Genesis 6:13 · Bible study
Genesis 6:13 Commentary: Judgment for Violence
Hebrew · 9 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
God declares the end of all flesh because of violence and announces destruction of both humanity and the earth itself.
Research Summary
- Meaning: God decrees the end of all living beings because human violence has saturated the earth; He will destroy both the offenders and the earth itself.
- Key words: qetz (end, H7093), a decisive termination; chamas (violence, H2555), systematic oppression; shachat (destroy, H7843), to ruin or corrupt.
- Main debate: Whether “destroy them with the earth” means altering the earth’s structure (Clarke/Dr. Woodward) or simply removing humans from the earth (Gill, citing Jewish interpreters).
- Theological theme: God’s judgment is a response to sin that has corrupted creation; judgment is both holy and restorative.
- Best use: Preaching on the gravity of sin, the certainty of divine judgment, and the call to live in readiness by faith.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
Then God said to Noah, “The end of all living creatures has come before Me, because through them the earth is full of violence. Now behold, I will destroy both them and the earth.
WEB World English Bible 2000
God said to Noah, “I will bring an end to all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them and the earth.
KJV King James Version 1769
And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
And God said to Noah, `An end of all flesh hath come before Me, for the earth hath been full of violence from their presence; and lo, I am destroying them with the earth.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
And God said to Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me, for the earth is full of violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
He said to Noe: The end of all flesh is come before me, the earth is filled with iniquity through them, and I will destroy them with the earth.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Y dijo Dios á Noé: El fin de toda carne ha venido delante de mí; porque la tierra está llena de violencia á causa de ellos; y he aquí que yo los destruiré con la tierra.
E disse Deus a Noé: O fim de toda carne veio diante de mim; porque a terra está cheia de violência por causa deles; e eis que eu os destruirei com a terra.
Alors Dieu dit à Noé: La fin de toute chair est arrêtée par devers moi; car ils ont rempli la terre de violence; voici, je vais les détruire avec la terre.
Da sprach Gott zu Noah: Alles Fleisches Ende ist vor mich gekommen; denn die Erde ist voll Frevels von ihnen; und siehe da, ich will sie verderben mit der Erde.
Daarom zeide God tot Noach: Het einde van alle vlees is voor Mijn aangezicht gekomen; want de aarde is door hen vervuld met wrevel; en zie, Ik zal hen met de aarde verderven.
E Dio disse a Noè: “Nei miei decreti, la fine d’ogni carne è giunta; poiché la terra, per opera degli uomini, è piena di violenza; ecco, io li distruggerò, insieme con la terra.
I rzekł Bóg do Noego: Koniec wszelkiego ciała przyszedł przed oblicze moje, bo napełniona jest ziemia nieprawością od oblicza ich; przetoż je wytracę z ziemi.
И сказал [Господь] Бог Ною: конец всякой плоти пришел пред лице Мое, ибо земля наполнилась от них злодеяниями; и вот, Я истреблю их с земли.
神 就對挪亞 說：「凡 有血氣的人，他的盡頭 已經來到 我面前；因為 地上 滿了 他們的 強暴，我 要把他們和 地 一併毀滅。
And God said to Noah, The end of all flesh has come; the earth is full of their violent doings, and now I will put an end to them with the earth.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Genesis 6:13
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that in Genesis 6:13 God reveals His settled judgment on a world filled with violence. The Hebrew construction qetz kol-basar ba l'fanai (the end of all flesh is come before me) uses the perfect tense of ba (H0935), indicating that the decision is already made and the destruction is as good as accomplished. Calvin notes that Noah is warned so that he might fear and cling to God's promise; the announcement is both a revelation of divine counsel and a summons to faith. Matthew Henry emphasizes that the ruin of this wicked world is decreed, "it is come, that is, it will come surely, and come quickly." All sources highlight the cause: the earth was filled with chamas (H2555), violence, wrong, cruelty. Gill points out that “all flesh” includes humans and animals, and that God would destroy them “with the earth,” meaning either the earth itself would be ruined (as Clarke argues, citing geological alteration) or that people would be removed from the earth (as some Jewish interpreters render the preposition et). Despite this nuance, the central claim stands: God judges sin, and His judgment is both certain and comprehensive.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- The earth's constitution changed: Clarke and Dr. Woodward argue that 'destroy them with the earth' means the flood dissolved the entire terrestrial substance, which then resettled into strata.
- Removal from the earth: Gill and Jewish interpreters (Jarchi, Ben Gersom) read 'et' as 'from,' so God destroyed them from the earth rather than destroying the planet itself.
- Comprehensive judgment including the earth: The majority of modern commentators (supported by parallel texts like 2 Peter 3:6) understand this as a real judgment on the earth itself—its surface and all life were ruined.
