Genesis 9:1–29

¹And God went on to bless Noah and his sons and to say to them: “Be fruitful and become many and fill the earth.²And a fear of ​YOU​ and a terror of ​YOU​ will continue upon every living creature of the earth and upon every flying creature of the heavens, upon everything that goes moving on the ground, and upon all the fishes of the sea. Into ​YOUR​ hand they are now given.³Every moving animal that is alive may serve as food for ​YOU. As in the case of green vegetation, I do give it all to ​YOU.⁴Only flesh with its soul—its blood—YOU​ must not eat.⁵And, besides that, ​YOUR​ blood of ​YOUR​ souls shall I ask back. From the hand of every living creature shall I ask it back; and from the hand of man, from the hand of each one who is his brother, shall I ask back the soul of man.⁶Anyone shedding man’s blood, by man will his own blood be shed, for in God’s image he made man.⁷And as for ​YOU​ men, be fruitful and become many, make the earth swarm with ​YOU​ and become many in it.”

⁸And God went on to say to Noah and to his sons with him:⁹“And as for me, here I am establishing my covenant with ​YOU​ men and with ​YOUR​ offspring after ​YOU,¹⁰and with every living soul that is with ​YOU, among fowls, among beasts and among all living creatures of the earth with ​YOU, from all those going out of the ark to every living creature of the earth.¹¹Yes, I do establish my covenant with ​YOU: No more will all flesh be cut off by waters of a deluge, and no more will there occur a deluge to bring the earth to ruin.”

¹²And God added: “This is the sign of the covenant that I am giving between me and ​YOU​ and every living soul that is with ​YOU, for the generations to time indefinite.¹³My rainbow I do give in the cloud, and it must serve as a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.¹⁴And it shall occur that when I bring a cloud over the earth, then the rainbow will certainly appear in the cloud.¹⁵And I shall certainly remember my covenant which is between me and ​YOU​ and every living soul among all flesh; and no more will the waters become a deluge to bring all flesh to ruin.¹⁶And the rainbow must occur in the cloud, and I shall certainly see it to remember the covenant to time indefinite between God and every living soul among all flesh that is upon the earth.”

¹⁷And God repeated to Noah: “This is the sign of the covenant that I do establish between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.”

¹⁸And Noah’s sons who came out of the ark were Shem and Ham and Ja′pheth. Later Ham was the father of Ca′naan.¹⁹These three were Noah’s sons, and from these was all the earth’s population spread abroad.

²⁰Now Noah started off as a farmer and proceeded to plant a vineyard.²¹And he began drinking of the wine and became intoxicated, and so he uncovered himself in the midst of his tent.²²Later Ham the father of Ca′naan saw his father’s nakedness and went telling it to his two brothers outside.²³At that Shem and Ja′pheth took a mantle and put it upon both their shoulders and walked in backwards. Thus they covered their father’s nakedness, while their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father’s nakedness.

²⁴Finally Noah awoke from his wine and got to know what his youngest son had done to him.²⁵At this he said:

“Cursed be Ca′naan.
Let him become the lowest slave to his brothers.”

²⁶And he added:
“Blessed be Jehovah, Shem’s God,
And let Ca′naan become a slave to him.

²⁷Let God grant ample space to Ja′pheth,
And let him reside in the tents of Shem.
Let Ca′naan become a slave to him also.”

²⁸And Noah continued to live three hundred and fifty years after the deluge.²⁹So all the days of Noah amounted to nine hundred and fifty years and he died.