Genesis 6:7

Genesis 6:7, in plain English

God declares He will wipe out humanity—every person, animal, and creature—because He's grieved by what they've become.

Why it's here

This is God's pronouncement of judgment, and notice how comprehensive it is. It's not just humans being held accountable; the entire created order is affected because all of creation has been corrupted through human rebellion. When humans reject God's design, it sends shockwaves through everything. But the announcement of judgment isn't the end of the story—it's the setup for grace.

Who's speaking

God Himself, announcing His decision

Where it sits in the story

This is the moment of divine decision, the point at which mercy gives way to judgment. But within this announcement of destruction lies an implicit hope: if God is announcing it, then someone must survive to hear about it. We're about to meet that someone.

The scholarly reading

God announces a comprehensive destruction: He will eliminate humanity and all living creatures because His grief over their existence and corruption demands this drastic remediation.

Language and setting

The construction 'I will blot out' (אִמְחֶה, emsach—literally 'I will wipe away') employs the language of erasure, as if from a tablet. The inclusion of cattle, creeping things, and birds (בְהֵמָה, רֶמֶשׂ, עוֹף) extends judgment beyond human moral agents to encompass the entire created order—a scope that troubled commentators from Jewish to Christian traditions. Ibn Ezra questioned whether animals deserved such punishment; Augustine argued creation suffers consequence of humanity's sin. The phrase 'for I am grieved' (כִּי נִחַמְתִּי) ties motivation directly to the preceding verse, establishing emotional cause for cosmic judgment.

Voice

The Lord (Yahweh), pronouncing the decree of destruction

Significance

The universality of this judgment echoes Genesis 3's principle that human transgression corrupts the entire created order (Romans 8:19-22), establishing the theological framework that sin is not merely individual moral failure but cosmic disorder requiring total reset.

5Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was altogether evil all the time.

6And the LORD regretted that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.

7So the LORD said, “I will blot out man, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—every man and beast and crawling creature and bird of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them.”

8Noah, however, found favor in the eyes of the LORD.

9This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God.

Read all of Genesis 6 — Violence fills the earth. God grieves over what humanity has become — and one man finds grace.