Genesis 9

God’s Covenant with Noah

¹God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.²³The 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.⁴⁵Every creature that lives and moves will be food for you; as I gave the green plants, I have given you everything.⁶⁷However, you must not eat meat with its lifeblood in it.⁸⁹And I will require a penalty for your lifeblood; I will require it from any animal and from any human; if someone murders a fellow human, I will require that person’s life.¹⁰

¹¹Whoever sheds human blood, by humans his blood will be shed, for God made humans in his image.¹²

¹³But you, be fruitful and multiply; spread out over the earth and multiply on it.”¹⁴

¹⁵Then God said to Noah and his sons with him,¹⁶¹⁷“Understand that I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you,¹⁸¹⁹and 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.²⁰²¹I 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.”²²

²³And 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:²⁴²⁵I have placed my bow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.²⁶²⁷Whenever I form clouds over the earth and the bow appears in the clouds,²⁸²⁹I will remember my covenant between me and you and all the living creatures: water will never again become a flood to destroy every creature.³⁰³¹The 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.”³²³³God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and every creature on earth.”³⁴

Prophecies about Noah’s Family

³⁵Noah’s sons who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham was the father of Canaan.³⁶³⁷These three were Noah’s sons, and from them the whole earth was populated.³⁸

³⁹Noah, as a man of the soil, began by planting a vineyard.⁴⁰⁴¹He drank some of the wine, became drunk, and uncovered himself inside his tent.⁴²⁴³Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside.⁴⁴⁴⁵Then 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.⁴⁶

⁴⁷When Noah awoke from his drinking and learned what his youngest son had done to him,⁴⁸⁴⁹he said: Canaan is cursed. He will be the lowest of slaves to his brothers.⁵⁰

⁵¹He also said: Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem; Let Canaan be Shem’s slave.⁵²

⁵³Let God extend Japheth; let Japheth dwell in the tents of Shem; let Canaan be Shem’s slave.⁵⁴

⁵⁵Now Noah lived 350 years after the flood.⁵⁶⁵⁷So Noah’s life lasted 950 years; then he died.⁵⁸