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20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and there he sacrificed as burnt offerings the animals and birds that had been approved for that purpose.[a] 21 And the Lord was pleased with the aroma of the sacrifice and said to himself, “I will never again curse the ground because of the human race, even though everything they think or imagine is bent toward evil from childhood. I will never again destroy all living things. 22 As long as the earth remains, there will be planting and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night.”

God Confirms His Covenant

Then God blessed Noah and his sons and told them, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth. All the animals of the earth, all the birds of the sky, all the small animals that scurry along the ground, and all the fish in the sea will look on you with fear and terror. I have placed them in your power. I have given them to you for food, just as I have given you grain and vegetables. But you must never eat any meat that still has the lifeblood in it.

“And I will require the blood of anyone who takes another person’s life. If a wild animal kills a person, it must die. And anyone who murders a fellow human must die. If anyone takes a human life, that person’s life will also be taken by human hands. For God made human beings[b] in his own image. Now be fruitful and multiply, and repopulate the earth.”

Then God told Noah and his sons, “I hereby confirm my covenant with you and your descendants, 10 and with all the animals that were on the boat with you—the birds, the livestock, and all the wild animals—every living creature on earth. 11 Yes, I am confirming my covenant with you. Never again will floodwaters kill all living creatures; never again will a flood destroy the earth.”

12 Then God said, “I am giving you a sign of my covenant with you and with all living creatures, for all generations to come. 13 I have placed my rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of my covenant with you and with all the earth. 14 When I send clouds over the earth, the rainbow will appear in the clouds, 15 and I will remember my covenant with you and with all living creatures. Never again will the floodwaters destroy all life. 16 When I see the rainbow in the clouds, I will remember the eternal covenant between God and every living creature on earth.” 17 Then God said to Noah, “Yes, this rainbow is the sign of the covenant I am confirming with all the creatures on earth.”

Footnotes

  1. 8:20 Hebrew every clean animal and every clean bird.
  2. 9:6 Or man; Hebrew reads ha-adam.

20 Then Noah built (A)an altar to the Lord, and took some of every kind of (B)clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered (C)burnt offerings on the altar. 21 The Lord (D)smelled the soothing aroma, and the Lord said [a]to Himself, “I will never again (E)curse the ground on account of man, for (F)the [b]intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth; (G)and I will never again [c]destroy every living thing, as I have done.

22 While the earth remains,
Seedtime and harvest,
Cold and heat,
(H)Summer and winter,
And (I)day and night
Shall not cease.”

Covenant of the Rainbow

Then God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, “(J)Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. The fear of you and the terror of you will be on every animal of the earth and on every bird of the sky; on everything that crawls on the ground, and on all the fish of the sea. They are handed over to you. Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I have given everything to you, (K)as I gave the green plant. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, (L)its blood. I certainly will require [d](M)your lifeblood; [e](N)from every animal I will require it. And [f]from every person, [g]from every man as his brother I will require the life of a person.

(O)Whoever sheds human blood,
By man his blood shall be shed,
For (P)in the image of God
He made mankind.
As for you, (Q)be fruitful and multiply;
[h]Populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it.”

Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, “Now behold, (R)I Myself am establishing My covenant with you, and with your [i]descendants after you; 10 and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the livestock, and every animal of the earth with you; of all that comes out of the ark, every animal of the earth. 11 I establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall (S)never again be eliminated by the waters of a flood, (T)nor shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth.” 12 God said, “This is (U)the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for [j]all future generations; 13 I have set My (V)rainbow in the cloud, and it shall [k]serve as a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth. 14 It shall come about, when I make a cloud appear over the earth, that the rainbow will be seen in the cloud, 15 and (W)I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and (X)never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 When the rainbow is in the cloud, then I will look at it, to remember the (Y)everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” 17 And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 8:21 Lit to His heart
  2. Genesis 8:21 Or inclination
  3. Genesis 8:21 Lit strike
  4. Genesis 9:5 Lit your blood of your lives
  5. Genesis 9:5 Lit from the hand of
  6. Genesis 9:5 Lit from the hand of
  7. Genesis 9:5 Lit from the hand of
  8. Genesis 9:7 Lit Swarm in the earth
  9. Genesis 9:9 Lit seed
  10. Genesis 9:12 Or everlasting generations
  11. Genesis 9:13 Lit be for