14. With them in the boat were pairs of every kind of animal—domestic and wild, large and small—along with birds of every kind.
15. Two by two they came into the boat, representing every living thing that breathes.
16. A male and female of each kind entered, just as God had commanded Noah. Then the lord closed the door behind them.
17. For forty days the floodwaters grew deeper, covering the ground and lifting the boat high above the earth.
18. As the waters rose higher and higher above the ground, the boat floated safely on the surface.
19. Finally, the water covered even the highest mountains on the earth,
20. rising more than twenty-two feet above the highest peaks.
21. All the living things on earth died—birds, domestic animals, wild animals, small animals that scurry along the ground, and all the people.
22. Everything that breathed and lived on dry land died.