Covenant of the Rainbow

Then God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, “(A)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, (B)as I gave the green plant. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, (C)its blood. 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.

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

Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, “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,

(U)Cursed be Canaan;
[l](V)A servant of servants
He shall be to his brothers.”

26 He also said,

(W)Blessed be the Lord,
The God of Shem;
And may Canaan be [m]his servant.
27 (X)May God enlarge Japheth,
And may he live in the tents of Shem;
And may Canaan be [n]his servant.”

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.

(Y)The sons of Japheth were (Z)Gomer, Magog, (AA)Madai, (AB)Javan, Tubal, (AC)Meshech, and Tiras. The sons of Gomer were (AD)Ashkenaz, [o]Riphath, and (AE)Togarmah. The sons of Javan were Elishah, (AF)Tarshish, Kittim, and [p]Dodanim. 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.

(AG)The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan. The sons of Cush were (AH)Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, (AI)Raamah, and Sabteca; and the sons of Raamah were (AJ)Sheba and (AK)Dedan. Now Cush fathered Nimrod; he [r]became a mighty one on the earth. 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.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 9:5 Lit your blood of your lives
  2. Genesis 9:5 Lit from the hand of
  3. Genesis 9:5 Lit from the hand of
  4. Genesis 9:5 Lit from the hand of
  5. Genesis 9:7 Lit Swarm in the earth
  6. Genesis 9:9 Lit seed
  7. Genesis 9:12 Or everlasting generations
  8. Genesis 9:13 Lit be for
  9. Genesis 9:19 Lit scattered
  10. Genesis 9:20 Lit to be a farmer
  11. Genesis 9:23 Lit backward
  12. Genesis 9:25 I.e., The lowest of servants
  13. Genesis 9:26 Or their
  14. Genesis 9:27 Or their
  15. Genesis 10:3 In 1 Chr 1:6, Diphath
  16. Genesis 10:4 In 1 Chr 1:7, Rodanim
  17. Genesis 10:5 Or separated themselves
  18. Genesis 10:8 Lit began to be
  19. Genesis 10:10 Or Babylon
  20. Genesis 10:19 Lit was
  21. Genesis 10:19 Lit as you go
  22. Genesis 10:19 Lit as you go
  23. Genesis 10:25 I.e., division
  24. Genesis 10:28 In 1 Chr 1:22, Ebal
  25. Genesis 10:30 Lit dwelling
  26. Genesis 10:30 Lit was
  27. Genesis 10:30 Lit as you go

Bible Gateway Recommends