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Genesis 9-10
Easy-to-Read Version
Genesis 9-10
Easy-to-Read Version
The New Beginning
9 God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Have many children. Fill the earth with your people. 2 Every animal on earth, every bird in the air, every animal that crawls on the ground, and every fish in the sea will be afraid of you. All of them will be under your control. 3 In the past, I gave you the green plants to eat. Now every animal will also be food for you. I give you everything on earth—it is yours. 4 But I give you one command. You must not eat meat that still has its life (blood) in it. 5 Also, I will demand your blood for your lives. That is, I will demand the life of any person or animal that takes a human life.
6 “God made humans to be like himself.
So whoever kills a person must be killed by another person.
7 “Have many children and fill the earth with your people.”
8 Then God said to Noah and his sons, 9 “I now make my promise to you and to your people who will live after you. 10 I make my promise to all the birds, and to all the cattle, and to all the animals that came out of the boat with you. I make my promise to every living thing on earth. 11 This is my promise to you: All life on the earth was destroyed by the flood. But that will never happen again. A flood will never again destroy all life on the earth.”
12 And God said, “I will give you something to prove that I made this promise to you. It will continue forever to show that I have made an agreement with you and every living thing on earth. 13 I am putting a rainbow in the clouds as proof of the agreement between me and the earth. 14 When I bring clouds over the earth, you will see the rainbow in the clouds. 15 When I see this rainbow, I will remember the agreement between me and you and every living thing on the earth. This agreement says that a flood will never again destroy all life on the earth. 16 When I look and see the rainbow in the clouds, I will remember the agreement that continues forever. I will remember the agreement between me and every living thing on the earth.”
17 So God said to Noah, “This rainbow is proof of the agreement that I made with all living things on earth.”
Problems Begin Again
18 Noah’s sons came out of the boat with him. Their names were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) 19 These three men were Noah’s sons. And all the people on earth came from these three sons.
20 Noah became a farmer and planted a vineyard. 21 One day Noah made some wine. He got drunk, went into his tent, and took off all his clothes. 22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw that his father was naked and told his brothers who were outside the tent. 23 Shem and Japheth took a robe, put it across their shoulders, and walked backward into the tent. Then they covered their father without looking at him.
24 Later, Noah woke up. (He was sleeping because of the wine.) When he learned what his youngest son Ham had done to him, 25 he said,
“May there be a curse on Canaan[a]!
May he be a slave to his brothers.”
26 Noah also said,
“May the Lord, the God of Shem, be praised!
May Canaan be Shem’s slave.
27 May God give more land to Japheth.
May God live in Shem’s tents,
and may Canaan be their slave.”
28 After the flood Noah lived 350 years. 29 He lived a total of 950 years; then he died.
Nations Grow and Spread
10 This is the history of the families of Shem, Ham, and Japheth. They are Noah’s sons. These men had children after the flood.
Japheth’s Descendants
2 Japheth’s sons were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.
3 Gomer’s sons were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.
4 Javan’s sons were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.[b]
5 All the people who lived in the area around the Mediterranean Sea came from these sons of Japheth. The people separated and went to different countries according to languages, families, and nations.
Ham’s Descendants
6 Ham’s sons were Cush,[c] Mizraim,[d] Put, and Canaan.
7 Cush’s sons were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca.
Raamah’s sons were Sheba and Dedan.
8 Cush also had a son named Nimrod who became a very powerful man on earth. 9 He was a great hunter before the Lord. That is why people compare other men to him and say, “That man is like Nimrod, a great hunter before the Lord.”
10 Nimrod’s kingdom spread from Babylon to Erech, to Akkad, and then to Calneh in the land of Babylonia.[e] 11 Nimrod also went into Assyria. In Assyria, Nimrod built the cities of Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah, and 12 Resen. (Resen is the city between Nineveh and Calah, the big city.)
13 Mizraim was the father of the people of Lud, Anam, Lehab, Naphtuh, 14 Pathrus, Casluh, and Caphtor. (The Philistine people came from Casluh.)
15 Canaan was the father of Sidon. Sidon was Canaan’s first son. Canaan was also the father of the Hittites, 16 Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, 17 Hivites, Arkites, the Sinites, 18 Arvadites, Zemarites, and Hamathites.
The families of Canaan spread to different parts of the world. 19 The land where the Canaanites lived went from Sidon down along the coast to Gerar and from Gaza as far east as Sodom and Gomorrah and from Admah and Zeboiim as far north as Laish.
20 All these people were descendants of Ham. They are arranged by families, languages, countries, and nations.
Shem’s Descendants
21 Shem was Japheth’s older brother. One of Shem’s descendants was Eber, the father of all the Hebrew people.[f]
22 Shem’s sons were Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram.
23 Aram’s sons were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash.
24 Arphaxad was the father of Shelah.
Shelah was the father of Eber.
25 Eber was the father of two sons. One son was named Peleg.[g] He was given this name because the earth was divided during his life. The other son was named Joktan.
26 Joktan was the father of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, 27 Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, 28 Obal, Abimael, Sheba, 29 Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these people were Joktan’s sons. 30 They lived in the area between Mesha and the hill country in the East.[h] Mesha was toward the country of Sephar.
31 These are the people from the family of Shem. They are arranged by families, languages, countries, and nations.
32 This is the list of the families from Noah’s sons. They are arranged according to their nations. From these families came all the people who spread across the earth after the flood.