What is clear: God judged humanity for violence and brought about a flood that destroyed all life except Noah and those with him in the ark.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Destruction of the earth | All traditions affirm that the flood destroyed all terrestrial life and fundamentally altered the pre-flood world. | Some interpreters (Clarke, following Dr. Woodward) hold that the earth's physical constitution was dissolved and re-formed; others (Gill, Jarchi) read 'with the earth' as 'from the earth,' meaning removal of life, not the planet's destruction. |
| Meaning of 'end of all flesh' | Christians agree this refers to a divinely appointed termination of human and animal life through the flood. | Calvin and the Reformed tradition see it as a revelation of God's eternal decree made known to Noah; Wesley and others emphasize the imminence and certainty of the judgment more than its decreed nature. |
| Scope of the flood | The flood was a real, historical event that destroyed all people except Noah's family. | Some Christians interpret 'all flesh' globally (a universal flood covering the entire earth); others read it as a regional cataclysm affecting all humanity but not the entire planet (e.g., the ancient Near East). Both sides affirm the text's theological truth. |
| Cause of the flood | The flood was God's judgment on human sin, specifically violence (chamas). | Traditions vary on whether the sin of the 'sons of God' (6:1, 4) is the primary cause or merely part of the broader corruption. Most agree the violence is a symptom of deeper rebellion. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Genesis 6:13 sits at a literary hinge in the flood narrative. The preceding verses (6:11, 12) twice state that the earth was corrupt and filled with violence. The Hebrew word chamas (H2555) carries a specific connotation of unjust force, oppression, bloodshed (see Genesis 49:5 for the same word used of Simeon and Levi). This is not random chaos but systematic, social violence that has saturated human society. The antediluvian world, according to Jewish and Christian tradition, was marked by moral decay; the “sons of God” (6:2, 4) may represent powerful rulers or fallen beings who exacerbated tyranny.
God’s response is a judicial verdict. The phrase “the end of all flesh is come before me” uses qetz (H7093) for “end,” the same term used for the cutting off of a period or the termination of a thing. The perfect tense of ba makes the future certain: God treats the decree as already fulfilled. The destruction is not merely punitive but cosmic in scope, v'hineni mashchitam et-ha'aretz (“behold, I am destroying them with the earth”). The verb shachat (H7843) can mean to ruin, corrupt, or bring to decay; it echoes the same root used of the earth’s corruption in verse 12. God undoes the creation that has been spoiled by sin.
The earth itself was judged because human violence had defiled it. This theme recurs later in the Flood story (Genesis 7:23) and in prophetic laments like Jeremiah 4:23, 28, where the earth becomes waste and void as a result of divine wrath. In the ancient Near East, floods were sometimes seen as divine judgment, but the biblical account uniquely ties the judgment to moral cause: violence, not capricious anger. Noah, walking with God, becomes the channel for a new creation, sparing him from the universal sentence passed on “all flesh.”
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants in Genesis 6:13 across the major manuscript traditions (Masoretic Text, Septuagint, Samaritan Pentateuch, and the Vulgate). The wording is stable. The only minor difference among English translations is the rendering of the Hebrew phrase v'hineni mashchitam et-ha'aretz: most read “I will destroy them with the earth” (KJV, ASV), while the WEB and BSB use “and the earth,” which is functionally equivalent. The Greek Septuagint renders the same idea as “destroy them from the earth” (kataphtheiro . . . tēn gēn), which aligns with the interpretive tradition that God removed them from the earth rather than dissolving the planet.
Reception History
In the early church, Genesis 6:13 was read as a type of final judgment and a foreshadowing of baptism (1 Peter 3:20, 21). Noah’s faith and God’s warning became models for Christian readiness. Augustine saw the flood as an image of the church sheltered from the world’s destruction. Medieval interpreters, such as those in the Glossa Ordinaria, connected the ark to the cross and the flood to the purging of sin. During the Reformation, Calvin emphasized that the revelation of judgment drove Noah to seek grace, tying the verse to the doctrine of God’s sovereignty and human responsibility. In modern Pietist and Wesleyan traditions, the verse underscores the seriousness of social sin and the necessity of repentance. Across all eras, the judgment on violence has been a sobering reminder of God's holiness and mercy.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- God reveals His judgment before it falls. Noah is not left to guess. The announcement comes as both warning and invitation to seek refuge (Hebrews 11:7).
- The cause is violence. The earth is saturated with chamas, oppression, bloodshed, injustice. Sin corrupts not only individuals but the whole fabric of creation.
- The scope is total. Both the offenders and the stage of their sin, the earth itself, are targeted. Judgment restores order by sweeping away what cannot be redeemed.
Five-point outline
- The divine council: God speaks to Noah as a friend.
- The verdict: “The end of all flesh is come before me”, a legal term expressing settled decree.
- The evidence: “The earth is filled with violence through them.” Humanity’s sin is public, undeniable.
