American Standard Version
Genesis 6:3
3And Jehovah said, My Spirit shall not strive with man for ever, for that he also is flesh: yet shall his days be a hundred and twenty years.
Genesis 6:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
- New International Version (NIV)Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)Then the Lord said, "My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years."
- New King James Version (NKJV)And the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.”
Context of Genesis 6:3
1And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the ground, and daughters were born unto them, 2that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all that they chose. And Jehovah said, My Spirit shall not strive with man for ever, for that he also is flesh: yet shall his days be a hundred and twenty years. 4The Nephilim were in the earth in those days, and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them: the same were the mighty men that were of old, the men of renown. 5And Jehovah saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Read all of Genesis 6Genesis 6:3 word by word
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יְהוָ֗ה לֹֽא־יָד֨וֹן רוּחִ֤י בָֽאָדָם֙ לְעֹלָ֔ם בְּשַׁגַּ֖ם ה֣וּא בָשָׂ֑ר וְהָי֣וּ יָמָ֔יו מֵאָ֥ה וְעֶשְׂרִ֖ים שָׁנָֽה׃Read the interlinear
- saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- Spiritרוּחַrûach · spiritH7307
- manאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
- everעוֹלָם‛ôlâm ‛ôlâm · forever: enduringH5769
- alsoגַּםgam · alsoH1571
- fleshבָּשָׂרbâώâr · fleshH1320
- daysיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
- beהָיָהhâyâh · to beH1961
- hundredמֵאָהmê'âh mê'yâh · hundredH3967
- twentyעֶשְׂרִים‛eώrîym · twentyH6242
- yearsשָׁנָהshâneh shânâh · yearH8141
Cross-references for Genesis 6:3
- Numbers 11:17And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the Spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone.
- Nehemiah 9:30Yet many years didst thou bear with them, and testifiedst against them by thy Spirit through thy prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.
- Isaiah 5:4What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?
- Isaiah 63:10But they rebelled, and grieved his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, andhimself fought against them.
- Jeremiah 11:7For I earnestly protested unto your fathers in the day that I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, even unto this day, rising early and protesting, saying, Obey my voice.
- Acts 7:51Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Spirit: as your fathers did, so do ye.
- Galatians 5:16But I say, Walk by the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:19Quench not the Spirit;
- 1 Peter 3:18Because Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God; being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;
- Jude 1:14And to these also Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, Behold, the Lord came with ten thousands of his holy ones,
- Psalms 78:39And he remembered that they were but flesh, A wind that passeth away, and cometh not again.
- John 3:6That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
- Romans 8:1There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.
- 1 Peter 3:20that aforetime were disobedient, when the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water:
Commentaries on Genesis 6:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3My spirit shall not always strive - It is only by the influence of the Spirit of God that the carnal mind can be subdued and destroyed; but those who wilfully resist and grieve that Spirit must be ultimately left to the hardness and blindness of their own hearts, if they do not repent and turn to God. God delights in mercy, and therefore a gracious warning is given. Even at this time the earth was ripe for destruction; but God promised them one hundred…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-8Verses 1-8 - The Growth of Sin 3. דון dı̂yn “be down, strive, subdue, judge.” בשׁגם bāshagām “inasmuch, as also.” The rendering “in their error” requires the pointing בשׁגם beshāgām and the plural form of the following pronoun. It is also unknown to the Septuagint. 4. נפילים nepı̂lı̂ym “assailants, fellers, men of violence, tyrants.” Having traced the line of descent from Adam through Sheth, the seed of God, to Noah, the author proceeds to describe…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3will not contend with: Many think that this is an announcement of God’s decision to withdraw the restraining influence of his Spirit from human society and allow human wickedness to fully develop. Others think it means God would take away his life-giving breath from humans at an earlier age. The Hebrew word ruakh can mean both "spirit" and "breath"(see 6:17; 7:22; see also Psalm 104:29–30). his days shall be 120 years: This might be a new limit on how…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. flesh--utterly, hopelessly debased. And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive--Christ, as God, had by His Spirit inspiring Enoch, Noah, and perhaps other prophets (1Pe 3:20; 2Pe 2:5; Jude 14), preached repentance to the antediluvians; but they were incorrigible. yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years--It is probable that the corruption of the world, which had now reached its height, had been long and gradually increasing, and this…Read the comment
Topics related to Genesis 6:3
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Genesis 6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries