Genesis 9

Covenant of the Rainbow

1Then God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, “1Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. 2The fear of you and the terror of you will be on every animal of the earth and on every bird of the sky; on everything that crawls on the ground, and on all the fish of the sea. They are handed over to you. 3Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I have given everything to you, 2as I gave the green plant. 4But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, 3its blood. 5I certainly will require 45your lifeblood; 67from every animal I will require it. And 8from every person, 9from every man as his brother I will require the life of a person.610Whoever sheds human blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For 11in the image of God He made mankind.7As for you, 12be fruitful and multiply; 13Populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it.”

8Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, 9“Now behold, 14I Myself am establishing My covenant with you, and with your 15descendants after you; 10and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the livestock, and every animal of the earth with you; of all that comes out of the ark, every animal of the earth. 11I establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall 16never again be eliminated by the waters of a flood, 17nor shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth.” 12God said, “This is 18the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for 19all future generations; 13I have set My 20rainbow in the cloud, and it shall 21serve as a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth. 14It shall come about, when I make a cloud appear over the earth, that the rainbow will be seen in the cloud, 15and 22I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and 23never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16When the rainbow is in the cloud, then I will look at it, to remember the 24everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” 17And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

18Now the sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth; and 25Ham was the father of Canaan. 19These three were the sons of Noah, and 26from these the whole earth was 27populated.

20Then Noah began 28farming and planted a vineyard. 21He drank some of the wine and 29became drunk, and uncovered himself inside his tent. 22Ham, the father of Canaan, 30saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. 23But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it on both their shoulders and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were 31turned away, so that they did not see their father’s nakedness. 24When Noah awoke from his wine, he knew what his youngest son had done to him. 25So he said, “32Cursed be Canaan; 3334A servant of servants He shall be to his brothers.” 26He also said, “35Blessed be the Lord, The God of Shem; And may Canaan be 36his servant.2737May God enlarge Japheth, And may he live in the tents of Shem; And may Canaan be 38his servant.”

28Noah lived 350 years after the flood. 29So all the days of Noah were 950 years, and he died.