^9:11I confirm²⁵ my covenant with you: Never again will all living things²⁶ be wiped out²⁷ by the waters of a flood;²⁸ never again will a flood destroy the earth.”

^9:12And God said, “This is the guarantee²⁹ of the covenant I am making³⁰ with you³¹ and every living creature with you, a covenant³² for all subsequent³³ generations: ^9:13I will place³⁴ my rainbow³⁵ in the clouds, and it will become³⁶ a guarantee of the covenant between me and the earth. ^9:14Whenever³⁷ I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, ^9:15then I will remember my covenant with you³⁸ and with all living creatures of all kinds.³⁹ Never again will the waters become a flood and destroy⁴⁰ all living things.⁴¹^9:16When the rainbow is in the clouds, I will notice it and remember⁴² the perpetual covenant between God and all living creatures of all kinds that are on the earth.”

Read in Logos

Genesis 9:13: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.

Footnotes

25 The verb וַהֲקִמֹתִי (vahaqimoti) is a perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive and should be translated with the English present tense, just as the participle at the beginning of the speech was (v. 9). Another option is to translate both forms with the English future tense (“I will confirm”).
26 Heb “all flesh.”
27 Heb “cut off.”
28 Heb “and all flesh will not be cut off again by the waters of the flood.”
29 Heb “sign.”
30 On the making of covenants in Genesis, see W. F. Albright, “The Hebrew Expression for ‘Making a Covenant’ in Pre-Israelite Documents,” 121 (1951): 21–22.
31 Heb “between me and between you.”
32 The words “a covenant” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
33 The Hebrew term עוֹלָם (’olam) means “ever, forever, lasting, perpetual.” The covenant would extend to subsequent generations.
34 The translation assumes that the perfect verbal form is used rhetorically, emphasizing the certainty of the action. Other translation options include “I have placed” (present perfect; cf. , ) and “I place” (instantaneous perfect; cf. ).
35 The Hebrew word קֶשֶׁת (qeshet) normally refers to a warrior’s bow. Some understand this to mean that God the warrior hangs up his battle bow at the end of the flood, indicating he is now at peace with humankind, but others question the legitimacy of this proposal. See C. Westermann, Genesis, 1:, and G. J. Wenham, Genesis (), 1:.
36 The perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here has the same aspectual function as the preceding perfect of certitude.
37 The temporal indicator (וְהָיָה, véhayah, conjunction + the perfect verb form), often translated “it will be,” anticipates a future development.
38 Heb “which [is] between me and between you.”
39 Heb “all flesh.”
40 Heb “to destroy.”
41 Heb “all flesh.”
42 The translation assumes that the infinitive לִזְכֹּר (lizkor, “to remember”) here expresses the result of seeing the rainbow. Another option is to understand it as indicating purpose, in which case it could be translated, “I will look at it so that I may remember.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

I 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.” And God said, “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: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 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. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

I establish my covenant with you that never again will every creature be wiped out by floodwaters; there will never again be a flood to destroy the earth.”

And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all future generations: I have placed my bow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I form clouds over the earth and the bow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all the living creatures: water will never again become a flood to destroy every creature. The bow will be in the clouds, and I will look at it and remember the permanent covenant between God and all the living creatures on earth.”

NLTNew Living Translation

Yes, I am confirming my covenant with you. Never again will floodwaters kill all living creatures; never again will a flood destroy the earth.”

Then God said, “I am giving you a sign of my covenant with you and with all living creatures, for all generations to come. I have placed my rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of my covenant with you and with all the earth. When I send clouds over the earth, the rainbow will appear in the clouds, and I will remember my covenant with you and with all living creatures. Never again will the floodwaters destroy all life. When I see the rainbow in the clouds, I will remember the eternal covenant between God and every living creature on earth.”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

I am establishing my covenant with you, that never again will all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, nor will there ever be a flood that destroys the earth.” And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I am making between me and you, and between every living creature that is with you for future generations. My bow I have set in the clouds, and it shall be for a sign of the covenant between me and between the earth. And when I make clouds appear over the earth the bow shall be seen in the clouds. Then I will remember my covenant that is between me and you, and between every living creature, with all flesh. And the waters of a flood will never again cause the destruction of all flesh. The bow shall be in the clouds, and I will see it, so as to remember the everlasting covenant between God and between every living creature, with all flesh that is upon the earth.”

KJV 1900King James Version

And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.

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