Genesis 9

1-4God blessed Noah and his sons: He said, “Prosper! Reproduce! Fill the Earth! Every living creature—birds, animals, fish—will fall under your spell and be afraid of you. You’re responsible for them. All living creatures are yours for food; just as I gave you the plants, now I give you everything else. Except for meat with its lifeblood still in it—don’t eat that.

5“But your own lifeblood I will avenge; I will avenge it against both animals and other humans.

6-7Whoever sheds human blood,

by humans let his blood be shed,

Because God made humans in his image

reflecting God’s very nature.

You’re here to bear fruit, reproduce,

lavish life on the Earth, live bountifully!”

8-11Then God spoke to Noah and his sons: “I’m setting up my covenant with you including your children who will come after you, along with everything alive around you—birds, farm animals, wild animals—that came out of the ship with you. I’m setting up my covenant with you that never again will everything living be destroyed by floodwaters; no, never again will a flood destroy the Earth.”

12-16God continued, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and everything living around you and everyone living after you. I’m putting my rainbow in the clouds, a sign of the covenant between me and the Earth. From now on, when I form a cloud over the Earth and the rainbow appears in the cloud, I’ll remember my covenant between me and you and everything living, that never again will floodwaters destroy all life. When the rainbow appears in the cloud, I’ll see it and remember the eternal covenant between God and everything living, every last living creature on Earth.”

17And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I’ve set up between me and everything living on the Earth.”

18-19The sons of Noah who came out of the ship were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham was the father of Canaan. These are the three sons of Noah; from these three the whole Earth was populated.

20-23Noah, a farmer, was the first to plant a vineyard. He drank from its wine, got drunk and passed out, naked in his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw that his father was naked and told his two brothers who were outside the tent. Shem and Japheth took a cloak, held it between them from their shoulders, walked backward and covered their father’s nakedness, keeping their faces turned away so they did not see their father’s exposed body.

24-27When Noah woke up with his hangover, he learned what his youngest son had done. He said,

Cursed be Canaan! A slave of slaves,

a slave to his brothers!

Blessed be God, the God of Shem,

but Canaan shall be his slave.

God prosper Japheth,

living spaciously in the tents of Shem.

But Canaan shall be his slave.

28-29Noah lived another 350 years following the flood. He lived a total of 950 years. And he died.

Learn More About The Message

Genesis 9

1And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, #ch. 1:22, 28; 8:17“Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. 2#[Ps. 8:6-8; James 3:7]The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered. 3#Deut. 12:15; 1 Tim. 4:3, 4 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And #ch. 1:29as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. 4But you shall not eat flesh with its #Lev. 17:10, 11, 14; Deut. 12:16, 23; 1 Sam. 14:33; Acts 15:20, 29life, that is, its blood. 5And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: #Ex. 21:28 from every beast I will require it and #ch. 4:10, 11from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man.

6 # Ex. 21:12, 14; Lev. 24:17; Num. 35:31, 33; [Matt. 26:52; Rev. 13:10] “Whoever sheds the blood of man,

by man shall his blood be shed,

# ch. 1:27; 5:1; James 3:9 for God made man in his own image.

7And you,#9:7 In Hebrew you is plural be fruitful and multiply, increase greatly on the earth and multiply in it.”

8Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 9“Behold, #ch. 6:18; 8:20-22I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, 10and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. 11#Isa. 54:9, 10I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” 12And God said, #ch. 17:11“This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: 13I have set #Ezek. 1:28; [Rev. 4:3; 10:1]my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15#[Lev. 26:42, 45; 1 Kgs. 8:23; Ezek. 16:60]I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember #ch. 17:7, 13, 19the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” 17God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

Noah’s Descendants

18The sons of Noah who went forth from the ark were #ch. 5:32; 10:1Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) 19These three were the sons of Noah, and #ch. 10:32from these the people of the whole earth were dispersed.#9:19 Or from these the whole earth was populated

20Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard.#9:20 Or Noah, a man of the soil, was the first to plant a vineyard 21He drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent. 22And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside. 23Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned backward, and they did not see their father’s nakedness. 24When Noah awoke from his wine #[Hab. 2:15]and knew what his youngest son had done to him, 25he said,

# Deut. 27:16 “Cursed be Canaan;

# Josh. 9:23; Judg. 1:28; 1 Kgs. 9:20, 21 a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.”

26He also said,

“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem;

and let Canaan be his servant.

27May God enlarge Japheth,#9:27 Japheth sounds like the Hebrew for enlarge

and let him dwell in the tents of Shem,

and let Canaan be his servant.”

28After the flood Noah lived 350 years. 29All the days of Noah were 950 years, and he died.

Learn More About English Standard Version 2016