Covenant of the Rainbow

9 Then God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, “^(A)Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. ² 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. ³ Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I have given everything to you, ^(B)as I gave the green plant. ⁴ But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, ^(C)its blood. ⁵ I certainly will require ^[a](D)your lifeblood; ^[b](E)from every animal I will require it. And ^[c]from every person, ^[d]from every man as his brother I will require the life of a person.

⁸ Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, ⁹ “Now behold, ^(I)I Myself am establishing My covenant with you, and with your ^[f]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 ^(J)never again be eliminated by the waters of a flood, ^(K)nor shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth.” ¹² God said, “This is ^(L)the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for ^[g]all future generations; ¹³ I have set My ^(M)rainbow in the cloud, and it shall ^[h]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 ^(N)I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and ^(O)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 ^(P)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.”

¹⁸ Now the sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth; and ^(Q)Ham was the father of Canaan. ¹⁹ These three were the sons of Noah, and ^(R)from these the whole earth was ^[i]populated.

²⁰ Then Noah began ^[j]farming and planted a vineyard. ²¹ He drank some of the wine and ^(S)became drunk, and uncovered himself inside his tent. ²² Ham, the father of Canaan, ^(T)saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. ²³ But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it on both their shoulders and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were ^[k]turned away, so that they did not see their father’s nakedness. ²⁴ When Noah awoke from his wine, he knew what his youngest son had done to him. ²⁵ So he said,

²⁶ He also said,

²⁸ Noah lived 350 years after the flood. ²⁹ So all the days of Noah were 950 years, and he died.

Descendants of Noah

10 Now these are the records of the generations of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth; and sons were born to them after the flood.

^2 (Y)The sons of Japheth were ^(Z)Gomer, Magog, ^(AA)Madai, ^(AB)Javan, Tubal, ^(AC)Meshech, and Tiras. ³ The sons of Gomer were ^(AD)Ashkenaz, ^[o]Riphath, and ^(AE)Togarmah. ⁴ The sons of Javan were Elishah, ^(AF)Tarshish, Kittim, and ^[p]Dodanim. ⁵ From these the people of the coastlands of the nations ^[q]were separated into their lands, every one according to his language, according to their families, into their nations.

^6 (AG)The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan. ⁷ The sons of Cush were ^(AH)Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, ^(AI)Raamah, and Sabteca; and the sons of Raamah were ^(AJ)Sheba and ^(AK)Dedan. ⁸ Now Cush fathered Nimrod; he ^[r]became a mighty one on the earth. ⁹ He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the Lord.” ¹⁰ And the beginning of his kingdom was ^[s](AL)Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of ^(AM)Shinar. ¹¹ From that land he went ^(AN)to Assyria, and built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah, ¹² and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city. ¹³ Mizraim fathered ^(AO)Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, ^14 (AP)Pathrusim, Casluhim (from whom came the Philistines), and Caphtorim.

¹⁵ Canaan fathered ^(AQ)Sidon, his firstborn, and ^(AR)Heth, ^16 (AS)the Jebusite, the Amorite, the Girgashite, ¹⁷ the Hivite, the Arkite, the Sinite, ¹⁸ the Arvadite, the Zemarite, and the Hamathite; and afterward the families of the Canaanite were spread abroad. ^19 (AT)The territory of the Canaanite ^[t]extended from Sidon ^[u]going toward Gerar, as far as Gaza; and ^[v]going toward ^(AU)Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha. ²⁰ These are the sons of Ham, according to their families, according to their languages, by their lands, and by their nations.

²¹ Also to Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, and the older brother of Japheth, children were born. ^22 (AV)The sons of Shem were ^(AW)Elam, Asshur, ^(AX)Arpachshad, ^(AY)Lud, and Aram. ²³ The sons of Aram were ^(AZ)Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. ²⁴ Arpachshad fathered ^(BA)Shelah; and Shelah fathered Eber. ^25 (BB)Two sons were born to Eber; the name of the one was ^[w]Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan. ²⁶ Joktan fathered Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, ²⁷ Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, ^28 [x]Obal, Abimael, Sheba, ²⁹ Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab; all of these were the sons of Joktan. ³⁰ Now their ^[y]settlement ^[z]extended from Mesha ^[aa]going toward Sephar, the hill country of the east. ³¹ These are the sons of Shem, according to their families, according to their languages, by their lands, and according to their nations.

³² These are the families of the sons of Noah, according to their descendants, by their nations; and ^(BC)out of these the nations were separated on the earth after the flood.

The Tower of Babel

11 Now all the earth ^[ab]used the same language and ^[ac]the same words. ² And it came about, as they journeyed ^[ad]east, that they found a plain in the land ^(BD)of Shinar and ^[ae]settled there. ³ Then they said to one another, “Come, let’s make bricks and ^[af]fire them thoroughly.” And they used brick for stone, and they used ^(BE)tar for mortar. ⁴ And they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top ^(BF)will reach into heaven, and let’s make ^(BG)a name for ourselves; otherwise we ^(BH)will be scattered abroad over the face of all the earth.” ⁵ Now ^(BI)the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the ^[ag]men had built. ⁶ And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have ^[ah](BJ)the same language. And this is what they have started to do, and now nothing which they plan to do will be ^[ai]impossible for them. ⁷ Come, ^[aj](BK)let Us go down and there ^(BL)confuse their ^[ak]language, so that they will not understand one another’s ^[al]speech.” ⁸ So the Lord ^(BM)scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth; and they stopped building the city. ⁹ Therefore it was named ^[am](BN)Babel, because there the Lord confused the ^[an]language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.

