 25 To Eber were born two sons. One was named Peleg,[ao] because the earth was divided during his lifetime. His brother was named Joktan.
26 Joktan fathered Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, 27 Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, 28 Obal, Abimael, Sheba, 29 Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these were Joktan’s descendants. 30 Their settlements extended from Mesha towards Sephar, the eastern hill country.
31 These are Shem’s descendants, listed by their families, each with their own lands, language, and family groups.
32 These are the families of Noah’s sons, according to their records, by their nations. From these people, the nations on the earth spread out after the flood.
Jesus Begins His Ministry in Galilee(A)
12 Now when Jesus[a] heard that John had been arrested, he went back to Galilee. 13 He left Nazareth and settled in Capernaum by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 in order to fulfill what was declared by the prophet Isaiah when he said,
15 “O Land of Zebulun and Land of Naphtali,
on the road to the sea, across the Jordan,
Galilee of the unbelievers![b]
16 The people living[c] in darkness have seen a great light,
and for those living[d] in the land and shadow of death,
a light has risen.”[e]
17 From then on, Jesus began to announce, “Repent, because the kingdom from[f] heaven is near!”
Jesus Calls Four Fishermen(B)
18 While Jesus[g] was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon (also[h] called Peter) and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea, because they were fishermen. 19 “Follow me,” he told them, “and I will make you fishers of people!” 20 So at once they left their nets and followed him. 21 Going on from there he saw two other brothers—James, son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee repairing their nets. When he called them, 22 they immediately left the boat and their father and followed him.
Jesus Ministers to Many People(C)
23 Then he went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every illness among the people. 24 His fame spread throughout Syria, and people[i] brought to him everyone who was sick—those afflicted with various diseases and pains, the demon-possessed, the epileptics, and the paralyzed—and he healed them. 25 Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis,[j] Jerusalem, Judea, and from across the Jordan followed him.
To the Director: With stringed instruments. A Davidic Psalm
Trust God under Adversity
4 When I call, answer me,
my righteous God![a]
When I was in distress, you set me free.
Be gracious to me and hear my prayer.
2 You people,
how long will you malign my reputation?
How long will you love what is vain[b]
and what is false?
3 But understand this:[c]
the Lord has set apart the godly for himself!
The Lord will hear me when I cry out to him!
The Benefits of Choosing Wisdom
20 Wisdom cries out in the street;
she raises her voice in the public squares.
21 She calls out at the busiest part[a] of the noisy streets,[b]
and at the entrance to the gates of the city she utters her words:
22 “You naïve ones, how long will you love naiveté?
And how long will scoffers delight in scoffing
or fools hate knowledge?”
23 Return to my correction!
Look, I will pour out my spirit on you,
and I will make my words known to you.
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