Parallel Translations

  • WEB World English Bible

    God spoke to Noah, saying,

  • KJV King James Version

    And God spake unto Noah, saying,

  • JPS JPS Tanakh (1917)

    And God spoke unto Noah, saying:

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Explain this verse (11 sources)

Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.

John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 15. And God spake unto Noah. Though Noah was…

15. And God spake unto Noah. Though Noah was not a little terrified at the judgment of God, yet his patience is commended in this respect, that having the earth, which offered him a home, before his eyes, he yet does not venture to go forth. Profane men may ascribe this to timidity, or even to indolence; but holy is that timidity which is produced by the obedience of faith. Let us therefore know, that Noah was restrained, by a hallowed modesty, from allowing himself to enjoy the bounty of nature, till he should hear the voice of God directing him to do so. Moses winds this up in a few words, but it is proper that we should attend to the thing itself. All ought indeed, spontaneously, to consider how great must have been the fortitude of the man, who, after the incredible weariness of a whole year, when the deluge has ceased, and new life has shone forth, does not yet move a foot out of his sepulcher, without the command of God. Thus we see, that, by a continual course of faith, the holy man was obedient to God; because at God’s command, he entered the ark, and there remained until God opened the way for his egress; and because he chose rather to lie in a tainted atmosphere than to breathe the free air, until he should feel assured that his removal would be pleasing to God. Even in minute affairs, Scripture commends to us this self-government, that we should attempt nothing but with an approving conscience. How much less is the rashness of men to be endured in religious matters, if, without taking counsel of God, they permit themselves to act as they please. It is not indeed to be expected that God will every moment pronounce, by special oracles, what is necessary to be done; yet it becomes us to hearken attentively to his voice, in order to be certainly persuaded that we undertake nothing but what is in accordance with his word. The spirit of prudence, and of counsel, is also to be sought; of which he never leaves those destitute, who are docile and obedient to his commands. In this sense, Moses relates that Noah went out of the ark as soon as he, relying on the oracle of God, was aware that a new habitation was given him in the earth.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Gen 8:15 And God spake unto Noah, saying,
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain Here is, I. Noah's dismission out of the ark,…
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And God spake unto Noah, saying,.... Whether in a…
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain - XXVII. The Ark Was Evacuated
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain DEPARTURE FROM THE ARK. (Gen 8:15-22)
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 15–19. Noah is commanded to leave the Ark, and…
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (15-19) Go forth . . . —At the end…
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Vers. 15-17. And God spake unto Noah, saying, Go…
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Noah went forth
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Go out ... Take out
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