New American Standard Bible 2020
Genesis 6:3
3Then the Lord said, “1My Spirit will not 2remain with man forever, 34because he is also flesh; 5nevertheless 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 it came about, when mankind began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, 2that the sons of God saw that the daughters of mankind were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not remain with man forever, because he is also flesh; nevertheless his days shall be 120 years.” 4The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of mankind, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. 5Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of mankind was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of their hearts 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
- Then the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- My Spiritרוּחַrûach · spiritH7307
- remainדִּיןdîyn dûn · to judgeH1777
- with manאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
- foreverעוֹלָם‛ôlâm ‛ôlâm · forever: enduringH5769
- because he is alsoגַּםgam · alsoH1571
- fleshבָּשָׂרbâώâr · fleshH1320
- nevertheless his daysיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
- shall be 120מֵאָהmê'âh mê'yâh · hundredH3967
- shall be 120עֶשְׂרִים‛eώrîym · twentyH6242
- yearsשָׁנָהshâneh shânâh · yearH8141
Cross-references for Genesis 6:3
- Numbers 11:17Then I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take away some of the Spirit who is upon you, and put Him upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you will not bear it by yourself.
- Nehemiah 9:30However, You remained patient with them for many years, And admonished them by Your Spirit through Your prophets, Yet they would not listen. Therefore You handed them over to the peoples of the lands.
- Isaiah 5:4What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have not done in it? Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes did it produce worthless ones?
- Isaiah 63:10But they rebelled And grieved His Holy Spirit; Therefore He turned Himself to become their enemy, He fought against them.
- Jeremiah 11:7For I solemnly warned your fathers on the day I brought them up from the land of Egypt, even to this day, warning them persistently, saying, “Listen to My voice.”
- Acts 7:51“You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did.
- Galatians 5:16But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:19Do not quench the Spirit,
- 1 Peter 3:18For Christ also suffered for sins once for all time, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;
- Jude 1:14It was also about these people that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord has come with many thousands of His holy ones,
- Psalms 78:39So He remembered that they were only flesh, A wind that passes and does not return.
- John 3:6That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which has been born of the Spirit is spirit.
- Romans 8:1Therefore there is now no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus.
- 1 Peter 3:20who once were disobedient when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the 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
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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