Berean Standard Bible
Genesis 6:3
3So the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with man forever,1 for he is mortal; his days shall be 120 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
1Now when men began to multiply on the face of the earth and daughters were born to them, 2the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they took as wives whomever they chose. So the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days shall be 120 years.” 4The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and afterward as well—when the sons of God had relations with the daughters of men. And they bore them children who became the mighty men of old, men of renown. 5Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was altogether evil all the time.
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
- So the LORDיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- My Spiritרוּחַrûach · spiritH7307
- will notלֹאlô' lô' lôh · notH3808
- contendדִּיןdîyn dûn · to judgeH1777
- with manאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
- foreverעוֹלָם‛ôlâm ‛ôlâm · forever: enduringH5769
- forגַּםgam · alsoH1571
- heהוּאhû' hîy' · he/she/itH1931
- mortalבָּשָׂרbâώâr · fleshH1320
- his daysיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
- shall beהָיָהhâyâh · to beH1961
- 120מֵאָהmê'âh mê'yâh · hundredH3967
- 120עֶשְׂרִים‛eώrîym · twentyH6242
- yearsשָׁנָהshâneh shânâh · yearH8141
Cross-references for Genesis 6:3
- Numbers 11:17And I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put that Spirit on them. They will help you bear the burden of the people, so that you do not have to bear it by yourself.
- Nehemiah 9:30You were patient with them for many years, and Your Spirit admonished them through Your prophets. Yet they would not listen, so You gave them into the hands of the neighboring peoples.
- Isaiah 5:4What more could have been done for My vineyard than I have done for it? Why, when I expected sweet grapes, did it bring forth sour fruit?
- Isaiah 63:10But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit. So He turned and became their enemy, and He Himself fought against them.
- Jeremiah 11:7For from the time I brought your fathers out of the land of Egypt until today, I strongly warned them again and again, saying, ‘Obey My voice.’
- Acts 7:51You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did.
- Galatians 5:16So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:19Do not extinguish the Spirit.
- 1 Peter 3:18For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit,
- Jude 1:14Enoch, the seventh from Adam, also prophesied about them: “Behold, the Lord is coming with myriads of His holy ones
- Psalms 78:39He remembered that they were but flesh, a passing breeze that does not return.
- John 3:6Flesh is born of flesh, but spirit is born of the Spirit.
- Romans 8:1Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
- 1 Peter 3:20who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In the ark a few people, only 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
Notes
- 1. Genesis 6:3 LXX and Syriac My Spirit will not remain in man forever ↩
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
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