2 And the fear of you and the dread and terror of you shall be upon every beast of the land, every bird of the air, all that creeps upon the ground, and upon all the fish of the sea; they are delivered into your hand.

3 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you; and as I gave you the green vegetables and plants, I give you everything.

4 But you shall not eat flesh with the life of it, which is its blood.

5 And surely for your lifeblood I will require an accounting; from every beast I will require it; and from man, from every man [who spills another's lifeblood] I will require a reckoning.

6 Whoever sheds man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God He made man.

7 And you, be fruitful and multiply; bring forth abundantly on the earth and multiply on it.

8 Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying,

9 Behold, I establish My covenant or pledge with you and with your descendants after you

10 And with every living creature that is with you–whether the birds, the livestock, or the wild beasts of the earth along with you, as many as came out of the ark–every animal of the earth.

11 I will establish My covenant or pledge with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood; neither shall there ever again be a flood to destroy the earth and make it corrupt.

12 And God said, This is the token of the covenant (solemn pledge) which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations:

13 I set My bow [rainbow] in the cloud, and it shall be a token or sign of a covenant or solemn pledge between Me and the earth.

14 And it shall be that when I bring clouds over the earth and the bow [rainbow] is seen in the clouds,

15 I will [earnestly] remember My covenant or solemn pledge which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters will no more become a flood to destroy and make all flesh corrupt.

16 When the bow [rainbow] is in the clouds and I look upon it, I will [earnestly] remember the everlasting covenant or pledge between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.

17 And God said to Noah, This [rainbow] is the token or sign of the covenant or solemn pledge which I have established between Me and all flesh upon the earth.

18 The sons of Noah who went forth from the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham was the father of Canaan [born later].

19 These are the three sons of Noah, and from them the whole earth was overspread and stocked with inhabitants.

20 And Noah began to cultivate the ground, and he planted a vineyard.

21 And he drank of the wine and became drunk, and he was uncovered and lay naked in his tent.

22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, glanced at and saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside.

23 So Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it upon the shoulders of both, and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they did not see their father's nakedness.

24 When Noah awoke from his wine, and knew the thing which his youngest son had done to him,

25 He exclaimed, Cursed be Canaan! He shall be the servant of servants to his brethren! [Deut. 27:16.]

26 He also said, Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem! And blessed by the Lord my God be Shem! And let Canaan be his servant.

27 May God enlarge Japheth; and let him dwell in the tents of Shem, and let Canaan be his servant.

28 And Noah lived after the flood 350 years.

29 All the days of Noah were 950 years, and he died.

1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation

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Genesis 9

God’s Covenant with Noah and Humankind

1And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. 2And fear of you and dread of you shall be upon every animal of the earth, and on every bird of heaven,#Or “the sky” and on everything that moves upon the ground, and on all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they shall be given. 3Every moving thing that lives shall be for you as food. As I gave the green plants to you, I have now given you everything. 4Only you shall not eat raw flesh with blood in it.#Literally “flesh with its life, its blood” 5And#Or “only”; the same word that occurs at the beginning of v. 4 your lifeblood#Literally “your blood belonging to your life” I will require; from every animal#Literally “from the hand of every animal” I will require it. And from the hand of humankind, from the hand of each man to his brother I will require the life of humankind.

6“As for the one shedding the blood of humankind,

by humankind his blood shall be shed,

for God made humankind in his own image.

7“And you, be fruitful and multiply, swarm on the earth and multiply in it.” 8And God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 9“As for me, behold, I am establishing my covenant with you and with your seed after you, 10and with every living creature that is with you—the birds, the animals, and every animal of the earth with you, from all that came out of the ark to all the animals of the earth. 11I 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.” 12And 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. 13My bow I have set in the clouds, and it shall be for a sign of the covenant between me and between the earth. 14And when I make clouds appear over the earth the bow shall be seen in the clouds. 15Then#Or “And” 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#Literally “be to destroy” of all flesh. 16The 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.” 17And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I am establishing between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.

Noah’s Descendants

18Now#Or “And” the sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) 19These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated.#Literally “all the earth branched out” 20And Noah began to be a man of the ground, and he planted a vineyard. 21And he drank some of the wine and became drunk, and he exposed himself in the midst of his tent. 22And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and he told his two brothers outside. 23Then#Or “And” Shem and Japheth took a garment, and the two of them put it on their shoulders and, walking backward, they covered the nakedness of their father. And their faces were turned backward, so that#Or “and” they did not see the nakedness of their father. 24Then#Or “And” Noah awoke from his drunkenness,#Or “his wine” and he knew what his youngest son had done to him. 25And he said,

“Cursed be Canaan,

a slave of slaves he shall be to his brothers.”

26Then#Or “And” he said,

“Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Shem,

and let Canaan be a slave to them.

27May God make space for Japheth,

and let him dwell in the tents of Shem,

and let Canaan be a slave for him.”

28And Noah lived three hundred and fifty years after the flood. 29And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years, and he died.

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Genesis 9

Genesis 9