< Genesis 9 >
1 God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth.
2 And the fear of you and the dread of you will be on every wild animal of the earth, and on every tame animal of the earth, and on every flying creature of the sky, and on everything that crawls on the ground, and on all the fish of the sea; into your power they are given.
3 Every moving thing that lives will be food for you. As I gave the green plants, I now give you everything.
4 But flesh with its life, its blood, you shall not eat.
5 And surely I will require a reckoning for your lifeblood; from every animal I will require it, and from humans. From every human being I will require it for the life of his fellow human being.
6 Whoever takes a human life, by a human will his life be taken, for God made humankind in his own image.
7 And as for you, be fruitful and multiply, and increase abundantly on the earth, and subdue it."
8 God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying,
9 "And as for me, look, I establish my covenant with you, and with your offspring after you,
10 and with every living creature that is with you: the flying creatures, and the tame animals, and every wild animal of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ship.
11 I will establish my covenant with you; and all flesh will never again be cut off by the waters of the flood, neither will there ever again be a flood to destroy the earth."
12 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 rainbow in the cloud, and it will be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.
14 It will happen, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow will 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 will no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.
16 The rainbow will be in the cloud. I will look at it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between me 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 The sons of Noah who came out of the ship were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham is the father of Canaan.
19 These were the three sons of Noah, and from them the whole earth was populated.
20 Noah, a farmer, was the first to plant a vineyard.
21 He drank of the wine and got drunk. He was uncovered within his tent.
22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside.
23 Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it on both their shoulders, went in backwards, and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned the other way, and they did not see their father's nakedness.
24 Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his youngest son had done to him.
25 He said, "Canaan is cursed. He will be servant of servants to his brothers."
26 He said, "Blessed be the God of Shem. Let Canaan be his servant.
27 May God enlarge Japheth. Let him dwell in the tents of Shem. Let Canaan be his servant."
28 Noah lived three hundred fifty years after the flood.
29 All the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years, then he died.
