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Genesis 9
The Voice
Genesis 9
The Voice
9 God spoke a blessing over Noah and his sons.
Eternal One: Be fruitful, multiply, and populate the earth! 2 All the animals on the earth, all the birds in the sky, all the creatures that creep along the ground, and all the fish of the sea will now be afraid and run from you; they have been handed over to you. 3 Every living thing that moves will be available to you as food. Just as I once gave you the green plants to eat, I now give you everything. 4 But listen carefully: Do not eat any meat with its life-blood still in it. 5 More than that, do not spill the blood of any human. If anyone spills your blood, I will hold him responsible. It makes no difference whether it is a man or an animal, both will be accountable to Me! If someone murders a fellow human being, then I will require his life in return.
6 Whoever sheds the blood of a human,
that person’s blood will be shed in return by another
for God made humanity in His own image.
7 Now all of you, be fruitful and multiply; spread out and populate the earth.
All life is sacred. Human life is especially so. Protecting it is of utmost importance to God. He takes this so seriously and personally because He made humanity to reflect Him. We are His earthly representatives, made in His image. To murder another person is to mount an attack on the One who created him.
8 But God was not finished. He had more to say both to Noah and his sons.
Eternal One: 9 Look, for I am now going to make a pact, a special covenant, with you and all your descendants. 10 This covenant also extends to every living creature in the world—the birds, the domesticated animals, and every wild animal on the earth—as many as emerged with you from the ark. 11 As part of this covenant, I promise you I will never again wipe out all living flesh by means of flooding waters. Never again will a flood destroy the earth. 12 As a sign of this perpetual covenant I now make between Me and you and all living creatures along with you, as well as all future generations, 13 I will hang a rainbow among the clouds. It will serve as a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. 14 And from now on, whenever a cloud rises over the earth and a rainbow appears in the sky, 15 I will remember My covenant—My promise I have made between Me and you and all living creatures. No waters will ever again turn into a flood powerful enough to destroy all living creatures. 16 When that rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember this eternal covenant I have made with all living creatures.
17 Look for the rainbow, and remember My promise. With it I sign the covenant I have made between Me and all the living creatures residing on the earth.
18 Now Noah’s sons who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham, by the way, was the father of Canaan.) 19 Yes, these three, Noah’s sons, went on to populate the entire earth.
20 Now Noah became a farmer and decided to plant a vineyard. 21 One day he drank too much of the wine he had made and fell into a deep, drunken sleep in his tent. As he lay there stark naked, 22 Ham (the father of Canaan) peeked in and saw his father’s exposed body. After leaving the tent, he told his two brothers what he had seen. 23 So Shem and Japheth took a large cloak and laid it across their shoulders, and they walked backward into the tent. They never looked behind, as they covered their father’s nakedness. Out of respect, they purposely kept their faces turned away, so they wouldn’t see their father lying there naked. 24 When Noah regained consciousness and realized what his youngest son had done, 25 he uttered this curse:
Noah: A curse upon your son, Canaan!
May he become the lowest of servants to his brothers.
26 May the Eternal One, the God of Shem, be blessed,
and let Canaan be his slave!
27 May God make plenty of room for Japheth’s family
and give them homes among Shem’s tents.
And let Canaan be his slave also!
Noah’s words are not idle words. As the story unfolds, the importance of this curse becomes clear. But as the ancients knew, and we now have forgotten, words have power. It was with a word that God created the heavens above and the earth below. Now Noah’s words create a new reality, a harsh reality for Ham and his children.
28 From the time the flood was over, Noah lived another 350 years. 29 In all, Noah lived 950 years, and then he died.
Genesis 9
New International Version
Genesis 9
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)
Footnotes
- Genesis 9:20 Or soil, was the first
- Genesis 9:27 Japheth sounds like the Hebrew for extend.
Genesis 9
King James Version
Genesis 9
King James Version
9 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.
2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.
3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.
4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.
5 And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man.
6 Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.
7 And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.
8 And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,
9 And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;
10 And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth.
11 And I will establish my covenant with you, neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.
12 And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:
13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
14 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:
15 And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.
16 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.
17 And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.
18 And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Canaan.
19 These are the three sons of Noah: and of them was the whole earth overspread.
20 And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:
21 And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.
22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.
23 And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness.
24 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.
25 And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.
26 And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.
27 God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.
28 And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years.
29 And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years: and he died.
The Voice (VOICE)
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.