Chapter 9
1 God blessed Noah and his sons and told them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. 2 Fear and dread of you will come upon every wild animal and every bird of the air, everything that crawls upon the earth and all the fish of the sea; they will be under your dominion.
3 “Whatever moves and has life will be used for your food. I give you all these things, just as I have already given you every green plant. 4 Only do not eat flesh along with its life, that is, with its blood. 5 For your blood, that is, your life, I will require an accounting. I will require it of every living creature, and I will require it of every human in regard to other humans, each person for his brother.
6 “Whoever spills human blood,
that person’s blood will be shed;
for in the image of God
has God made man.
7 And as for you, be fruitful and multiply; become numerous upon the earth and have dominion over it.”
Covenant of Mercy. 8 God said to Noah and his sons, 9 “As for me, I will establish my covenant with you and your descendants after you, 10 with every living creature along with you—the birds, tame and wild animals, and with all the animals which left the ark. 11 I will establish my covenant with you: never again will all living creatures be cut off by the waters of a flood, nor will the earth be laid waste by a flood again.”
12 God said, “This will be a sign of the covenant that I establish between me and you and every living creature for all generations. 13 I will place my rainbow in the clouds and it will be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 When I gather the clouds over the earth, the rainbow will appear in the clouds. 15 I will remember my covenant between me and you and with every living creature of every kind, that water and flood shall never again destroy all flesh. 16 The rainbow will be in the clouds and I will look upon it and remember the eternal covenant between God and every living creature of every kind that is found upon the earth.”
17 God said to Noah, “This is a sign of the covenant that I am establishing between myself and every creature upon the earth.”
A World of Diverse Peoples
18 The Return of Sin. The sons of Noah who left the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham was the father of the people of Canaan. 19 These were the three sons of Noah, and from these came all the people on the earth.
20 Now Noah tilled the soil, and he was the first to plant grape vines. 21 He drank some of the wine and he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. 22 Ham, the father of the Canaanites, saw his father lying naked, and he mentioned it to his two brothers who were standing outside. 23 Shem and Japheth took a robe and, holding it in back of them, walked backward toward him and covered their father with it. Having faced backward, they did not see their father naked.
24 When Noah woke up from his drunken slumber, he learned what his youngest son had done to him. 25 Because of this, he said,
“Cursed be Canaan!
A slave of slaves
shall he be to his brothers!”
26 And he continued,
“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem,
and let Canaan be his slave!
27 May God enlarge Japheth
so that he dwells in the land of Shem;
and let Canaan be his slave!”
28 After the flood, Noah lived for three hundred and fifty years. 29 In all, Noah lived for nine hundred and fifty years, and then he died.
Footnotes
- Genesis 9:2
- Genesis 9:4
- Genesis 9:8
- Genesis 9:18
- Genesis 9:18
- Genesis 9:22
- Genesis 9:25
- Genesis 9:26
