'Generation' in the Bible

These are the records of the generations (family history) of Noah. Noah was a righteous man [one who was just and had right standing with God], blameless in his [evil] generation; Noah walked (lived) [in habitual fellowship] with God.

Then the Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you with all your household, for you [alone] I have seen as righteous (doing what is right) before Me in this generation.

Then in the fourth generation your descendants shall return here [to Canaan, the land of promise], for the wickedness and guilt of the Amorites is not yet complete (finished).”

Joseph saw the third generation of Ephraim’s children; also the children of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were born and raised on Joseph’s knees.

Then Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation,

saying, “The Lord has sworn [an oath]; the Lord will have war against [the people of] Amalek from generation to generation.”

You shall not worship them nor serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous (impassioned) God [demanding what is rightfully and uniquely mine], visiting (avenging) the iniquity (sin, guilt) of the fathers on the children [that is, calling the children to account for the sins of their fathers], to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,

keeping mercy and lovingkindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin; but He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting (avenging) the iniquity (sin, guilt) of the fathers upon the children and the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations [that is, calling the children to account for the sins of their fathers].”

‘The Lord is slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving wickedness and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting (avenging) the wickedness and guilt of the fathers on the children, to the third and fourth generations [that is, calling the children to account for the sins of their fathers].’

So the Lord’s anger was kindled against the sons of Israel (Jacob) and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until the entire generation of those who had done evil in the sight of the Lord was destroyed.

‘Not one of these men, this evil generation, shall see the good land which I swore (solemnly promised) to give to your fathers,

Now thirty-eight years passed from the time we left Kadesh-barnea until we crossed the Zered Valley, until that entire generation of the men of war had died from within the camp, just as the Lord had sworn to them.

A person of illegitimate birth shall not enter the assembly of the Lord; none of his descendants, even to the tenth generation.

An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter the assembly of the Lord; none of their descendants, even to the tenth generation, shall ever enter the assembly of the Lord,

Their children of the third generation who are born to them may enter the assembly of the Lord.

Now the next generation, your children who come after you and the foreigner who comes from a distant land, when they see the plagues of this land and the diseases with which the Lord has afflicted it, will say,

“They (Israel) have acted corruptly toward Him.They are not His children, because of their [moral] defect;But are a perverse and crooked generation.

“Then He said, ‘I will hide My face from them,I will see what their end shall be;For they are a perverse generation,Sons in whom there is no faithfulness.

At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make for yourself flint knives and circumcise the [new generation of the] sons of Israel as [was done] before.”

Also, all [the people of] that generation were gathered to their fathers [in death]; and another generation arose after them who did not know (recognize, understand) the Lord, nor even the work which He had done for Israel.

The Lord said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in executing what is right in My eyes, and have done to the house of Ahab in accordance with everything that was in My heart, your sons (descendants) shall sit on Israel’s throne to the fourth generation.”

This is [the fulfillment of] the word of the Lord which He spoke to Jehu, saying, “Your sons (descendants) shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.” And so it came to pass.

So these days were to be remembered and celebrated throughout every generation, every family, every province and every city; and these days of Purim were not to cease from among the Jews, nor their memory fade from their descendants.

You, O Lord, will preserve and keep them;You will protect him from this [evil] generation forever.

There they tremble with great fear,For God is with the [consistently] righteous generation.

Posterity will serve Him;They will tell of the Lord to the next generation.

This is the generation (description) of those who diligently seek Him and require Him as their greatest need,Who seek Your face, even [as did] Jacob. Selah.

Consider her ramparts,Go through her palaces,That you may tell the next generation [about her glory].

He shall go to the generation of his fathers;They shall never again see the light.

You will prolong the king’s life [adding days upon days];His years will be like many generations.

And even when I am old and gray-headed, O God, do not abandon me,Until I declare Your [mighty] strength to this generation,Your power to all who are to come.

If I had said, “I will say this,” [and expressed my feelings],I would have betrayed the generation of Your children.

We will not hide them from their children,But [we will] tell to the generation to come the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord,And [tell of] His great might and power and the wonderful works that He has done.

That the generation to come might know them, that the children still to be bornMay arise and recount them to their children,

And not be like their fathers—A stubborn and rebellious generation,A generation that did not prepare its heart to know and follow God,And whose spirit was not faithful to God.

Why should the [Gentile] nations say, “Where is their God?”Let there be known [without delay] among the nations in our sight [and to this generation],Your vengeance for the blood of Your servants which has been poured out.

So we Your people, the sheep of Your pasture,Will give You thanks forever;We will declare and publish Your praise from generation to generation.

I will sing of the goodness and lovingkindness of the Lord forever;With my mouth I will make known Your faithfulness from generation to generation.

“For forty years I was grieved and disgusted with that generation,And I said, ‘They are a people who err in their heart,And they do not acknowledge or regard My ways.’

Let this be recorded for the generation to come,That a people yet to be created will praise the Lord.

Let his descendants be cut off,And in the following generation let their name be blotted out.

His descendants will be mighty on earth;The generation of the upright will be blessed.

Your faithfulness continues from generation to generation;You have established the earth, and it stands [securely].

One generation shall praise Your works to another,And shall declare Your mighty and remarkable acts.

The Lord shall reign forever,Your God, O Zion, to all generations.Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)

One generation goes and another generation comes,But the earth remains forever.

