15. All these animals went into the boat with Noah. They came in groups of two from every kind of animal that had the breath of life.
16. All these animals went into the boat in groups of two, just as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord closed the door behind Noah.
17. Water flooded the earth for 40 days. The water began rising and lifted the boat off the ground.
18. The water continued to rise, and the boat floated on the water high above the earth.
19. The water rose so much that even the highest mountains were covered by the water.
20. The water continued to rise above the mountains. The water was more than 20 feet above the highest mountain.
21-22. Every living thing on earth died—every man and woman, every bird, and every kind of animal. All the many kinds of animals and all the things that crawl on the ground died. Every living, breathing thing on dry land died.
23. In this way God wiped the earth clean—he destroyed every living thing on the earth—every human, every animal, everything that crawls, and every bird. All that was left was Noah and his family and the animals that were with him in the boat.