Font Size
Genesis 9
Contemporary English Version
Genesis 9
Contemporary English Version
God's Promise to Noah
9 (A) God said to Noah and his sons:
I am giving you my blessing. Have a lot of children and grandchildren, so people will live everywhere on this earth. 2 All animals, birds, reptiles, and fish will be afraid of you. I have placed them under your control, 3 and I have given them to you for food. From now on, you may eat them, as well as the green plants that you have always eaten. 4 (B) But life is in the blood, and you must not eat any meat that still has blood in it. 5-6 (C) I created humans to be like me, and I will punish any animal or person that takes a human life. If an animal kills someone, that animal must die. And if a person takes the life of another, that person must be put to death.
7 (D) I want you and your descendants to have many children, so people will live everywhere on earth.
8 Again, God said to Noah and his sons:
9 I am going to make a solemn promise to you and to everyone who will live after you. 10 This includes the birds and the animals that came out of the boat. 11 I promise every living creature that the earth and those living on it will never again be destroyed by a flood.
12-13 The rainbow that I have put in the sky will be my sign to you and to every living creature on earth. It will remind you that I will keep this promise forever. 14 When I send clouds over the earth, and a rainbow appears in the sky, 15 I will remember my promise to you and to all other living creatures. Never again will I let floodwaters destroy all life. 16 When I see the rainbow in the sky, I will always remember the promise that I have made to every living creature. 17 The rainbow will be the sign of that solemn promise.
Noah and His Family
18 Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, left the boat. Ham later had a son named Canaan. 19 All people on earth are descendants of Noah's three sons.
20 Noah farmed the land and was the first to plant a vineyard. 21 One day he got drunk and was lying naked in his tent. 22 Ham entered the tent and saw him naked, then went back outside and told his brothers. 23 Shem and Japheth put a robe over their shoulders and walked backwards into the tent. Without looking at their father, they placed it over his body.
24 When Noah sobered up and learned what his youngest son had done, 25 he said,
“I now put a curse on Canaan!
He will be the lowest slave
of his brothers.
26 I ask the Lord my God
to bless Shem
and make Canaan his slave.
27 I pray God will give Japheth
more and more[a] land
and let him take over
the territory of Shem.
May Canaan be his slave.”
28 Noah lived 350 years after the flood 29 and died at the age of 950.
Footnotes
- 9.27 more and more: In Hebrew “Japheth” sounds like “more and more.”
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.
Genesis 9
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Genesis 9
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
The Covenant with Noah
9 God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. 2 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. 3 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you; and just 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 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.
6 Whoever sheds the blood of a human,
by a human shall that person’s blood be shed;
for in his own image
God made humankind.
7 And you, be fruitful and multiply, abound on the earth and multiply in it.”
8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 9 “As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, 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.[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 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: 13 I have set my bow in the clouds, 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 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. 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.” 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.”
Noah and His Sons
18 The sons of Noah who went out of 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, a man of the soil, was the first to plant a vineyard. 21 He drank some of the wine and became drunk, and he 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 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;
lowest of slaves shall he be to his brothers.”
26 He also said,
“Blessed by the Lord my God be Shem;
and let Canaan be his slave.
27 May God make space for[b] Japheth,
and let him live in the tents of Shem;
and let Canaan be his slave.”
28 After the flood Noah lived three hundred fifty years. 29 All the days of Noah were nine hundred fifty years; and he died.
Footnotes
- Genesis 9:10 Gk: Heb adds every animal of the earth
- Genesis 9:27 Heb yapht, a play on Japheth
Contemporary English Version (CEV) 
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.
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.
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 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.