NOAH had a wife and three sons. His sons’ names were Shem, Ham and Jaʹpheth. And each of these sons had a wife. So there were eight persons in Noah’s family.

God now had Noah do a strange thing. He told him to build a big ark. This ark was large like a ship, but it looked more like a big, long box. ‘Make it three floors high,’ God said, ‘and put rooms in it.’ The rooms were for Noah and his family, the animals, and the food all of them would need.

God also told Noah to fix up the ark so that no water could leak in. God said: ‘I am going to send a great flood of water and destroy the whole world. Everyone not in the ark will die.’

Noah and his sons obeyed Jehovah and started building. But the other people just laughed. They kept on being bad. Nobody believed Noah when he told them what God was going to do.

It took a long time to build the ark because it was so big. Finally, after many years, it was finished. Now God told Noah to bring the animals into the ark. God said to bring in two of some kinds of animals, both a male and a female. But of other kinds of animals, God told Noah to bring in seven. God also told Noah to bring in all the different kinds of birds. Noah did just what God said.

Afterward, Noah and his family also went into the ark. Then God shut the door. Inside, Noah and his family waited. Just imagine you are there in the ark with them, waiting. Would there really be a flood as God said?