Babylon will never be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation;Nor will the Arab pitch his tent there,Nor will the shepherds let their sheep lie down there.

The burning will not be quenched night or day;Its smoke will go up forever.From generation to generation it will lie in ruins;No one will ever again pass through it.

The Lord has cast the lot for them,And His hand has divided and apportioned Edom to the wild beasts by measuring-line.They will possess it forever;From generation to generation they will dwell in it.

After oppression and judgment He was taken away;And as for His generation [His contemporaries], who [among them] concerned himself with the factThat He was cut off from the land of the living [by His death]For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke [of death] was due?

“O generation [that you are], consider and regard carefully the word of the Lord.Have I been a wilderness to Israel [like a land without food],A land of thick and deep darkness [like a path without light]?Why do My people say, ‘We [have broken loose and we] are free to roam [at will];We will no longer come to You’?

‘Cut off your hair [your crown, O Jerusalem] and throw it away,And take up a mournful cry on the barren heights,For the Lord has rejected and abandonedThe generation of His wrath.’

“Therefore wild beasts of the desert will live there [in Babylon] with the jackals;The ostriches also will live there,And it will never again be inhabited [with people]Or lived in from generation to generation.

But You, O Lord, reign forever;Your throne endures from generation to [all] generations.

“How great are His signsAnd how mighty are His wonders!His kingdom is an everlasting kingdomAnd His dominion is from generation to generation.

“But at the end of the days [that is, at the seven periods of time], I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my understanding and reason returned to me; and I blessed the Most High [God] and I praised and honored and glorified Him who lives forever,For His dominion is an everlasting dominion;And His kingdom endures from generation to generation.

Tell your children about it,And let your children tell their children,And their children the next generation.

But Judah shall be inhabited foreverAnd Jerusalem from generation to generation.

“But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like little children sitting in the market places, who call to the others,

But He replied and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation [that is morally unfaithful to God] craves and demands a [miraculous] sign; but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah;

The men of Nineveh will stand up [as witnesses] at the judgment against this generation, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and now, something greater than Jonah is here.

The Queen of the South (Sheba) will stand up [as a witness] at the judgment against this generation, and will condemn it because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon; and now, something greater than Solomon is here.

Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and make their home there. And the last condition of that man becomes worse than the first. So will it also be with this wicked generation.”

An evil and [morally] unfaithful generation craves a [miraculous] sign; but no sign will be given to it, except the sign of [the prophet] Jonah.” Then He left them and went away.

And Jesus answered, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.”

I assure you and most solemnly say to you, [the judgment for] all these things [these vile and murderous deeds] will come on this generation.

I assure you and most solemnly say to you, this generation [the people living when these signs and events begin] will not pass away until all these things take place.

He groaned and sighed deeply in His spirit and said, “Why does this generation demand a sign? I assure you and most solemnly say to you, no sign will be given to this generation!”

For whoever is ashamed [here and now] of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”

He replied, “O unbelieving (faithless) generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!”

I assure you and most solemnly say to you, this generation [the people living when these signs and events begin] will not pass away until all these things take place.

“And His mercy is upon generation after generationToward those who [stand in great awe of God and] fear Him.

“To what then shall I compare the people of this generation [who set aside God’s plan], and what are they like?

Jesus answered, “You unbelieving and perverted generation! How long shall I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here [to Me].”

Now as the crowds were increasing [in number], He began to say, “This [present] generation is a wicked generation; it seeks a sign (attesting miracle), but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah [the prophet].

For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man also be [a sign] to this generation.

The Queen of the South (the kingdom of Sheba) will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and look, something greater than Solomon is here.

The men of Nineveh will stand up [as witnesses] at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and look, something greater than Jonah is here.

so that charges may be brought against this generation [holding them responsible] for the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world,

from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah [the priest], who was murdered between the altar and the house of God. Yes, I tell you, charges will be brought against this generation.’

And his master commended the unjust manager [not for his misdeeds, but] because he had acted shrewdly [by preparing for his future unemployment]; for the sons of this age [the non-believers] are shrewder in relation to their own kind [that is, to the ways of the secular world] than are the sons of light [the believers].

But first He must suffer many things and be repudiated and rejected and considered unfit [to be the Messiah] by this [unbelieving] generation.

I assure you and most solemnly say to you, this generation [those living at that definite period of time preceding the second coming] will not pass away until everything takes place.

And Peter solemnly testified and continued to admonish and urge them with many more words, saying, “Be saved from this crooked and unjust generation!”

“In humiliation His judgment was taken away [justice was denied Him].Who will describe His generation?For His life is taken from the earth.”

For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was buried among his fathers and experienced decay [in the grave];

And [you have heard how] I surpassed many of my contemporaries among my countrymen in [my advanced study of the laws of] Judaism, as I was extremely loyal to the traditions of my ancestors.

so that you may prove yourselves to be blameless and guileless, innocent and uncontaminated, children of God without blemish in the midst of a [morally] crooked and [spiritually] perverted generation, among whom you are seen as bright lights [beacons shining out clearly] in the world [of darkness],

“Therefore I was angered with this generation,And I said, ‘They always go astray in their heart,And they did not know My ways [nor become progressively better and more intimately acquainted with them]’;

It was about these people that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, when he said, “Look, the Lord came with myriads of His holy ones