Genesis 9:18-29
New King James Version
Noah and His Sons
18 Now the sons of Noah who went out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (A)And Ham was the father of Canaan. 19 (B)These three were the sons of Noah, (C)and from these the whole earth was populated.
20 And Noah began to be (D)a farmer, and he planted a vineyard. 21 Then he drank of the wine (E)and was drunk, and became uncovered in his tent. 22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. 23 (F)But Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were [a]turned away, and they did not see their father’s nakedness.
24 So Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done to him. 25 Then he said:
26 And he said:
(I)“Blessed be the Lord,
The God of Shem,
And may Canaan be his servant.
27 May God (J)enlarge Japheth,
(K)And may he dwell in the tents of Shem;
And may Canaan be his servant.”
28 And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years. 29 So all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years; and he died.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Genesis 9:23 Lit. backwards
Genesis 9:18-29
Expanded Bible
Noah and His Sons
18 The sons of Noah who came out of the ·boat [ark] with him were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) 19 These three men were Noah’s sons, and all the people on earth ·came [spread out; C see the genealogy in ch. 10] from these three sons.
20 Noah ·became a farmer [L was the first man of the ground/soil] and planted a vineyard. 21 When he drank ·wine made from his grapes [L the wine], he became drunk and lay ·naked [uncovered] in his tent. 22 Ham, the father of Canaan, looked at his naked father and told his [L two] brothers outside [C an act of disrespect; he should have helped his father, as in the next verse]. 23 Then Shem and Japheth got a coat and, carrying it on both their shoulders, they walked backwards into the tent and covered [L the nakedness of] their father. They turned their faces away so that they did not see their father’s nakedness [C they acted appropriately according to ancient custom].
24 Noah ·was sleeping because of the wine. When he woke up [woke up from his wine] and ·learned [L he knew] what his youngest son, Ham, had done to him, 25 he said,
“May there be a curse on Canaan [C the ancestor and representative of the inhabitants of Palestine that Israel displaced at the time of the conquest of the Promised Land; Josh. 1–12]!
May he be the lowest ·slave [servant] to his brothers.”
26 Noah also said,
“May the Lord, the God of Shem, be ·praised [blessed]!
May Canaan be Shem’s ·slave [servant; L Shem is the ancestor of Israel].
27 May God ·give more land to [make space for; C the verb sounds like his name] Japheth.
May Japheth live in Shem’s tents,
and may Canaan be their slave [10:2–4; 1 Chr. 1:5–7].”
28 After the flood Noah lived 350 years. 29 ·He lived a total of [L All the days of Noah were] 950 years, and then he died.
Read full chapter
Genesis 9:18-29
English Standard Version
Noah's Descendants
18 The sons of Noah who went forth from the ark were (A)Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) 19 These three were the sons of Noah, and (B)from these the people of the whole earth were dispersed.[a]
20 Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard.[b] 21 He drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent. 22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside. 23 Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned backward, and they did not see their father's nakedness. 24 When Noah awoke from his wine (C)and knew what his youngest son had done to him, 25 he said,
26 He also said,
“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem;
and let Canaan be his servant.
27 May God enlarge Japheth,[c]
and let him dwell in the tents of Shem,
and let Canaan be his servant.”
28 After the flood Noah lived 350 years. 29 All the days of Noah were 950 years, and he died.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Genesis 9:19 Or from these the whole earth was populated
- Genesis 9:20 Or Noah, a man of the soil, was the first to plant a vineyard
- Genesis 9:27 Japheth sounds like the Hebrew for enlarge
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.