Footnotes
- Genesis 9:25 Canaan Ham’s son. The people of Canaan lived along the coast of Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria. Later, God gave this land to the Israelites.
- Genesis 10:4 Dodanim Or “Rodanim, the people of Rhodes.”
- Genesis 10:6 Cush Another name for Ethiopia.
- Genesis 10:6 Mizraim Another name for Egypt. Also in verse 13.
- Genesis 10:10 Babylonia Literally, “Shinar,” which may be a form of the name Sumer. Also in 11:2; 14:1.
- Genesis 10:21 One … Hebrew people Literally, “To Shem was born the father of Eber’s sons.”
- Genesis 10:25 Peleg This name means “division.”
- Genesis 10:30 East This usually means the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers as far east as the Persian Gulf. Also in 11:2.
Genesis 9-10
New International Version
Genesis 9-10
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)
The Table of Nations
10 This is the account(AM) of Shem, Ham and Japheth,(AN) Noah’s sons,(AO) who themselves had sons after the flood.
The Japhethites(AP)
2 The sons[c] of Japheth:
Gomer,(AQ) Magog,(AR) Madai, Javan,(AS) Tubal,(AT) Meshek(AU) and Tiras.
3 The sons of Gomer:
Ashkenaz,(AV) Riphath and Togarmah.(AW)
4 The sons of Javan:
Elishah,(AX) Tarshish,(AY) the Kittites(AZ) and the Rodanites.[d] 5 (From these the maritime peoples spread out into their territories by their clans within their nations, each with its own language.)(BA)
The Hamites(BB)
6 The sons of Ham:
Cush,(BC) Egypt, Put(BD) and Canaan.(BE)
7 The sons of Cush:
Seba,(BF) Havilah,(BG) Sabtah, Raamah(BH) and Sabteka.
The sons of Raamah:
8 Cush was the father[e] of Nimrod,(BK) who became a mighty warrior on the earth. 9 He was a mighty(BL) hunter(BM) before the Lord; that is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.” 10 The first centers of his kingdom were Babylon,(BN) Uruk,(BO) Akkad and Kalneh,(BP) in[f] Shinar.[g](BQ) 11 From that land he went to Assyria,(BR) where he built Nineveh,(BS) Rehoboth Ir,[h] Calah 12 and Resen, which is between Nineveh and Calah—which is the great city.
13 Egypt was the father of
the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites, 14 Pathrusites, Kasluhites (from whom the Philistines(BT) came) and Caphtorites.(BU)
15 Canaan(BV) was the father of
Sidon(BW) his firstborn,[i](BX) and of the Hittites,(BY) 16 Jebusites,(BZ) Amorites,(CA) Girgashites,(CB) 17 Hivites,(CC) Arkites, Sinites, 18 Arvadites,(CD) Zemarites and Hamathites.(CE)
Later the Canaanite(CF) clans scattered 19 and the borders of Canaan(CG) reached from Sidon(CH) toward Gerar(CI) as far as Gaza,(CJ) and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboyim,(CK) as far as Lasha.
20 These are the sons of Ham by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations.
The Semites(CL)
21 Sons were also born to Shem, whose older brother was[j] Japheth; Shem was the ancestor of all the sons of Eber.(CM)
22 The sons of Shem:
Elam,(CN) Ashur,(CO) Arphaxad,(CP) Lud and Aram.(CQ)
23 The sons of Aram:
Uz,(CR) Hul, Gether and Meshek.[k]
24 Arphaxad was the father of[l] Shelah,
and Shelah the father of Eber.(CS)
25 Two sons were born to Eber:
One was named Peleg,[m] because in his time the earth was divided; his brother was named Joktan.
26 Joktan was the father of
Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, 27 Hadoram, Uzal,(CT) Diklah, 28 Obal, Abimael, Sheba,(CU) 29 Ophir,(CV) Havilah and Jobab. All these were sons of Joktan.
30 The region where they lived stretched from Mesha toward Sephar, in the eastern hill country.
31 These are the sons of Shem by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations.
32 These are the clans of Noah’s sons,(CW) according to their lines of descent, within their nations. From these the nations spread out over the earth(CX) after the flood.
Footnotes
- Genesis 9:20 Or soil, was the first
- Genesis 9:27 Japheth sounds like the Hebrew for extend.
- Genesis 10:2 Sons may mean descendants or successors or nations; also in verses 3, 4, 6, 7, 20-23, 29 and 31.
- Genesis 10:4 Some manuscripts of the Masoretic Text and Samaritan Pentateuch (see also Septuagint and 1 Chron. 1:7); most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text Dodanites
- Genesis 10:8 Father may mean ancestor or predecessor or founder; also in verses 13, 15, 24 and 26.
- Genesis 10:10 Or Uruk and Akkad—all of them in
- Genesis 10:10 That is, Babylonia
- Genesis 10:11 Or Nineveh with its city squares
- Genesis 10:15 Or of the Sidonians, the foremost
- Genesis 10:21 Or Shem, the older brother of
- Genesis 10:23 See Septuagint and 1 Chron. 1:17; Hebrew Mash.
- Genesis 10:24 Hebrew; Septuagint father of Cainan, and Cainan was the father of
- Genesis 10:25 Peleg means division.
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