Genesis
Chapter6
11Whenmenbegantomultiplyonearthanddaughterswereborntothem,
当人在地上开始繁殖，生养女儿时，
22thesonsofheavensawhowbeautifulthedaughtersofmanwere,andsotheytookfortheirwivesasmanyofthemastheychose.
天主的儿子见人的女儿美丽，就随意选取，作为妻子。
33ThentheLORDsaid:"Myspiritshallnotremaininmanforever,sinceheisbutflesh.Hisdaysshallcompriseonehundredandtwentyyears."
上主于是说：“因为人既属于血肉，我的神不能常在他内；他的寿数只可到一百二十岁。”
44AtthattimetheNephilimappearedonearth(aswellaslater),afterthesonsofheavenhadintercoursewiththedaughtersofman,whoborethemsons.Theyweretheheroesofold,themenofrenown.
当天主的儿子与人的儿女结合生子时，在地上已有一些巨人，（以后也有，）他们就是古代的英雄，着名的人物。
5WhentheLORDsawhowgreatwasman'swickednessonearth,andhownodesirethathisheartconceivedwaseveranythingbutevil,
上主见人在地上的罪恶重大，人心天天所思念的无非是邪恶；
6heregrettedthathehadmademanontheearth,andhisheartwasgrieved.
上主遂后悔在地上造了人，心中很是悲痛。
7SotheLORDsaid:"IwillwipeoutfromtheearththemenwhomIhavecreated,andnotonlythemen,butalsothebeastsandthecreepingthingsandthebirdsoftheair,forIamsorrythatImadethem."
上主于是说：“我要将我所造的人，连人带野兽、爬虫和天空的飞鸟，都由地面上消灭，因为我后悔造了他们。”
8ButNoahfoundfavorwiththeLORD.
惟有诺厄在上主眼中蒙受恩爱。
9ThesearethedescendantsofNoah.Noah,agoodmanandblamelessinthatage,
以下是诺厄的小史：诺厄是他同时代惟一正义齐全的人，常同天主往来。
10forhewalkedwithGod,begotthreesons:Shem,Ham,andJapheth.
他生了三个儿子：就是闪、含、和耶斐特。
11IntheeyesofGodtheearthwascorruptandfulloflawlessness.
大地已在天主面前败坏，到处充满了强暴。
12WhenGodsawhowcorrupttheearthhadbecome,sinceallmortalsleddepravedlivesonearth,
天主见大地已败坏，因为凡有血肉的人，品行在地上全败坏了，
13hesaidtoNoah:"Ihavedecidedtoputanendtoallmortalsonearth;theearthisfulloflawlessnessbecauseofthem.SoIwilldestroythemandalllifeonearth.
天主遂对诺厄说：“我已决定要结果一切有血肉的人，因为他们使大地充满了强暴，我要将他们由大地上消灭。
146Makeyourselfanarkofgopherwood,putvariouscompartmentsinit,andcoveritinsideandoutwithpitch.
你要用柏木造一只方舟，舟内建造一些舱房，内外都涂上沥青。
157Thisishowyoushallbuildit:thelengthofthearkshallbethreehundredcubits,itswidthfiftycubits,anditsheightthirtycubits.
你要这样建造：方舟要有三百肘长，五十肘宽，三十肘高。
168Makeanopeningfordaylightintheark,andfinishthearkacubitaboveit.Putanentranceinthesideoftheark,whichyoushallmakewithbottom,secondandthirddecks.
方舟上层四面做上窗户，高一肘，门要安在侧面；方舟要分为上中下三层。
17I,onmypart,amabouttobringtheflood(waters)ontheearth,todestroyeverywhereallcreaturesinwhichthereisthebreathoflife;everythingonearthshallperish.
看我要使洪水在地上泛滥，消灭天下一切有生气的血肉；凡地上所有的都要灭亡。
18ButwithyouIwillestablishmycovenant;youandyoursons,yourwifeandyoursons'wives,shallgointotheark.
但我要与你立约，你以及你的儿子、妻子和儿媳，要与你一同进入方舟。
19Ofallotherlivingcreaturesyoushallbringtwointotheark,onemaleandonefemale,thatyoumaykeepthemalivewithyou.
