Genesis 9

God’s Promise to Noah

1So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: #Gen. 1:28, 29; 8:17; 9:7, 19; 10:32“Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. 2#Gen. 1:26, 28; Ps. 8:6And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand. 3#Deut. 12:15; 14:3, 9, 11; Acts 10:12, 13Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you #Rom. 14:14, 20; 1 Cor. 10:23, 26; Col. 2:16; (1 Tim. 4:3, 4)all things, even as the #Gen. 1:29green herbs. 4#Lev. 7:26; 17:10–16; 19:26; Deut. 12:16, 23; 15:23; 1 Sam. 14:33, 34; Acts 15:20, 29But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. 5Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; #Ex. 21:28from the hand of every beast I will require it, and #Gen. 4:9, 10; Ps. 9:12from the hand of man. From the hand of every #Acts 17:26man’s brother I will require the life of man.

6“Whoever #Ex. 21:12–14; Lev. 24:17; Num. 35:33; Matt. 26:52sheds man’s blood,

By man his blood shall be shed;

#Gen. 1:26, 27For in the image of God

He made man.

7And as for you, #Gen. 9:1, 19be fruitful and multiply;

Bring forth abundantly in the earth

And multiply in it.”

8Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying: 9“And as for Me, #Gen. 6:18behold, I establish #Is. 54:9My covenant with you and with your descendants after you, 10#Ps. 145:9and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth. 11Thus #Gen. 8:21; Is. 54:9I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

12And God said: #Gen. 9:13, 17; 17:11“This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: 13I set #Ezek. 1:28; Rev. 4:3My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. 14It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; 15and #Lev. 26:42, 45; Deut. 7:9; Ezek. 16:60I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember #Gen. 17:13, 19; 2 Sam. 23:5; Is. 55:3; Jer. 32:40; Heb. 13:20the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” 17And 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.”

Noah and His Sons

18Now the sons of Noah who went out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. #Gen. 9:25–27; 10:6And Ham was the father of Canaan. 19#Gen. 5:32These three were the sons of Noah, #Gen. 9:1, 7; 10:32; 1 Chr. 1:4and from these the whole earth was populated.

20And Noah began to be #Gen. 3:19, 23; 4:2; Prov. 12:11; Jer. 31:24a farmer, and he planted a vineyard. 21Then he drank of the wine #Prov. 20:1; Eph. 5:18and was drunk, and became uncovered in his tent. 22And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. 23#Ex. 20:12; Gal. 6:1But Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father’s nakedness.

24So Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done to him. 25Then he said:

#Deut. 27:16; Josh. 9:23, 27“Cursed be Canaan;

A #Josh. 9:23; 1 Kin. 9:20, 21servant of servants

He shall be to his brethren.”

26And he said:

#Gen. 14:20; 24:27; Ps. 144:15; Heb. 11:16“Blessed be the Lord,

The God of Shem,

And may Canaan be his servant.

27May God #Gen. 10:2–5; 39:3; Is. 66:19enlarge Japheth,

#Luke 3:36; John 1:14; Eph. 2:13, 14; 3:6And may he dwell in the tents of Shem;

And may Canaan be his servant.”

28And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years. 29So all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years; and he died.

Learn More About New King James Version

Genesis 9

God's promise to Noah

1God said to Noah and his sons:#Gn 1.28.

I am giving you my blessing. Have a lot of children and grandchildren, so people will live everywhere on this earth. 2All animals, birds, reptiles, and fish will be afraid of you. I have placed them under your control, 3and I have given them to you for food. From now on, you may eat them, as well as the green plants that you have always eaten. 4But life is in the blood, and you must not eat any meat that still has blood in it.#Lv 7.26,27; 17.10-14; 19.26; Dt 12.16,23; 15.23. 5-6I created humans to be like me, and I will punish any animal or person that takes a human life. If an animal kills someone, that animal must die. And if a person takes the life of another, that person must be put to death.#Ex 20.13; Gn 1.26.

7I want you and your descendants to have many children, so people will live everywhere on earth.#Gn 1.28.

8Again, God said to Noah and his sons:

9I am going to make a solemn promise to you and to everyone who will live after you. 10This includes the birds and the animals that came out of the boat. 11I promise every living creature that the earth and those living on it will never again be destroyed by a flood.

12-13The rainbow that I have put in the sky will be my sign to you and to every living creature on earth. It will remind you that I will keep this promise for ever. 14When I send clouds over the earth, and a rainbow appears in the sky, 15I will remember my promise to you and to all other living creatures. Never again will I let flood waters destroy all life. 16When I see the rainbow in the sky, I will always remember the promise that I have made to every living creature. 17The rainbow will be the sign of that solemn promise.

Noah and his family

18Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, came out of the boat. Ham later had a son named Canaan. 19All people on earth are descendants of Noah's three sons.

20Noah farmed the land and was the first to plant a vineyard. 21One day he got drunk and was lying naked in his tent. 22Ham entered the tent and saw him naked, then went back outside and told his brothers. 23Shem and Japheth put a robe over their shoulders and walked backwards into the tent. Without looking at their father, they placed it over his body.

24When Noah woke up and learnt what his youngest son Ham had done, 25he said,

“I now put a curse on Canaan!

He will be the lowest slave

of his brothers.

26I ask the LORD my God

to bless Shem

and make Canaan his slave.

27I pray that the LORD

will give Japheth

more and more#9.27 more and more: In Hebrew “Japheth” sounds like “more and more”. land

and let him take over

the territory of Shem.

May Canaan be his slave.”

28Noah lived three hundred and fifty years after the flood 29and died at the age of nine hundred and fifty.

Learn More About Contemporary English Version (Anglicised) 2012