Genesis 9

1 God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, and replenish the earth.

2 The fear of you and the dread of you will be on every animal of the earth, and on every bird of the sky. Everything that moves along the ground, and all the fish of the sea, are delivered into your hand.

3 Every moving thing that lives will be food for you. As I gave you the green herb, I have given everything to you.

4 But flesh with its life, that is, its blood, you shall not eat.

5 I will surely require accounting for your life’s blood. At the hand of every animal I will require it. At the hand of man, even at the hand of every man’s brother, I will require the life of man.

6 Whoever sheds man’s blood, his blood will be shed by man, for God made man in his own image.

7 Be fruitful and multiply. Increase abundantly on the earth, and multiply in it.”

8 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 offspring after you,

10 and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the livestock, and every animal of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ship, even every animal of the earth.

11 I will establish my covenant with you: All flesh will not be cut off any more by the waters of the flood. There will never again be a flood to destroy the earth.”

12 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 set my rainbow in the cloud, and it will be a sign of a covenant between me and the earth.

14 When I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow will be seen in the cloud,

15 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 God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”

17 God said to Noah, “This is the token of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

18 The sons of Noah who went out from the ship were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham is the father of Canaan.

19 These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated.

20 Noah began to be a farmer, and planted a vineyard.

21 He drank of the wine and got drunk. He was uncovered within his tent.

22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, 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 backwards, and they didn’t 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 a servant of servants to his brothers.”

26 He said, “Blessed be the LORD, 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 fifty years, and then he died.

Around Genesis 9

Context

Context for this book is being written. A note appears here only once it names its sources.

AI explanation

Genesis 9 · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this chapter says

God blesses Noah and his sons with the old words, “Be fruitful, multiply”. The animals will fear them, and every moving thing may be food, but not flesh with its blood in it. God will require a reckoning for human life, “for God made man in his own image.” Then God makes a covenant with Noah, his descendants and every living creature: never again will a flood destroy the earth. As a sign he says, “I set my rainbow in the cloud,” and when he sees it he will remember.

The last part is darker. Noah plants a vineyard, drinks the wine and becomes drunk, uncovered in his tent. Ham sees his father and tells his brothers, while Shem and Japheth walk in backwards with a garment to cover him. When Noah wakes he says, “Canaan is cursed”, and blesses Shem and Japheth. Noah lives three hundred fifty years after the flood and dies at nine hundred fifty.

Background

The covenant is made with all living creatures, and its sign is a bow hung in the sky. The last scene is hard and unclear. The curse falls on Canaan, Ham’s son, and not on Ham, and the text does not say why. It was later misused in modern history to defend the enslavement of people of African descent; the text does not support that, and it names no such people. The chapter also holds the first call for justice in human life, in verses 5 and 6.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 20 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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World English Bible. Public-domain source and edition notes