Noah's Ark — Bible story for kids

In the days of Noah, the earth had become filled with violence. But Noah walked faithfully with God. He lived with his wife and their sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Some traditions call Noah’s wife Naamah, though Genesis does not give her name. God saw the evil in the world, and he told Noah that a great flood was coming. Then God gave Noah a special command: build a huge wooden ark to shelter his family and the animals.

Noah believed God. He and his sons began the enormous task. They measured and cut the timbers. They fitted the ark’s great ribs together and covered the wood with pitch, just as God had commanded. The world around them remained violent, but the family kept working. Higher and higher the ark rose. Noah also stored food inside for his family and for every creature that would come aboard.

At last, God told Noah to enter the ark. Animals came to him, male and female, just as God had said. There were seven pairs of every clean animal and bird, and one pair of the other kinds. Great animals and small animals, animals that crept and animals that flew—all came aboard. Noah entered with his wife, his sons, and his sons’ wives. When everyone was safely inside, God shut the door behind them.

Then the rain began. Water poured from the sky, and the great deep burst open. It rained for forty days and forty nights. The water climbed over the fields, the treetops, and even the highest mountains. Every living creature on dry land outside the ark died. But the ark floated safely above the waters, carrying Noah’s family and the animals God had saved.

God remembered Noah and every creature with him. He sent a wind, and the waters began to go down. After many days, the ark rested in the mountains of Ararat. Noah sent out a raven. Later he sent a dove, but it found no dry place to rest and returned. Seven days later, Noah sent the dove again. At evening it returned with a freshly plucked olive leaf in its beak. Noah knew the waters were sinking. After seven more days, he sent the dove once more, and it did not return.

When the earth was dry, God told Noah and his family to leave the ark. The animals came out and spread across the fresh earth. Noah’s first act was to build an altar and worship God with offerings from the clean animals and birds. God promised never again to destroy every living thing with a flood. He placed a rainbow in the clouds as the sign of his covenant with Noah, his family, every living creature, and the whole earth. Whenever the rainbow appeared, it would point to God’s lasting promise.