8Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons who were with him. He said, 9“I am now making my covenant with you and with all of your children who will be born after you. 10I am making it also with every living thing that was with you in the ark. I am making my covenant with the birds, the livestock and all of the wild animals. I am making it with all of the creatures that came out of the ark with you. I am making it with every living thing on earth.

11“Here is my covenant that I am making with you. The waters of a flood will never destroy all life again. A flood will never destroy the earth again.”

12God continued, “My covenant is between me and you and every living thing with you. It is a covenant for all time to come.

“Here is the sign of the covenant I am making. 13I have put my rainbow in the clouds. It will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14Sometimes when I bring clouds over the earth, a rainbow will appear in them. 15Then I will remember my covenant between me and you and every kind of living thing. The waters will never become a flood to destroy all life again.

16“When the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it. I will remember that my covenant will last forever. It is a covenant between me and every kind of living thing on earth.”

17So God said to Noah, “The rainbow is the sign of my covenant. I have made my covenant between me and all life on earth.”