Genesis 9:8-15
New Catholic Bible
Covenant of Mercy.[a] 8 God said to Noah and his sons, 9 “As for me, I will establish my covenant with you and your descendants after you, 10 with every living creature along with you—the birds, tame and wild animals, and with all the animals which left the ark. 11 I will establish my covenant with you: never again will all living creatures be cut off by the waters of a flood, nor will the earth be laid waste by a flood again.”
12 God said, “This will be a sign of the covenant that I establish between me and you and every living creature for all generations. 13 I will place my rainbow in the clouds and it will be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 When I gather the clouds over the earth, the rainbow will appear in the clouds. 15 I will remember my covenant between me and you and with every living creature of every kind, that water and flood shall never again destroy all flesh.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Genesis 9:8 God’s intention as enunciated in the Yahwist tradition (8:21-22) is rethought in this Priestly passage as a covenant between God and Noah, analogous to that which will later be established between God and Abraham (Gen 15; 17) and then between God and the Israelite people (Ex 19–24). The imagery brings out the unqualified steadfastness of the divine intention. The Covenant is freely made on God’s part, that is, it does not depend on the future behavior of human beings, for the Lord does not ask Noah to fulfill any particular requirement.
