Discovery BoxGenesis 6:13 
Context6:13 So God said 1 to Noah, “I have decided that all living creatures must die, 2 for the earth is filled with violence because of them. Now I am about to destroy 3 them and the earth.
Genesis 6:17
Context6:17 I am about to bring 4 floodwaters 5 on the earth to destroy 6 from under the sky all the living creatures that have the breath of life in them. 7 Everything that is on the earth will die,
Genesis 9:11
Context9:11 I confirm 8 my covenant with you: Never again will all living things 9 be wiped out 10 by the waters of a flood; 11 never again will a flood destroy the earth.”
Genesis 9:15
Context9:15 then I will remember my covenant with you 12 and with all living creatures of all kinds. 13 Never again will the waters become a flood and destroy 14 all living things. 15
Genesis 18:31-32
Context18:31 Abraham 16 said, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”
18:32 Finally Abraham 17 said, “May the Lord not be angry so that I may speak just once more. What if ten are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”
1 sn On the divine style utilized here, see R. Lapointe, “The Divine Monologue as a Channel of Revelation,” CBQ 32 (1970): 161-81.
2 tn Heb “the end of all flesh is coming [or “has come”] before me.” (The verb form is either a perfect or a participle.) The phrase “end of all flesh” occurs only here. The term “end” refers here to the end of “life,” as v. 3 and the following context (which describes how God destroys all flesh) make clear. The statement “the end has come” occurs in Ezek 7:2, 6, where it is used of divine judgment. The phrase “come before” occurs in Exod 28:30, 35; 34:34; Lev 15:14; Num 27:17; 1 Sam 18:13, 16; 2 Sam 19:8; 20:8; 1 Kgs 1:23, 28, 32; Ezek 46:9; Pss 79:11 (groans come before God); 88:3 (a prayer comes before God); 100:2; 119:170 (prayer comes before God); Lam 1:22 (evil doing comes before God); Esth 1:19; 8:1; 9:25; 1 Chr 16:29. The expression often means “have an audience with” or “appear before.” But when used metaphorically, it can mean “get the attention of” or “prompt a response.” This is probably the sense in Gen 6:13. The necessity of ending the life of all flesh on earth is an issue that has gotten the attention of God. The term “end” may even be a metonymy for that which has prompted it – violence (see the following clause).
3 tn The participle, especially after הִנֵּה (hinneh) has an imminent future nuance. The Hiphil of שָׁחָת (shakhat) here has the sense “to destroy” (in judgment). Note the wordplay involving this verb in vv. 11-13: The earth is “ruined” because all flesh has acted in a morally “corrupt” manner. Consequently, God will “destroy” all flesh (the referent of the suffix “them”) along with the ruined earth. They had ruined themselves and the earth with violence, and now God would ruin them with judgment. For other cases where “earth” occurs as the object of the Hiphil of שָׁחָת, see 1 Sam 6:5; 1 Chr 20:1; Jer 36:29; 51:25.
4 tn The Hebrew construction uses the independent personal pronoun, followed by a suffixed form of הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) and the a participle used with an imminent future nuance: “As for me, look, I am going to bring.”
5 tn Heb “the flood, water.”
6 tn The verb שָׁחָת (shakhat, “to destroy”) is repeated yet again, only now in an infinitival form expressing the purpose of the flood.
7 tn The Hebrew construction here is different from the previous two; here it is רוּחַ חַיִּים (ruakh khayyim) rather than נֶפֶשׁ הַיָּה (nefesh khayyah) or נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים (nishmat khayyim). It refers to everything that breathes.
8 tn The verb וַהֲקִמֹתִי (vahaqimoti) is a perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive and should be translated with the English present tense, just as the participle at the beginning of the speech was (v. 9). Another option is to translate both forms with the English future tense (“I will confirm”).
9 tn Heb “all flesh.”
10 tn Heb “cut off.”
11 tn Heb “and all flesh will not be cut off again by the waters of the flood.”
12 tn Heb “which [is] between me and between you.”
13 tn Heb “all flesh.”
14 tn Heb “to destroy.”
15 tn Heb “all flesh.”
16 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
17 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