- The execution: “I will destroy them with the earth.” God personally acts to undo the corruption.
- The remnant: Noah alone finds grace, pointing to a pattern of judgment and salvation.
Illustration hooks
- A courtroom scene. A judge, after hearing overwhelming evidence, declares the sentence before it is carried out. The accused are not surprised, they have been living as if no one sees.
- An environmental parallel. Human greed and violence leave the land toxic. Genesis 6:13 anticipates a world where sin literally spoils the ground (Genesis 3:17, 18).
- Erosion on a hillside. Small acts of neglect accumulate until a landslide is inevitable. The flood was not arbitrary; it was the consequence of persistent corruption.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Does God still judge entire societies for violence? How should we understand disasters today?
- If God destroyed the world once, will He do it again? (See 2 Peter 3:6, 7 for a New Testament answer.)
- Was Noah saved because he was morally perfect, or because he trusted God’s warning?
Leading a Discussion
This verse shows God’s response to a world drunk on violence. It raises hard questions about judgment, grace, and the cost of sin. As you discuss, let the text speak for itself before moving to application.
Discussion questions
- Read Genesis 6:11, 13 aloud. What do you notice about the repetition of “corrupt” and “violence”? Why is that significant?
- The Hebrew word chamas (violence) implies unjust force. What forms does violence take in our own time? How is it systemic, not just individual?
- Why does God include the earth in the destruction? What does that tell us about the connection between human sin and creation?
- God speaks to Noah before the flood. What does this reveal about God’s character? Is judgment always preceded by warning?
- Calvin wrote that the news of judgment drove Noah to cling more firmly to God’s promise. How can the reality of judgment lead to deeper faith rather than fear?
- Jesus compares the days of Noah to the coming of the Son of Man (Matthew 24:37, 39). What does Genesis 6:13 teach us about the urgency of readiness?
- If you knew God was about to judge the world, what would you do? How does Noah’s response challenge your priorities?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Genesis 6:4 | The Nephilim were in the earth in those days, and also after that, when God’s sons came in to men’s daughters and had children with them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. |
| Genesis 6:11 | The earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. |
| Genesis 6:12 | God saw the earth, and saw that it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. |
| Genesis 7:23 | Every living thing was destroyed that was on the surface of the ground, including man, livestock, creeping things, and birds of the sky. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ship. |
| Genesis 49:5 | “Simeon and Levi are brothers. Their swords are weapons of violence. |
| Jeremiah 4:23 | I saw the earth and, behold, it was waste and void, and the heavens, and they had no light. |
| Jeremiah 4:28 | For this the earth will mourn, and the heavens above be black, because I have spoken it. I have planned it, and I have not repented, neither will I turn back from it.” |
| Jeremiah 51:13 | You who dwell on many waters, abundant in treasures, your end has come, the measure of your covetousness. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
9 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke suggests that "destroying the earth" may refer to a fundamental change in its constitution, not merely the drowning of its surface. He notes the theory that the whole earthly substance was mixed with water and then settled into layers by gravity, though he acknowledges this view is disputed.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin stresses that God revealed the coming judgment to Noah not simply as information, but to stir urgent fear and obedience. The terror of destruction was meant to drive Noah away from all natural hope, so that he would cling solely to God's covenant promise of safety in the ark.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentator notes that when God says the destruction of all flesh "is come before me," this refers to the intention having entered God's mind. The point is not that the earth's corruption physically reached God, but that the divine decision to destroy was now fully formed in His thought.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Bible highlights that divine judgment targets the widespread cruelty filling the earth, not just individual sins. It emphasizes that God’s decision to destroy all flesh stems from this pervasive violence, showing how collective corruption brings about total ruin for both humanity and the land itself.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill notes that God's speaking directly to Noah is itself clear proof that Noah found favor with him. He explains that "the end of all flesh" expresses God's settled determination to destroy every living creature, including all people, animals, and the earth itself—some reading the phrase as removal from the earth.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB emphasizes the sheer strangeness of Noah's situation: nothing in the natural world suggested disaster, and everyone would mock the idea. Yet Noah acted solely on God's word, preparing for judgment that no one else could see coming. His faith stood alone against all human reason and opinion.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange interprets "the end of all flesh" as a vivid vision where human history unfolds before God, signaling that corruption has reached its limit. He highlights the phrase "filled with violence before them" to show how wickedness spreads wherever people go. This imagery underscores the inevitability of judgment unless preservation is enacted.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry highlights that God's favor toward Noah shows first in how the Holy Spirit repeats his name five times in five lines, taking delight in his memory. The greater grace appears in the detailed instructions and covenant promises God personally gives him, making Noah a partner in the plan of salvation.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley stresses that God's decree of destruction is already present before Him, so the ruin of the wicked world is not merely future but certain and quick. The judgment, from God's viewpoint, is already determined and will come swiftly.