Genesis 6

Gn 6.1Cumque coepissent hominēs multiplicārī super terram, et fīliās prōcreāssent,

And when men had begun to be multiplied over the earth, and had produced daughters,

Note. Cum-que coepissent … prōcreāssent: cum + pluperfect subjunctive, 'when they had begun'. prōcreāssent is a shortened form of prōcreāvissent (the -vi- drops out), common with verbs in -āvī.

Gn 6.2videntēs fīliī Deī fīliās hominum quod essent pulchrae, accēpērunt sibi uxōrēs ex omnibus, quās ēlēgerant.

the sons of God, seeing the daughters of men, that they were beautiful, took for themselves wives out of all, whom they had chosen.

Note. fīliī Deī: 'the sons of God', a phrase much discussed: some ancient readers took it as angelic beings, others as the descendants of Seth. vidēntēs … quod essent pulchrae: after verbs of seeing and saying the Vulgate often uses quod + subjunctive where classical Latin would use an accusative and infinitive (fīliās esse pulchrās).

Gn 6.3Dīxitque Deus: Nōn permanēbit spīritus meus in homine in aeternum, quia carō est: eruntque diēs illīus centum vīgintī annōrum.

And God said: "My spirit will not remain in man into eternity, because he is flesh; and the days of him will be (of) a hundred and twenty years."

Note. spīritus meus: God's breath of life, given at creation (2:7). in aeternum: 'for ever'. erunt-que diēs illīus centum vīgintī annōrum: 'his days will be (of) 120 years', a limit on human life, with the genitive of description again.

Gn 6.4Gigantēs autem erant super terram in diēbus illīs: postquam enim ingressī sunt fīliī Deī ad fīliās hominum, illaeque genuērunt, istī sunt potentēs ā saeculō virī fāmōsī.

Giants, moreover, were over the earth in those days: for after the sons of God went in to the daughters of men, and those women bore (children), these are the powerful men from of old, famous men.

Note. Gigantēs: in Hebrew the Nephilim, a mysterious race of mighty men. ingressī sunt … ad: 'went in to', a polite way of saying 'had relations with'. ā saeculō: 'from of old'.

Gn 6.5Vidēns autem Deus quod multa malitia hominum esset in terrā, et cūncta cōgitātiō cordis intenta esset ad malum omnī tempore,

God, then, seeing that the malice of men was much on the earth, and every thinking of the heart was intent on evil at every time,

Note. Vidēns … quod … esset: participle + quod clause with subjunctive, as in verse 32. multa malitia: 'great wickedness'. cūncta cōgitātiō cordis: 'every thought of the heart'; the heart is the seat of thought in Hebrew idiom, not only of feeling. intenta esset ad malum: 'was bent on evil'.

Gn 6.6poenituit eum quod hominem fēcisset in terrā. Et tāctus dolōre cordis intrīnsecus,

it repented him that he had made man on the earth. And touched with grief of heart within,

Note. paenituit eum: an impersonal verb: literally 'it repented him', i.e. 'he was sorry'. The person who feels it goes in the accusative (eum). The Clementine text prints the older spelling poenituit. The digital text has hominum here; the edition reads hominem ('that he had made man'), which is printed here.

Gn 6.7Dēlēbō, inquit, hominem, quem creāvī, ā faciē terrae, ab homine usque ad animantia, ā rēptilī usque ad volucrēs caelī: poenitet enim mē fēcisse eōs.

"I will destroy," he says, "man, whom I created, from the face of the earth, from man up to living creatures, from creeping thing up to the flying ones of the sky: for it repents me to have made them."

Note. inquit: 'he said', inserted after the first word of the quotation as usual. ab homine ūsque ad animantia: 'from man all the way to the animals'. ūsque ad, 'right up to', is very common in the Vulgate. paenitet … mē fēcisse eōs: the same impersonal verb, now with an infinitive: 'it grieves me to have made them'.

Gn 6.8Noë vērō invēnit grātiam cōram Dominō.

Noe, however, found favour in the presence of the Lord.

Note. invēnit grātiam cōram Dominō: 'found favour before the Lord'. cōram, 'in the presence of', takes the ablative.

Gn 6.9Hae sunt generātiōnēs Noë: Noë vir iūstus atque perfectus fuit in generātiōnibus suīs; cum Deō ambulāvit.

These are the begettings of Noe: Noe was a just and perfect man in his generations; with God he walked.

Note. generātiōnēs Noë: 'the family history of Noah'; the same formula as 5:1 opens the flood story. vir iūstus atque perfectus: 'a righteous and blameless man', the reason he is chosen.

Gn 6.10Et genuit trēs fīliōs, Sem, Cham et Iapheth.

And he begot three sons, Sem, Cham and Iapheth.

Gn 6.11Corrupta est autem terra cōram Deō, et replēta est inīquitāte.

The earth, moreover, was corrupted in the presence of God, and was filled with iniquity.

Note. Corrupta est … repleta est: two perfect passives. cōram Deō: 'in the sight of God'. inīquitāte: ablative of the thing with which something is filled.

Gn 6.12Cumque vīdisset Deus terram esse corruptam (omnis quippe carō corrūperat viam suam super terram),

And when God had seen the earth to be corrupted (for all flesh had corrupted its way over the earth),

Note. terram esse corruptam: accusative and infinitive after vīdisset. The parenthesis explains why: omnis caro, 'all flesh', means every living creature, and viam suam, 'its way', its way of life.