你要由一切有血肉的生物中，各带一对，即一公一母，进入方舟，与你一同生活；
20Ofallkindsofbirds,ofallkindsofbeasts,andofallkindsofcreepingthings,twoofeachshallcomeintothearkwithyou,tostayalive.
各种飞鸟、各种牲畜、地上所有的各种爬虫，皆取一对同你进去，得以保存生命。
21Moreover,youaretoprovideyourselfwithallthefoodthatistobeeaten,andstoreitaway,thatitmayserveasprovisionsforyouandforthem."
此外，你还应带上各种吃用的食物，贮存起来，作你和他们的食物。”
22ThisNoahdid;hecarriedoutallthecommandsthatGodgavehim.
诺厄全照办了；天主怎样吩咐了他，他就怎样做了。
PreviousChapterNextChapter
Footnotes(注解)
1[1-4]Thisisapparentlyafragmentofanoldlegendthathadborrowedmuchfromancientmythology.Thesacredauthorincorporatesithere,notonlyinordertoaccountfortheprehistoricgiantsofPalestine,whomtheIsraelitescalledtheNephilim,butalsotointroducethestoryofthefloodwithamoralorientation——theconstantlyincreasingwickednessofmankind.
2[2]Thesonsofheaven:literally"thesonsofthegods"or"thesonsofGod,"i.e.,thecelestialbeingsofmythology.
3[3]Myspirit:thebreathoflifereferredtoinGenesis2:7.Hisdaysyears:probablythetimeGodwouldstillletmenliveonearthbeforedestroyingthemwiththeflood,ratherthanthemaximumspanoflifeGodwouldallottoindividualmeninthefuture.
4[4]Aswellaslater:AccordingtoNumbers13:33,whentheIsraelitesinvadedPalestineandfoundtherethetallaboriginalAnakim,theylikenedthemtotheNephilim;cfDeut2:10-11.PerhapsthehugemegalithicstructuresinPalestinewerethoughttohavebeenbuiltbyaraceofgiants,whosesuperhumanstrengthwasattributedtosemi-divineorigin.Theheroesofold:thelegendaryworthiesofancientmythology.
5[6:5-8:22]Thestoryofthegreatfloodhererecordedisacompositenarrativebasedontwoseparatesourcesinterwovenintoanintricatepatchwork.TotheYahwistsource,withsomelatereditorialadditions,areusuallyassignedGenesis6:5-8;7:1-5,7-10,12,16b,17b,22-23;8:2b-3a,6-12,13b,20-22.Theothersectionscomefromthe"Priestlydocument."Thecombinationofthetwosourcesproducedcertainduplications(e.g.,Genesis6:13-22oftheYahwistsource,besideGenesis7:1-5ofthePriestlysource);alsocertaininconsistencies,suchasthenumberofthevariousanimalstakenintotheark(Genesis6:19-20;7:14-15ofthePriestlysource,besideGenesis7:2-3oftheYahwistsource),andthetimetableoftheflood(Genesis8:3-5,13-14ofthePriestlysource,besideGenesis7:4,10,12,17b;8:6,10,12oftheYahwistsource).BothbiblicalsourcesgobackultimatelytoanancientMesopotamianstoryofagreatflood,preservedintheeleventhtabletoftheGilgameshEpic.Thelatteraccount,insomerespectsremarkablysimilartothebiblicalaccount,isinothersverydifferentfromit.
6[14]Gopherwood:anunidentifiedwoodnotmentionedelsewhere;gopherismerelytheHebrewwordforit.
7[15]ThedimensionsofNoah'sarkwereapproximately440x73x44feet,afootandahalftothecubit.ThearkoftheBabylonianfloodstorywasanexactcube,120cubitsinlength,widthandheight.
8[16]Openingfordaylight:aconjecturalrenderingoftheHebrewwordsohar,occurringonlyhere.Thereferenceisprobablytoanopenspaceonallsidesnearthetopofthearktoadmitlightandair.Thearkalsohadawindoworhatch,whichcouldbeopenedandclosed(Genesis8:6).