Covenant of the Rainbow

1Then God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. 2The 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. 3Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I have given everything to you, as I gave the green plant. 4But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. 5I certainly will require [a]your lifeblood; [b]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.

6“Whoever sheds human blood,

By man his blood shall be shed,

For in the image of God

He made mankind.

7“As for you, be fruitful and multiply;

[e]Populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it.”

8Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, 9“Now behold, I Myself am establishing My covenant with you, and with your [f]descendants after you; 10and 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. 11I establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall never again be eliminated by the waters of a flood, nor shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth.” 12God said, “This is 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; 13I have set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall [h]serve as a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth. 14It shall come about, when I make a cloud appear over the earth, that the rainbow will be seen in the cloud, 15and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16When the rainbow is in the cloud, then I will look at it, to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” 17And 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.”

18Now the sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth; and Ham was the father of Canaan. 19These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was [i]populated.

20Then Noah began [j]farming and planted a vineyard. 21He drank some of the wine and became drunk, and uncovered himself inside his tent. 22Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. 23But 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. 24When Noah awoke from his wine, he knew what his youngest son had done to him. 25So he said,

“Cursed be Canaan;

[l]A servant of servants

He shall be to his brothers.” 26He also said,

“Blessed be the LORD,

The God of Shem;

And may Canaan be [m]his servant.

27“May God enlarge Japheth,

And may he live in the tents of Shem;

And may Canaan be [n]his servant.”

28Noah lived 350 years after the flood. 29So all the days of Noah were 950 years, and he died.