Covenant of the Rainbow
9 Then God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, “(A)Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. 2 The fear of you and the terror of you will be on every animal of the earth and on every bird of the sky; on everything that crawls on the ground, and on all the fish of the sea. They are handed over to you. 3 Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I have given everything to you, (B)as I gave the green plant. 4 But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, (C)its blood. 5 I certainly will require [a](D)your lifeblood; [b](E)from every animal I will require it. And [c]from every person, [d]from every man as his brother I will require the life of a person.
6 (F)Whoever sheds human blood,
By man his blood shall be shed,
For (G)in the image of God
He made mankind.
7 As for you, (H)be fruitful and multiply;
[e]Populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it.”
8 Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, 9 “Now behold, (I)I Myself am establishing My covenant with you, and with your [f]descendants after you; 10 and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the livestock, and every animal of the earth with you; of all that comes out of the ark, every animal of the earth. 11 I establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall (J)never again be eliminated by the waters of a flood, (K)nor shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth.” 12 God said, “This is (L)the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for [g]all future generations; 13 I have set My (M)rainbow in the cloud, and it shall [h]serve as a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth. 14 It shall come about, when I make a cloud appear over the earth, that the rainbow will be seen in the cloud, 15 and (N)I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and (O)never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 When the rainbow is in the cloud, then I will look at it, to remember the (P)everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” 17 And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”
18 Now the sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth; and (Q)Ham was the father of Canaan. 19 These three were the sons of Noah, and (R)from these the whole earth was [i]populated.
20 Then Noah began [j]farming and planted a vineyard. 21 He drank some of the wine and (S)became drunk, and uncovered himself inside his tent. 22 Ham, the father of Canaan, (T)saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. 23 But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it on both their shoulders and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were [k]turned away, so that they did not see their father’s nakedness. 24 When Noah awoke from his wine, he knew what his youngest son had done to him. 25 So he said,
“(U)Cursed be Canaan;
[l](V)A servant of servants
He shall be to his brothers.”
26 He also said,
“(W)Blessed be the Lord,
The God of Shem;
And may Canaan be [m]his servant.
27 (X)May God enlarge Japheth,
And may he live in the tents of Shem;
And may Canaan be [n]his servant.”
28 Noah lived 350 years after the flood. 29 So all the days of Noah were 950 years, and he died.
Footnotes
- Genesis 9:5 Lit your blood of your lives
- Genesis 9:5 Lit from the hand of
- Genesis 9:5 Lit from the hand of
- Genesis 9:5 Lit from the hand of
- Genesis 9:7 Lit Swarm in the earth
- Genesis 9:9 Lit seed
- Genesis 9:12 Or everlasting generations
- Genesis 9:13 Lit be for
- Genesis 9:19 Lit scattered
- Genesis 9:20 Lit to be a farmer
- Genesis 9:23 Lit backward
- Genesis 9:25 I.e., The lowest of servants
- Genesis 9:26 Or their
- Genesis 9:27 Or their
Cross references
- Genesis 9:1 : Gen 1:28; 9:7
- Genesis 9:3 : Gen 1:29
- Genesis 9:4 : Lev 7:26f; 17:10-16; 19:26; Deut 12:16, 23; 15:23; 1 Sam 14:34; Acts 15:20, 29
- Genesis 9:5 : Ex 20:13; 21:12
- Genesis 9:5 : Ex 21:28, 29
- Genesis 9:6 : Ex 21:12-14; Lev 24:17; Num 35:33; Matt 26:52
- Genesis 9:6 : Gen 1:26, 27
- Genesis 9:7 : Gen 9:1
- Genesis 9:9 : Gen 6:18
- Genesis 9:11 : Gen 8:21
- Genesis 9:11 : Is 54:9
- Genesis 9:12 : Gen 9:13, 17; 17:11
- Genesis 9:13 : Ezek 1:28
- Genesis 9:15 : Lev 26:42, 45; Deut 7:9; Ezek 16:60
- Genesis 9:15 : Gen 9:11
- Genesis 9:16 : Gen 17:13, 19; 2 Sam 23:5
- Genesis 9:18 : Gen 9:25-27; 10:6
- Genesis 9:19 : Gen 9:1, 7; 10:32; 1 Chr 1:4
- Genesis 9:21 : Prov 20:1
- Genesis 9:22 : Hab 2:15
- Genesis 9:25 : Deut 27:16
- Genesis 9:25 : Josh 9:23
- Genesis 9:26 : Gen 14:20; 24:27
- Genesis 9:27 : Gen 10:2-5; Is 66:19