Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Genesis 6:3 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 3. 3And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
The LORD declares that the divine spirit will not relate to humanity in the same way forever because humanity is flesh, and human days will be 120 years. The verb and the 120-year limit are both disputed; the clear point is human mortality under God's boundary.
Read It With
- Genesis 6:1–8
Read verses 1–4 together and verses 5–8 next. Verse 3 interrupts the unions with God's limit; the following lines move through ancient renown to comprehensive wickedness and judgment.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The LORD's pronouncement interrupts the unions to reassert divine authority over mortal human life before the ancient figures of verse 4 are named.
Read Genesis 6:1–4 together
Why these verses belong together: Human multiplication, the sons of God and daughters of humanity, the 120-year limit, and the Nephilim and mighty men form one compact and disputed ancient episode.
Verse 1. 1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,
Verse 2. 2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
Verse 3. 3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
Verse 4. 4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.
Follow the Context
- Humanity multiplies; the sons of God see human daughters, take wives from those they choose, and the LORD declares a disputed limit of 120 years (6:1–3).
- The narrator locates the Nephilim in those days and also afterward and connects the unions with ancient mighty men of renown, though the exact relationships remain disputed (6:4).
- The LORD sees comprehensive human wickedness and inward evil, regrets making humanity, and is grieved to the heart (6:5–6).
- The LORD announces the blotting out of humanity together with land creatures and birds, but Noah finds favor in the LORD's eyes (6:7–8).
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“my spirit shall not always strive”
In plain language: God limits an action of the divine spirit toward or within humanity, but the unique Hebrew verb may mean strive, contend, remain, abide, or rule.
The pronouncement answers the boundary-crossing scene with divine limitation.
Why it matters: No theology should depend on pretending one English gloss is certain.
How certain? uncertain“he also is flesh”
In plain language: Humanity is mortal, creaturely flesh.
Even amid divine-human and heroic claims, humans remain limited creatures.
Why it matters: The statement opposes immortality, not bodily goodness.
How certain? strong“his days shall be an hundred and twenty years”
In plain language: God assigns a 120-year limit or horizon to human days.
Lifespan and pre-flood countdown readings both fit parts of the context.
Why it matters: The shared conclusion is limitation; the exact chronology remains uncertain.
How certain? uncertainWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
The verse does not clearly guarantee that every person can or should live exactly 120 years.
The verse does not provide an uncontested 120-year countdown to the flood or a date-setting formula for later judgment.
Calling humanity flesh does not teach that the physical body or material creation is inherently evil.
What Remains True
Human life is creaturely and limited by God; extraordinary power does not produce immortality or remove accountability.
How It Can Shape Life
- Let mortality create humility and urgency for faithful living rather than date-setting, longevity promises, or fascination with exceptional figures.
Teach It Back
Explain Genesis 6:3's contribution to Genesis 6:1–8. Include why the nearby verses are required, what the verse clearly says, and one conclusion it does not justify.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Genesis 6:1–8 — Human Corruption Grieves God, but Noah Finds FavorSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? uncertain
Where care is needed
The Hebrew verb yadon occurs only here.
A lifespan limit is slightly more probable, but a pre-flood period remains plausible and later Genesis figures live beyond 120.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Reader-facing Scripture wording, verse numbering, paragraph data, and supplied-word markup.
Exact location: Pinned eBible/CrossWire standardized 1769 KJV corpus, Genesis 6:1–8
Open source ↗hebrew text morphology and lemma data
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible — Genesis
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project
Open Scriptures, Version 2.2 released 2021; repository inspected 2026
Supports: Sons-of-God phrase, yadon and flesh wording, 120 years, Nephilim and mighty men, heart inclination, divine regret and grief, blotting out, and Noah's favor.
Exact location: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible, wlc/Gen.xml, Genesis 6:1–8
Open source ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — Genesis with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, Digital edition accessed 2026
Supports: Major translation alternatives for sons of God, yadon, flesh, 120 years, Nephilim, heart, regret, grief, and favor.
Exact location: NET Bible, Genesis 6:1–8 translator notes
Open NET Genesis 6 ↗modern scholarly compositional and literary chapter
The First Noah and the Sons of God and Daughters of Humanity (Gen 5:29; 6:1–4; 9:18–27)
David M. Carr
Oxford University Press, The Formation of Genesis 1–11: Biblical and Other Precursors, 2020
Supports: Genesis 6:1–4 as a meditation on human limits and mortality, ancient giants and warriors, and proposed compositional relationships with Noah traditions.
Exact location: The Formation of Genesis 1–11, chapter 5, pp. 115–140; official Oxford abstract
Open source ↗modern scholarly monograph and history of interpretation
The Sons of God in Genesis 6:1–4: Analysis and History of Exegesis
Jaap Doedens
Brill, Oudtestamentische Studiën 76, 2019
Supports: Hebrew problems, principal sons-of-God interpretations, 120 years, Nephilim, history of exegesis, and proposed literary functions.
Exact location: The Sons of God in Genesis 6:1–4, especially analysis chapters 2 and 4 and functions chapter 5, pp. 251–295
Open source ↗peer reviewed open literary historical study
The Problems of Sons of Gods, Daughters of Humans, and the Nephilim in Genesis 6:1–4: A Reassessment
Ki-Eun Jang
Religions 16.8, article 972, 2025
Supports: Recent alternative compositional reading of Genesis 6:1–4, detailed yadon and Nephilim questions, and links with later giant traditions.
Exact location: Religions 16.8 (2025), article 972, complete open article
Open source ↗