Gn 6.13dīxit ad Noë: Fīnis ūniversae carnis vēnit cōram mē: replēta est terra inīquitāte ā faciē eōrum, et ego disperdam eōs cum terrā.

he said to Noe: "The end of all flesh has come before me: the earth is filled with iniquity from the face of them, and I will destroy them with the earth.

Note. Fīnis ūniversae carnis vēnit cōram mē: 'the end of all flesh has come before me', i.e. I have decided to end it. ā faciē eōrum: literally 'from their face', a Hebraism meaning 'because of them'.

Gn 6.14Fac tibi arcam dē lignīs laevigātīs; mānsiunculās in arcā faciēs, et bitūmine liniēs intrīnsecus et extrīnsecus.

Make for yourself an ark from smoothed woods; little dwellings in the ark you will make, and with bitumen you will smear (it) inside and outside.

Note. Fac: the short imperative of faciō (like dīc, dūc, fer). The instructions that follow use the future (faciēs, liniēs) as commands: 'you shall make, you shall coat'. arca: 'chest, box'; the same word is used for the ark of the covenant.

Gn 6.15Et sīc faciēs eam: trecentōrum cubitōrum erit longitūdō arcae, quīnquāgintā cubitōrum lātitūdō, et trīgintā cubitōrum altitūdō illīus.

And thus you will make it: of three hundred cubits will be the length of the ark, of fifty cubits the breadth, and of thirty cubits the height of it.

Note. trecentōrum cubitōrum erit longitūdō: 'the length will be of 300 cubits', a genitive of measure. A cubit is roughly half a metre, so the ark is about 150 × 25 × 15 m.

Gn 6.16Fenestram in arcā faciēs, et in cubitō cōnsummābis summitātem eius: ōstium autem arcae pōnēs ex latere; deorsum, coenācula et tristega faciēs in eā.

A window in the ark you will make, and within a cubit you will complete the top of it: the door, however, of the ark you will place from the side; lowest (rooms), upper rooms and third storeys you will make in it.

Note. in cubitō cōnsummābis summitātem eius: probably 'you will finish its top to (within) a cubit', a hard phrase in Hebrew as well. deorsum, coenācula et tristega: the three decks, 'lower, middle (coenācula, upper rooms) and third'. coenācula is the Vulgate spelling of cēnācula.

Gn 6.17Ecce ego addūcam aquās dīluviī super terram, ut interficiam omnem carnem, in quā spīritus vītae est subter caelum: ūniversa quae in terrā sunt, cōnsūmentur.

Behold, I will lead in waters of a deluge over the earth, so that I may kill all flesh in which is the spirit of life under the sky: all things which are on the earth will be consumed.

Note. Ecce: 'look!', a word the Vulgate uses constantly to draw attention. ut interficiam: purpose clause. ūniversa quae in terrā sunt: 'all things that are on the earth', neuter plural.

Gn 6.18Pōnamque foedus meum tēcum: et ingrediēris arcam tū et fīliī tuī, uxor tua, et uxōrēs fīliōrum tuōrum tēcum.

And I will place my covenant with you: and you will go into the ark, you and your sons, your wife and the wives of your sons with you.

Note. foedus: 'covenant', the first time the word appears in the Bible; God's promise is spelled out in chapter 9. ingrediēris: future of the deponent ingredior, 'you will go in'. tēcum = cum tē; the preposition is attached to the end of personal pronouns (mēcum, tēcum, nōbīscum).

Gn 6.19Et ex cūnctīs animantibus ūniversae carnis bīna indūcēs in arcam, ut vīvant tēcum: masculīnī sexūs et fēminīnī.

And out of all living things of all flesh you will lead in pairs into the ark, so that they may live with you: of male sex and female.

Note. bīna: 'two each', a distributive number (bīnī, -ae, -a). Distributives answer 'how many each?'. masculīnī sexūs et fēminīnī: genitive of description, '(animals) of male and female sex'.

Gn 6.20Dē volucribus iūxtā genus suum, et dē iūmentīs in genere suō, et ex omnī rēptilī terrae secundum genus suum: bīna dē omnibus ingredientur tēcum, ut possint vīvere.

Of the birds according to their kind, and of the beasts of burden in their kind, and out of every creeping thing of the earth according to its kind: pairs of all will go in with you, so that they may be able to live.

Note. iūxtā genus suum, in genere suō, secundum genus suum: three ways of saying 'according to its kind'. iūxtā and secundum both take the accusative; this phrase echoes the creation story in Genesis 1.

Gn 6.21Tollēs igitur tēcum ex omnibus ēscīs, quae mandī possunt, et comportābis apud tē: et erunt tam tibi, quam illīs in cibum.

You will take, therefore, with you out of all foods which can be chewed, and you will carry them together at your side: and they will be both for you and for them for food."

Note. quae mandī possunt: 'which can be eaten'; mandī is the present passive infinitive of mandō, -ere ('chew'), not mandō, -āre ('command'). tam tibi quam illīs: 'both for you and for them'. in cibum: 'for food', in + accusative of purpose.

Gn 6.22Fēcit igitur Noë omnia quae praecēperat illī Deus.

Noe therefore did all the things which God had ordered him.

Note. Fēcit … omnia quae praecēperat illī Deus: Noah's obedience is reported in a single sentence, a pattern repeated in 7:5.