Genesis 8:20-9:17
Lexham English Bible
20 And Noah built an altar to Yahweh, and he took from all the clean animals and from all the clean birds, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And Yahweh smelled the soothing fragrance, and Yahweh said to himself,[a] “Never again will I curse[b] the ground for the sake of humankind, because the inclination of the heart of humankind is evil from his youth. Nor will I ever again destroy[c] all life as I have done. 22 As long as the earth endures,[d] seed and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will not cease.
God’s Covenant with Noah and Humankind
9 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. 2 And fear of you and dread of you shall be upon every animal of the earth, and on every bird of heaven,[e] and on everything that moves upon the ground, and on all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they shall be given. 3 Every moving thing that lives shall be for you as food. As I gave the green plants to you, I have now given you everything. 4 Only you shall not eat raw flesh with blood in it.[f] 5 And[g] your lifeblood[h] I will require; from every animal[i] I will require it. And from the hand of humankind, from the hand of each man to his brother I will require the life of humankind.
6 “As for the one shedding the blood of humankind,
by humankind his blood shall be shed,
for God made humankind in his own image.
7 “And you, be fruitful and multiply, swarm on the earth and multiply in it.” 8 And God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 9 “As for me, behold, I am establishing my covenant with you and with your seed after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you—the birds, the animals, and every animal of the earth with you, from all that came out of the ark to all the animals of the earth. 11 I am establishing my covenant with you, that never again will all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, nor will there ever be a flood that destroys the earth.” 12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I am making between me and you, and between every living creature that is with you for future generations. 13 My bow I have set in the clouds, and it shall be for a sign of the covenant between me and between the earth. 14 And when I make clouds appear over the earth the bow shall be seen in the clouds. 15 Then[j] I will remember my covenant that is between me and you, and between every living creature, with all flesh. And the waters of a flood will never again cause the destruction[k] of all flesh. 16 The bow shall be in the clouds, and I will see it, so as to remember the everlasting covenant between God and between every living creature, with all flesh that is upon the earth.” 17 And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I am establishing between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.
Footnotes
- Genesis 8:21 Literally “to his heart”
- Genesis 8:21 Literally “I will not add to curse again”
- Genesis 8:21 Literally “And I will not add again to destroy”
- Genesis 8:22 Literally “While all the days of the earth”
- Genesis 9:2 Or “the sky”
- Genesis 9:4 Literally “flesh with its life, its blood”
- Genesis 9:5 Or “only”; the same word that occurs at the beginning of v. 4
- Genesis 9:5 Literally “your blood belonging to your life”
- Genesis 9:5 Literally “from the hand of every animal”
- Genesis 9:15 Or “And”
- Genesis 9:15 Literally “be to destroy”
Genesis 8:20-9:17
New Living Translation
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
9 Then God blessed Noah and his sons and told them, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth. 2 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. 3 I have given them to you for food, just as I have given you grain and vegetables. 4 But you must never eat any meat that still has the lifeblood in it.
5 “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. 6 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. 7 Now be fruitful and multiply, and repopulate the earth.”
8 Then God told Noah and his sons, 9 “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.”
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