Four Verses Nobody Reads
The Claim, Straight
Genesis 5's long list of lifespans ends. Before the flood story even starts, four short verses sit almost unread - and the Bible itself names more than one reading for what they mean, picking none.
These verses get skipped, or flattened into one confident answer. The honest version keeps three readings on the table, because that's what the text actually leaves open.
What the Text Says
As Genesis 5's genealogy gives way to a wider population, the text turns to a new event, in its own words:
"...the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose..."GENESIS 6:1–2 · KJV
The very next verse adds a second, equally bare statement:
"There were giants in the earth in those days..."GENESIS 6:4 · KJV
Two verses later, the text turns to God's own response:
"...it repented the LORD... and it grieved him at his heart."GENESIS 6:6 · KJV
The Turn
The text never says who the "sons of God" were. Three honest readings survive among serious readers, and this page names all three, crowning none.
Fallen angelic beings, taking human wives. The line of Seth intermarrying with the line of Cain. Human despots and rulers, taking many wives for themselves.
All three are readings people bring to these four verses - not a choice the verses make for you.
The Fine Print
CAVEATThe text never identifies "sons of God" or "giants" beyond these bare phrases. Every specific identification offered anywhere - in art, sermons, or this page's own three readings - is an added reading, not a verse.
CAVEATGenesis 6:8's "Noah found grace" doesn't explicitly state why Noah alone was chosen; this page can only infer from what surrounds it, not quote a verse that says so directly.
CAVEATThis short names three readings and takes no side among them - the same restraint the text itself shows.
Questions People Ask
Who were the 'sons of God' in Genesis 6?
A READINGThe text never says. Three honest readings survive among serious readers: fallen angelic beings intermarrying with human women, the line of Seth intermarrying with the line of Cain, or human despots and rulers taking multiple wives - Genesis 6:1-4 crowns none of them, so neither does this page.
What does the Bible say about giants (Nephilim)?
TEXTGenesis 6:4 states plainly, "there were giants in the earth in those days" - and gives no further description of who or what they were. Every specific identification beyond that bare phrase is a reading, not something the verse itself spells out.
Why did God decide to send the flood?
COMPUTEDGenesis 6:1-4 names the sons of God, the daughters of men, and the giants; Genesis 6:6 immediately follows with God's own grief, "it repented the LORD... and it grieved him at his heart." The text places these in sequence but never spells out one single explicit cause connecting them.
Sources Cited
- Genesis 6:1-4, King James Version: "...the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose... There were giants in the earth in those days..." Four verses, right after Genesis 5's genealogy and right before the flood.
- The text never says who the "sons of God" were. Three honest readings survive among serious readers: (a) fallen angelic beings intermarrying with human women, (b) the line of Seth intermarrying with the line of Cain, (c) human despots/rulers taking multiple wives. This short names all three and picks none - the text itself doesn't, so we don't either.
- Genesis 6:6, King James Version: "...it repented the LORD... and it grieved him at his heart."
- Genesis 6:8, King James Version: "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD." Two verses after the giants, God resolves on the flood - and one man is spared.
- Full episode: "The 969-Year Question," on this channel.