1
Then God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.
2
The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every bird of the air, upon everything that moves on the earth, and upon all the fish of the sea; into your hand they are delivered.
3
Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green plants.
4
But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.
5
And surely for your lifeblood I will require an accounting; from every beast I will require it, and from every man I will require the life of his fellow man.
6
Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for God made man in His own image.
7
And as for you, be fruitful and multiply; bring forth abundantly on the earth, and multiply in it.”
8
Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying:
9
“As for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after you,
10
and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, all that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth.
11
Thus I establish My covenant with you: never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”
12
And God said: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:
13
I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.
14
It shall be, 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; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.
16
The bow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”
17
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.”
18
Now the sons of Noah who went out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham was the father of Canaan.
19
These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated.
20
Noah became a farmer; he was the first to plant a vineyard.
21
After he drank of the wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent.
22
And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father’s nakedness, and told his two brothers outside.
23
Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backward; they covered their father’s nakedness, their faces turned away, so that they did not see their father’s nakedness.
24
When Noah awoke from his wine and learned what his youngest son had done to him,
25
he said:
“Cursed be Canaan;
let him be the lowest servant to his brothers.”
26
He also said:
“Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem,
but let Canaan be his servant.
27
May God enlarge the dwelling place of Japheth,
and let him dwell in the tents of Shem,
but let Canaan be his servant.”
28
Noah lived three hundred and fifty years after the flood.
29
So Noah lived to be nine hundred and fifty years old, and he died.
🌈 Summary of Genesis 9
After the flood had subsided, God blessed Noah and his sons, and commanded them to be fruitful and fill the earth. God also gave them authority over the animals, and for the first time allowed people to eat meat, but with the prohibition of eating blood (because blood is the sign of life).
The Lord then made an everlasting covenant with Noah and every living creature:
He would not destroy the earth again by a flood.
As a sign of the covenant, the Lord gave the rainbow as a symbol of steadfast love and a reminder of His promise.
After that, Noah became a farmer and planted a vineyard. However, Noah later became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent. His son, Ham, saw him and told his two brothers. Shem and Japheth covered their father respectfully without looking at him. When Noah came to himself, he cursed Canaan (Ham’s son) and blessed Shem and Japheth.
📖 Main Teaching
- God is a covenant-making God who keeps His covenant.
- The rainbow is a sign of God’s unchanging steadfast love.
- Human life must be protected and honored – including the prohibition against shedding blood.
- Respect for parents brings blessing; by contrast, humiliation brings a curse.
- Human weakness remains even after deliverance — we need God’s grace at every moment.
✨ Spiritual Meaning
- The rainbow reminds us that God is faithful and gracious, even after judgment.
- Human beings can still fall into weakness — but our response to another person’s sin reveals our heart.
- God’s covenant concerns not only humanity, but all creation.
- Our calling is to live rightly and honor the Lord and our neighbors.
