EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Genesis 6:3
3The Lord said, ‘My Spirit will not give life to humans for ever. One day they will die. I will not let them live for more than 120 years. Then they will die.’
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
1People began to grow in number all over the earth. They gave birth to daughters. 2The sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful. They chose for themselves any of them that they wanted to become their wives. The Lord said, ‘My Spirit will not give life to humans for ever. One day they will die. I will not let them live for more than 120 years. Then they will die.’ 4The Nephilites lived on the earth at that time, and for some time after that. During that time, the sons of God were having sex with the daughters of men, who gave birth to their children. The Nephilites were famous great men and fighters. 5The Lord saw that men and women on the earth had become very bad. They thought only of evil things 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
Words taken from the KJV.
- And the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- My spiritרוּחַrûach · spiritH7307
- shall not alwaysעוֹלָם‛ôlâm ‛ôlâm · forever: enduringH5769
- striveדִּיןdîyn dûn · to judgeH1777
- with manאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
- for that he alsoשָׁגַגshâgag · to go astrayH7683
- for that he alsoגַּםgam · alsoH1571
- fleshבָּשָׂרbâώâr · fleshH1320
- yet his daysיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
- shall be an hundredמֵאָהmê'âh mê'yâh · hundredH3967
- and twentyעֶשְׂרִים‛eώrîym · twentyH6242
- yearsשָׁנָהshâneh shânâh · yearH8141
Cross-references for Genesis 6:3
- Numbers 11:17Then I will come down and I will speak with you there. I will take some of the authority of my Spirit that I gave to you. I will share it with them. Then they will help you to lead the people. So you will not be the only man who is doing that job.
- Nehemiah 9:30You continued to help your people for many years. You sent your prophets to tell them messages from your Spirit. You warned them, but they refused to listen. So you put them under the power of the nations who lived near them.
- Isaiah 5:4I did everything that I could to help my vineyard. I could have done no more! But when I waited to get sweet grapes from the vines, there were only bitter ones! Why was that?
- Isaiah 63:10But they turned against him. They made his Holy Spirit angry. So he then became their enemy. He fought against them.
- Jeremiah 11:7I clearly warned your ancestors that they must obey me. I warned them many times since I brought them safely out of Egypt. I have continued to do that, even until today.
- Acts 7:51Then Stephen said, ‘You people do not want to obey God! You do not want to listen to God's true message. You are the same as your ancestors. Like them, you always fight against what the Holy Spirit says.
- Galatians 5:16So this is what I say: Let God's Spirit show you how to live in a good way. Then you will not do the wrong things that you may want to do, as people who are weak and human.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:19Do not stop the work of God's Spirit.
- 1 Peter 3:18Christ himself always did what was right. But he received pain on behalf of people who do what is wrong. He died once to take away all those wrong things. He did that to bring you near to God. People killed Christ's body, but God's Spirit made him alive again.
- Jude 1:14Long ago, Enoch also spoke about those false teachers. Enoch belonged to the seventh family that was born, starting with Adam. He said, ‘Look, the Lord will come with many thousands of his own angels.
- Psalms 78:39He remembered that they were weak and human, like a wind that blows away and does not return.
- John 3:6People give birth to what is human. But God's Spirit gives birth to spirit.
- Romans 8:1Now we know this: God has forgiven those people who are united with Christ Jesus. God will never say that they are guilty.
- 1 Peter 3:20Those were the spirits of people who had refused to obey God long ago. At that time God waited patiently for them to turn to him while Noah was building a large ship. But only a few people agreed to go into that ship. God saved only eight people when the ship sailed on the deep 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
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