New Living Translation
Genesis 6:3
3Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not put up with humans for such a long time, for they are only mortal flesh. In the future, their normal lifespan will be no more than 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
1Then the people began to multiply on the earth, and daughters were born to them. 2The sons of God saw the beautiful women and took any they wanted as their wives. Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not put up with humans for such a long time, for they are only mortal flesh. In the future, their normal lifespan will be no more than 120 years.” 4In those days, and for some time after, giant Nephilites lived on the earth, for whenever the sons of God had intercourse with women, they gave birth to children who became the heroes and famous warriors of ancient times. 5The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil.
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 11:17I will come down and talk to you there. I will take some of the Spirit that is upon you, and I will put the Spirit upon them also. They will bear the burden of the people along with you, so you will not have to carry it alone.
- Nehemiah 9:30In your love, you were patient with them for many years. You sent your Spirit, who warned them through the prophets. But still they wouldn’t listen! So once again you allowed the peoples of the land to conquer them.
- Isaiah 5:4What more could I have done for my vineyard that I have not already done? When I expected sweet grapes, why did my vineyard give me bitter grapes?
- Isaiah 63:10But they rebelled against him and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he became their enemy and fought against them.
- Jeremiah 11:7For I solemnly warned your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt, “Obey me!” I have repeated this warning over and over to this day,
- Acts 7:51“You stubborn people! You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? That’s what your ancestors did, and so do you!
- Galatians 5:16So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:19Do not stifle the Holy Spirit.
- 1 Peter 3:18Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit.
- Jude 1:14Enoch, who lived in the seventh generation after Adam, prophesied about these people. He said, “Listen! The Lord is coming with countless thousands of his holy ones
- Psalms 78:39For he remembered that they were merely mortal, gone like a breath of wind that never returns.
- John 3:6Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.
- Romans 8:1So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.
- 1 Peter 3:20those who disobeyed God long ago when God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat. Only eight people were saved from drowning in that terrible flood.
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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