20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord. He took some of every kind of clean animal and every kind of clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 When the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma,(A) he said to himself, “I will never again curse the ground(B) because of human beings, even though the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth onward.(C) And I will never again strike down every living thing as I have done.(D)

22 As long as the earth endures,
seedtime and harvest, cold and heat,
summer and winter, and day and night
will not cease.”(E)

God’s Covenant with Noah

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

Whoever sheds human blood,
by humans his blood will be shed,(L)
for God made humans in his image.(M)

But you, be fruitful and multiply; spread out over the earth and multiply on it.”(N)

Then God said to Noah and his sons with him, “Understand that I am establishing my covenant(O) with you and your descendants after you, 10 and 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. 11 I 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.”(P)

12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant(Q) I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all future generations: 13 I have placed my bow in the clouds,(R) and it will be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 Whenever I form clouds over the earth and the bow appears in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant(S) between me and you and all the living creatures: water will never again become a flood to destroy every creature. 16 The bow will be in the clouds, and I will look at it and remember the permanent covenant(T) between God and all the living creatures on earth.” 17 God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and every creature on earth.”

Footnotes

  1. 9:5 Lit And your blood belonging to your life I will seek

God’s Promise to Noah

20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.(A) 21 And when the Lord smelled the pleasing odor, the Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of humans, for the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth; nor will I ever again destroy every living creature as I have done.(B)

22 As long as the earth endures,
    seedtime and harvest, cold and heat,
summer and winter, day and night
    shall not cease.”(C)

The Covenant with Noah

God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.(D) The fear and dread of you shall rest on every animal of the earth and on every bird of the air, on everything that creeps on the ground and on all the fish of the sea; into your hand they are delivered. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you, and just as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.(E) Only, you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.(F) For your own lifeblood I will surely require a reckoning: from every animal I will require it and from human beings, each one for the blood of another, I will require a reckoning for human life.(G)

Whoever sheds the blood of a human,
    by a human shall that person’s blood be shed,
for in his own image
    God made humans.(H)

“And you, be fruitful and multiply, abound on the earth and have dominion over[a] it.”(I)

Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, “As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you(J) 10 and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark.[b](K) 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.”(L) 12 God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations:(M) 13 I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.(N) 14 When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant that 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.(O) 16 When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”(P) 17 God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

Footnotes

  1. 9.7 Gk mss: Heb multiply in
  2. 9.10 Gk: Heb adds every animal of the earth