Genesis 9
9
Covenant of the Rainbow
1Then God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. 2The 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. 3Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I have given everything to you, as I gave the green plant. 4But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. 5I certainly will require #9:5 Lit your blood of your livesyour lifeblood; #9:5 Lit from the hand offrom every animal I will require it. And #9:5 Lit from the hand offrom every person, #9:5 Lit from the hand offrom every man as his brother I will require the life of a person.
6“Whoever sheds human blood,
By man his blood shall be shed,
For in the image of God
He made mankind.
7“As for you, be fruitful and multiply;
# 9:7 Lit Swarm in the earth Populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it.”
8Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, 9“Now behold, I Myself am establishing My covenant with you, and with your #9:9 Lit seeddescendants after you; 10and 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. 11I establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall never again be eliminated by the waters of a flood, nor shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth.” 12God said, “This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for #9:12 Or everlasting generationsall future generations; 13I have set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall #9:13 Lit be forserve as a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth. 14It shall come about, when I make a cloud appear over the earth, that the rainbow will be seen in the cloud, 15and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16When the rainbow is in the cloud, then I will look at it, to remember the 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.”
18Now the sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth; and Ham was the father of Canaan. 19These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was #9:19 Lit scatteredpopulated.
20Then Noah began #9:20 Lit to be a farmerfarming and planted a vineyard. 21He drank some of the wine and became drunk, and uncovered himself inside his tent. 22Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. 23But 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 #9:23 Lit backwardturned away, so that they did not see their father’s nakedness. 24When Noah awoke from his wine, he knew what his youngest son had done to him. 25So he said,
“Cursed be Canaan;
# 9:25 I.e., The lowest of servants A servant of servants
He shall be to his brothers.”
26He also said,
“Blessed be the Lord,
The God of Shem;
And may Canaan be #9:26 Or theirhis servant.
27“May God enlarge Japheth,
And may he live in the tents of Shem;
And may Canaan be #9:27 Or theirhis servant.”
28Noah lived 350 years after the flood. 29So all the days of Noah were 950 years, and he died.
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Genesis 9
9
God's Covenant with Noah
1 #
Gen 1.28
God blessed Noah and his sons and said, “Have many children, so that your descendants will live all over the earth. 2All the animals, birds, and fish will live in fear of you. They are all placed under your power. 3Now you can eat them, as well as green plants; I give them all to you for food. 4#Lev 7.26–27; 17.10–14; 19.26; Deut 12.16, 23; 15.23The one thing you must not eat is meat with blood still in it; I forbid this because the life is in the blood. 5If anyone takes human life, he will be punished. I will punish with death any animal that takes a human life. 6#Gen 1.26; Ex 20.13Human beings were made like God, so whoever murders one of them will be killed by someone else.
7 #
Gen 1.28
“You must have many children, so that your descendants will live all over the earth.”
8God said to Noah and his sons, 9“I am now making my covenant with you and with your descendants, 10and with all living beings — all birds and all animals — everything that came out of the boat with you. 11With these words I make my covenant with you: I promise that never again will all living beings be destroyed by a flood; never again will a flood destroy the earth. 12As a sign of this everlasting covenant which I am making with you and with all living beings, 13I am putting my bow in the clouds. It will be the sign of my covenant with the world. 14Whenever I cover the sky with clouds and the rainbow appears, 15I will remember my promise to you and to all the animals that a flood will never again destroy all living beings. 16When the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between me and all living beings on earth. 17That is the sign of the promise which I am making to all living beings.”
Noah and his Sons
18The sons of Noah who went out of the boat were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) 19These three sons of Noah were the ancestors of all the people on earth.
20Noah, who was a farmer, was the first man to plant a vineyard. 21After he drank some of the wine, he became drunk, took off his clothes, and lay naked in his tent. 22When Ham, the father of Canaan, saw that his father was naked, he went out and told his two brothers. 23Then Shem and Japheth took a robe and held it behind them on their shoulders. They walked backwards into the tent and covered their father, keeping their faces turned away so as not to see him naked. 24When Noah was sober again and learnt what his youngest son had done to him, 25he said,
“A curse on Canaan!
He will be a slave to his brothers.
26Give praise to the LORD, the God of Shem!
Canaan will be the slave of Shem.
27May God cause Japheth#9.27 Japheth: This name sounds like the Hebrew for “increase”. to increase!
May his descendants live with the people of Shem!
Canaan will be the slave of Japheth.”
28After the flood Noah lived for 350 years 29and died at the age of 950.
Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.