Genesis 9

God’s Covenant with Noah

1God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. # Gn 1:28; 8:17; 9:7; 35:11 2The fear and terror of you will be in every living creature on the earth, every bird of the sky, every creature that crawls on the ground, and all the fish of the sea. They are placed under your authority. # Lit are given in your hand 3Every living creature will be food for you; # Dt 12:15; 1Tm 4:3-4 as I gave the green plants, I have given you everything. # Gn 1:28-30 4However, you must not eat meat with its lifeblood in it. # Lv 3:17; 7:20; 17:10-16; 19:26; Dt 12:16,23; 15:23; 1Sm 14:34; Ac 15:20,29 5I will require the life of every animal # Ex 21:28 and every man for your life and your blood. I will require the life of each man’s brother for a man’s life. # Gn 4:2,8

6Whoever sheds man’s blood,

his blood will be shed by man, # Ex 21:12-14; Lv 24:17; Nm 35:33; Mt 26:52

for God made man in His image. # Gn 1:26-27

7But you, be fruitful and multiply; spread out over the earth and multiply on it.” # Gn 1:28

8Then God said to Noah and his sons with him, 9“Understand that I am confirming My covenant # Gn 6:18; 8:22; 17:2; Ex 6:4; 19:5; Lv 26:9 with you and your descendants after you, 10and with every living creature that is with you — birds, livestock, and all wildlife of the earth that are with you — all the animals of the earth that came out of the ark. 11I confirm My covenant with you that never again will every creature be wiped out by the waters of a flood; there will never again be a flood to destroy the earth.” # Is 54:9-10

12And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant # Gn 17:11 I am making between Me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all future generations: 13I have placed My bow in the clouds, # Ezk 1:28; Rv 4:3; 10:1 and it will be a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. 14Whenever I form clouds over the earth and the bow appears in the clouds, 15I will remember My covenant # Lv 26:42,45; Dt 7:9; 1Kg 8:23; Ezk 16:60 between Me and you and all the living creatures: # Lit and creatures of all flesh water will never again become a flood to destroy every creature. 16The bow will be in the clouds, and I will look at it and remember the everlasting covenant # Gn 17:13; 2Sm 23:5; 1Ch 16:17; Is 24:5 between God and all the living creatures # Lit creatures of all flesh on earth.” 17God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have confirmed between Me and every creature on earth.”

Prophecies about Noah’s Family

18Noah’s sons who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham was the father of Canaan. 19These three were Noah’s sons, and from them the whole earth was populated. # Gn 9:1,7; 10:32; 1Ch 1:4

20Noah, a man of the soil, was the first to plant # Or Noah began to be a farmer and planted a vineyard. 21He drank some of the wine, became drunk, and uncovered himself inside his tent. 22Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside. # Lm 4:21; Hab 2:15 23Then Shem and Japheth took a cloak and placed it over both their shoulders, and walking backward, they covered their father’s nakedness. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father naked.

24When Noah awoke from his drinking and learned what his youngest son had done to him, 25he said:

Canaan will be cursed. # Dt 27:16

He will be the lowest of slaves to his brothers. # Jos 9:23; Jdg 1:28; 1Kg 9:20-21

26He also said:

Praise the Lord, the God of Shem;

Canaan will be # As a prophecy; others interpret the verbs in vv. 26-27 as a wish or prayer: let Canaan be . . . his slave.

27God will extend # In Hb, the name Japheth sounds like the word “extend.” Japheth;

he will dwell in the tents of Shem;

Canaan will be his slave.

28Now Noah lived 350 years after the flood. 29So Noah’s life lasted 950 years; then he died.

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Genesis 9

CHAPTER 9

1And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, Increase ye, and be ye multiplied, and fill ye the earth;

2and your dread and trembling be on all [the] unreasonable beasts of the earth, and on all [the] birds of heaven, with all things that be moved in earth; all fishes of the sea be given to your hand.

3And all thing which is moved and liveth shall be to you into meat; I have given to you all things, as I gave the green worts before,

4except that ye shall not eat flesh with the blood,

5for I shall seek the blood of your lives, of the hand of all unreasonable beasts and of the hand of man, of the hand of man and of his brother, I shall seek the life of man.

6Whoever sheddeth out man’s blood, his blood shall be shed; for man is made to the image of God.

7Forsooth increase ye, and be ye multiplied, and enter ye on [the] earth, and fill ye it.

8Also the Lord said these things to Noah, and to his sons with him,

9Lo! I shall make my covenant with you, and with your seed after you,

10and to each living soul which is with you, as well in birds as in work beasts and small beasts of [the] earth, and to all things that went out of the ship, and to all unreasonable beasts of [the] earth.

11I shall make my covenant with you, and each flesh shall no more be slain of the waters of the great flood, neither the great flood destroying all [the] earth shall be any more.

12And God said, This is the sign of bond of peace, which I give between me and you, and to each living soul which is with you, into everlasting generations.

13I shall set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of bond of peace between me and [the] earth;

14and when I shall cover [the] heaven with clouds, my bow shall appear in the clouds,

15and I shall have mind of my bond of peace which I made with you, and with each soul living that nourisheth flesh; and the waters of the great flood shall no more be to do away all flesh.

16And my bow shall be in the clouds, and I shall see it, and I shall have mind of the everlasting bond of peace, which is made between God and man, and each soul living of all flesh which is on [the] earth.

17And God said to Noah, This shall be a sign of [the] bond of peace, which I made between me and each flesh on earth.

18Therefore they that went out of the ship were Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth; forsooth Ham, that is the father of Canaan.

19These three were the sons of Noah, and all the kind of men was sown of them on all [the] earth.

20And Noah, an earth-tiller, began to till the earth, and he planted a vinery [or a vineyard],

21and one day he drank wine, and was drunken; and he was naked, and lay in his tabernacle.

22And when Ham, the father of Canaan, had seen this thing, that is, that the shameful members of his father were made naked, he told his two brethren withoutforth.

23And Shem and Japheth putted a mantle on their shoulders, and they went backward, and covered the shameful members of their father, and their faces were turned away, and they saw not the privy members of their father.

24And Noah waked of the wine, and when he had learned what things his lesser, or younger#9:24 Most modern translations and Bible dictionaries refer to Ham as Noah’s youngest son, though he is second in all the lists in the Bible. The KJV, like the “Wycliffe Bible” (both versions), uses ‘younger’ in this verse., son had done to him,

25he said, Cursed be the child Canaan, he shall be a servant of servants to his brethren.

26And Noah said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem, and Canaan be the servant of Shem;

27God alarge Japheth, and dwell he in the tabernacles of Shem, and Canaan be the servant of him.

28Forsooth Noah lived after the great flood three hundred and fifty years;

29and all the days of him were filled nine hundred and fifty years, and he was dead.

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