Genesis 9

God’s Covenant with Noah

9God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. ^r2The 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. ^s3Every living creature will be food for you; ^tas I gave the green plants, I have given you everything. ^u4However, you must not eat meat with its lifeblood in it. ^v5I will require the life of every animal ^wand every man for your life and your blood. I will require the life of each man’s brother for a man’s life. ^x

⁶Whoever sheds man’s blood,

his blood will be shed by man, ^y

for God made man in His image. ^z

⁷But you, be fruitful and multiply; spread out over the earth and multiply on it.” ^a

⁸Then God said to Noah and his sons with him, ⁹“Understand that I am confirming My covenant ^bwith 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.” ^c

¹²And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant ^dI 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, ^eand 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 ^fbetween Me and you and all the living creatures: ^gwater 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 ^hbetween God and all the living creatures ⁱon 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. ^j

²⁰Noah, a man of the soil, was the first to plant ^ka 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. ^l23Then 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. ^m

He will be the lowest of slaves to his brothers. ⁿ

²⁶He also said:

Praise the Lord, the God of Shem;

Canaan will be ^ohis slave.

²⁷God will extend ^pJapheth;

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.