Genesis 8:3

The waters kept receding steadily ¹  from the earth, so that they ²  had gone down ³  by the end of the 150 days.

Ge 7:11,24

¹ tn The construction combines a Qal preterite from שׁוּב (shuv) with its infinitive absolute to indicate continuous action. The infinitive absolute from הָלָךְ (halakh) is included for emphasis: “the waters returned…going and returning.”

² tn Heb “the waters.” The pronoun (“they”) has been employed in the translation for stylistic reasons.

³ tn The vav (ו) consecutive with the preterite here describes the consequence of the preceding action.