blot out … from the … earth: Just as God expelled Adam and Eve from the garden-sanctuary (3:23), God would remove all humans from his good creation.
every man and beast and crawling creature and bird of the air: Human sin had so damaged the earth that animals and birds, over which humans had control, faced judgment (see 1:28 and study note). Humans have a special role in creation (1:28–30), so human moral decisions influence creation (see 8:1; Job 38:41; Hosea 4:3; Romans 8:19–22).