Genesis Chapter 7 verse 20 Holy Bible
Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.
read chapter 7 in ASV
The waters went fifteen cubits higher, till all the mountains were covered.
read chapter 7 in BBE
Fifteen cubits upward the waters prevailed; and the mountains were covered.
read chapter 7 in DARBY
Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.
read chapter 7 in KJV
Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail: and the mountains were covered.
read chapter 7 in WBT
The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered.
read chapter 7 in WEB
fifteen cubits upwards have the waters become mighty, and the mountains are covered;
read chapter 7 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 20. - Fifteen cubits upward - half the height of the ark - did the waters prevail. Literally, become strong; above the highest mountains obviously, and not above the ground simply; as, on the latter alternative, it could scarcely have been added, and the mountains were covered.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(20) Fifteen cubits upward.--This apparently was the draught of the ark, computed after it had settled. in the region of Ararat. Fifteen cubits would be about twenty-two feet, and as the ark floated onward without interruption until it finally grounded, there must have been this depth of water even on the highest summit in its course. Continuous rains for forty days and nights would scarcely produce so vast a mass of water, unless we suppose that the adamah was some low-lying spot of ground whither the waters from many regions flowed together; but this is negatived by the ark having travelled into Armenia. In England the whole average mean rainfall in a year is not more than twenty-eight or thirty inches in depth. If we suppose this amount to have fallen in every twenty-four hours, the total quantity would be about 100 feet. Such a rain would denude the mountains of all soil, uproot all trees, sweep away all buildings, dig out new courses for the rivers, completely alter the whole surface of the ground, and cover the lower lands with debris. Wherever there was any obstacle in their way, the waters would deepen in volume, and quickly burst a passage through it. But as they would be seeking the lower grounds during the whole forty days, it is difficult to understand how they could cover any of the heights to the depth of twenty-two feet, unless there were some cosmic convulsion (see Note on Genesis 7:11), by which the waters from the equator were carried towards the poles, and in this way there would be no difficulty in the ark being carried against the current of the Tigris and Euphrates up to the high lands of Armenia.
