Genesis 9

And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.

1God blessed Noah and his sons. He said, "Have many children. Fill the earth again."

NoteThe old word here is "replenish." It means to fill, not to fill again after emptying.

2And 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.

2Every animal will be afraid of you. Birds, land animals, and fish are now in your care.

3Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.

3Every living thing that moves can be food for you. I gave you green plants before. Now I give you all of this too.

NoteIn the old wording this says "meat." Back then that word meant any kind of food, not just animal meat.

4But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.

4But do not eat meat that still has its blood in it. The blood is its life.

5And 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.

5If your lifeblood is spilled, I will ask for it back. I will ask any animal that kills a person. I will ask any person who kills another person.

6Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.

6If someone kills a person, then people must take that killer's life. God made people to look like Himself.

7And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.

7As for you, have many children. Spread out across the earth and grow in number.

8And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,

8Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons who were with him. He said:

9And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;

9"Listen. I am making a promise to you. It is for your children and their children too.

10And 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.

10"I make it with every living thing that was with you. That means the birds, the farm animals, and the wild animals. Every creature that came out of the boat.

11And 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.

11"Here is my promise. Never again will a flood wipe out all living things. Never again will a flood destroy the earth."

12And 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:

12God said, "Here is the sign of my promise. It is between me and you and every living creature with you. It will last for all time to come.

13I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.

13"I have put my rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of my promise between me and the earth.

NoteThe old wording says "my bow." That means a rainbow, not a bow for shooting arrows.

14And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:

14"When I bring clouds over the earth, the rainbow will show in the clouds.

15And 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.

15"Then I will remember my promise to you and to every living thing. Water will never again flood the earth and destroy all life.

16And 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.

16"The rainbow will be in the clouds. I will see it and remember. This promise between God and every living thing on earth lasts forever."

17And 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.

17God said to Noah, "That is the sign of my promise. It is between me and every living thing on earth."

18And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Canaan.

18Noah's sons who came out of the boat were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham was the father of Canaan.

19These are the three sons of Noah: and of them was the whole earth overspread.

19These were Noah's three sons. All the people on earth came from them.

20And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:

20Noah was a farmer. He planted a field of grape vines.

NoteThe old word is "husbandman." It simply means a farmer, someone who works the land.

21And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.

21He drank some of the wine and got drunk. He lay in his tent with no clothes on.

22And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.

22Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father with no clothes on. He went out and told his two brothers.

23And 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.

23Shem and Japheth took a coat and laid it over their shoulders. They walked backward into the tent and covered their father. They looked away, so they did not see him.

24And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.

24Noah woke up when the wine wore off. He learned what his youngest son had done to him.

25And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.

25He said, "A curse is on Canaan. He will be the lowest servant to his brothers."

26And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.

26He also said, "Praise the LORD, the God of Shem. May Canaan be Shem's servant.

27God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.

27"May God give Japheth more land. May he live in the tents of Shem. And may Canaan be his servant."

28And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years.

28Noah lived 350 years after the flood.

29And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years: and he died.

29Noah lived 950 years in all. Then he died.