In this verse the LORD decides to destroy his creation. This is the third event in his reaction to human wickedness.
So the LORD said has the meaning of “the LORD decided.” If it is necessary to say who the LORD was speaking to, we may say “the LORD said to himself….” But in some languages it may be better to say “the LORD thought…” or “the LORD decided….”
I will blot out man: blot out translates a verb meaning “wipe out, erase, do away with,” which is used again in 7.4, 23. Man is humanity or people, as in Gen 6.5. Created translates the same verb as in 1.1. See there for discussion.
In translation there are two elements in blot out: to destroy the people, and to remove them entirely from the world. In some languages a single term covers both elements; for example, “So he said, ‘I will finish off all the people….’ ” In other languages separate terms may be required, as in “I will destroy [or, ruin] them … I will take them away for good.”
From the face of the ground is an expression that indicates the complete and total destruction that will take place. The English expression “off the face of the earth” (New/Reviser English Bible ) has a very similar meaning. The actual Hebrew expression for face of the ground is the same as in 2.6. See there for comments. Good News Translation does not translate the expression at all, apparently considering that its meaning is already covered by the use of the verb “wipe out.” A common way of translating this expression is “from everywhere in the world” or “from all places everywhere.” One recent translation has “it doesn’t matter where they are.”
Not only will all people be erased from the earth, but also all other living creatures on land. Beast and creeping things is an expression that refers to large animals and small ones. See comments on 1.24, 25. For birds of the air see 1.20, 26.
In this verse the second half does not parallel the first half but rather repeats the first part of verse 6 shifted to the first person: I am sorry that I have made them. Them refers to the people, animals, and birds. All of these are land-based forms of life. Nothing is said about the sea creatures.
In some languages the order of the verbs in this part of the verse may need to be changed, to put the actions in the order in which they happened, or to give a better ending to the LORD’s speech. For example, one translation has “I made them, but now I feel very bad about it.” Another says “I made them all myself, but I think it would have been better if I had not made them.”
Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .