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Genesis 9
Revised Standard Version
Genesis 9
Revised Standard Version
The Covenant with Noah
9 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. 2 The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every bird of the air, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea; into your hand they are delivered. 3 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you; and as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. 4 Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. 5 For your lifeblood I will surely require a reckoning; of every beast I will require it and of man; of every man’s brother I will require the life of man. 6 Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for God made man in his own image. 7 And you, be fruitful and multiply, bring forth abundantly on the earth and multiply in it.”
8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 9 “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your descendants after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark.[a] 11 I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” 12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: 13 I set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 When the bow is in the clouds, I will look upon it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.” 17 God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.”
Noah and His Sons
18 The sons of Noah who went forth from the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham was the father of Canaan. 19 These three were the sons of Noah; and from these the whole earth was peopled.
20 Noah was the first tiller of the soil. He planted a vineyard; 21 and 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 upon both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father; their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father’s nakedness. 24 When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him, 25 he said,
“Cursed be Canaan;
a slave of slaves shall he be to his brothers.”
26 He also said,
“Blessed by the Lord my God be Shem;[b]
and let Canaan be his slave.
27 God enlarge Japheth,
and let him dwell in the tents of Shem;
and let Canaan be his slave.”
28 After the flood Noah lived three hundred and fifty years. 29 All the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years; and he died.
Footnotes
- Genesis 9:10 Gk: Heb repeats every beast of the earth
- Genesis 9:26 Or Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem
Genesis 9
New International Version
Genesis 9
New International Version
God’s Covenant With Noah
9 Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.(A) 2 The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands.(B) 3 Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you.(C) Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.(D)
4 “But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it.(E) 5 And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting.(F) I will demand an accounting from every animal.(G) And from each human being, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of another human being.(H)
6 “Whoever sheds human blood,
by humans shall their blood be shed;(I)
for in the image of God(J)
has God made mankind.
7 As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it.”(K)
8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: 9 “I now establish my covenant with you(L) and with your descendants after you 10 and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. 11 I establish my covenant(M) with you:(N) Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.(O)”
12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant(P) I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come:(Q) 13 I have set my rainbow(R) in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow(S) appears in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant(T) between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.(U) 16 Whenever the rainbow(V) appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant(W) between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”
17 So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant(X) I have established between me and all life on the earth.”
The Sons of Noah
18 The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth.(Y) (Ham was the father of Canaan.)(Z) 19 These were the three sons of Noah,(AA) and from them came the people who were scattered over the whole earth.(AB)
20 Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded[a] to plant a vineyard. 21 When he drank some of its wine,(AC) he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. 22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked(AD) and told his two brothers outside. 23 But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father’s naked body. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father naked.
24 When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, 25 he said,
26 He also said,
“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Shem!(AH)
May Canaan be the slave(AI) of Shem.
27 May God extend Japheth’s[b] territory;(AJ)
may Japheth live in the tents of Shem,(AK)
and may Canaan be the slave of Japheth.”
28 After the flood Noah lived 350 years. 29 Noah lived a total of 950 years, and then he died.(AL)
Footnotes
- Genesis 9:20 Or soil, was the first
- Genesis 9:27 Japheth sounds like the Hebrew for extend.
Revised Standard Version (RSV)
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.