Descendants of Shem

^10 (BO)These are the records of the generations of Shem. Shem was a hundred years old when he fathered Arpachshad, two years after the flood; ¹¹ and Shem lived five hundred years after he fathered Arpachshad, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

¹² Arpachshad lived thirty-five years, and fathered Shelah; ¹³ and Arpachshad lived 403 years after he fathered Shelah, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

¹⁴ Shelah lived thirty years, and fathered Eber; ¹⁵ and Shelah lived 403 years after he fathered Eber, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

¹⁶ Eber lived thirty-four years, and fathered Peleg; ¹⁷ and Eber lived 430 years after he fathered Peleg, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

¹⁸ Peleg lived thirty years, and fathered Reu; ¹⁹ and Peleg lived 209 years after he fathered Reu, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

²⁰ Reu lived thirty-two years, and fathered Serug; ²¹ and Reu lived 207 years after he fathered Serug, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

²² Serug lived thirty years, and fathered Nahor; ²³ and Serug lived two hundred years after he fathered Nahor, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

²⁴ Nahor lived twenty-nine years, and fathered ^(BP)Terah; ²⁵ and Nahor lived 119 years after he fathered Terah, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

²⁶ Terah lived seventy years, and ^(BQ)fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

²⁷ Now these are the records of the generations of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and ^(BR)Haran fathered ^(BS)Lot. ²⁸ Haran died ^[ao]during the lifetime of his father Terah in the land of his birth, in ^(BT)Ur of the Chaldeans. ²⁹ Abram and ^(BU)Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram’s wife was ^(BV)Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was ^(BW)Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah ^[ap]and Iscah. ^30 (BX)Sarai was unable to conceive; she did not have a child.

³¹ Now Terah took his son Abram, and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they departed ^[aq]together from ^(BY)Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they went as far as Haran and ^[ar]settled there. ³² The days of Terah were 205 years; and Terah died in Haran.

Parable of the Sower and Soils

4 Again ^(A)He began to teach ^(B)by the sea. And such a very large crowd gathered to Him that ^(C)He got into a boat on the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land. ² And He was teaching them many things in ^(D)parables, and was saying to them in His teaching, ³ “Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow; ⁴ as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up. ⁵ Other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil. ⁶ And when the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. ⁷ Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. ⁸ Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundred times as much.” ⁹ And He was saying, “^(E)He who has ears to hear, ^[a]let him hear.”

¹⁰ As soon as He was alone, ^[b]His followers, along with the twelve disciples, began asking Him about the parables. ¹¹ And He was saying to them, “To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but for ^(F)those who are outside, everything comes ^(G)in parables, ¹² so that ^(H)while seeing they may see, and not perceive, and while hearing, they may hear, and not understand, otherwise they might return and it would be forgiven them.”

Explanation of the Parable

^13 (I)And He *said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables? ¹⁴ The sower sows the word. ¹⁵ These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately ^(J)Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them. ¹⁶ And in a similar way these are the ones sown with seed on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; ¹⁷ and yet they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution occurs because of the word, immediately they ^[c]fall away. ¹⁸ And others are the ones sown with seed among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, ¹⁹ but the worries of ^(K)the ^[d]world, and the ^(L)deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things enter and choke the word, and it ^[e]becomes unfruitful. ²⁰ And those are the ones sown with seed on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and ^(M)bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundred times as much.”

²¹ And He was saying to them, “^(N)A lamp is not brought to be put under a ^[f]basket, or under a bed, is it? Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand? ^22 (O)For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light. ^23 (P)If anyone has ears to hear, ^[g]let him hear.” ²⁴ And He was saying to them, “Take care what you listen to. ^[h](Q)By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides. ^25 (R)For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”

Parable of the Seed

²⁶ And He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; ²⁷ and he goes to bed at night and gets up daily, and the seed sprouts and grows—how, he himself does not know. ²⁸ The soil produces crops by itself; first the stalk, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. ²⁹ Now when the crop permits, he immediately ^[i](S)puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

Parable of the Mustard Seed

^30 (T)And He was saying, “How shall we ^[j](U)picture the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it? ³¹ It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is the smallest of all the seeds that are upon the soil, ³² yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants, and forms large branches, with the result that ^(V)the birds of the sky can nest under its shade.”

³³ And with many such parables He was speaking the word to them, so far as they were able to ^[k]understand it; ³⁴ and He did not speak to them ^(W)without a parable; but He was ^(X)explaining everything privately to His own disciples.

Jesus Stills the Sea

^35 (Y)On that day, when evening came, He *said to them, “Let’s go over to the other side.” ³⁶ After dismissing the crowd, they *took Him along with them ^(Z)in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him. ³⁷ And a fierce gale of wind *developed, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling with water. ³⁸ And yet Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they *woke Him and *said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” ³⁹ And He got up and ^(AA)rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and ^[l]it became perfectly calm. ⁴⁰ And He said to them, “Why are you ^[m]afraid? ^(AB)Do you still have no faith?” ⁴¹ They became very much afraid and said to one another, “Who, then, is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”