6After forty days, Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made. 7He sent out a raven, and it flew back and forth until the waters over the entire earth had dried up. 8Then he sent out a dove to see if the waters on all of the fertile land had subsided, 9but the dove found no place to set its foot. It returned to him in the ark since waters still covered the entire earth. Noah stretched out his hand, took it, and brought it back into the ark. 10He waited seven more days and sent the dove out from the ark again. 11The dove came back to him in the evening, grasping a torn olive leaf in its beak. Then Noah knew that the waters were subsiding from the earth. 12He waited seven more days and sent out the dove, but it didn't come back to him again. 13In Noah's six hundred first year, on the first day of the first month, the waters dried up from the earth. Noah removed the ark's hatch and saw that the surface of the fertile land had dried up. 14In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day, the earth was dry.
15God spoke to Noah, 16"Go out of the ark, you and your wife, your sons, and your sons' wives with you. 17Bring out with you all the animals of every kind--birds, livestock, everything crawling on the ground--so that they may populate the earth, be fertile, and multiply on the earth."18So Noah went out of the ark with his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives. 19All the animals, all the livestock,g all the birds, and everything crawling on the ground, came out of the ark by their families.
God's promise for the earth
20Noah built an altar to the LORD. He took some of the clean large animals and some of the clean birds, and placed entirely burned offerings on the altar. 21The LORD smelled the pleasing scent, and the LORD thought to himself, I will not curse the fertile land anymore because of human beings since the ideas of the human mind are evil from their youth. I will never again destroy every living thing as I have done.
22As long as the earth exists,
seedtime and harvest,
cold and hot,
summer and autumn,
day and night
will not cease.
God's covenant with all life
Genesis 9God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, "Be fertile, multiply, and fill the earth. 2All of the animals on the earth will fear you and dread you--all the birds in the skies, everything crawling on the ground, and all of the sea's fish. They are in your power. 3Everything that lives and moves will be your food. Just as I gave you the green grasses, I now give you everything. 4However, you must not eat meat with its life, its blood, in it.
5I will surely demand your blood for a human life,
from every living thing I will demand it.
From humans, from a man for his brother,
I will demand something for a human life.
6Whoever sheds human blood,
by a human his blood will be shed;
for in the divine image
God made human beings.
7As for you, be fertile and multiply. Populate the earth and multiply in it."8God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 9"I am now setting up my covenant with you, with your descendants,10and with every living being with you--with the birds, with the large animals, and with all the animals of the earth, leaving the ark with you.h 11I will set up my covenant with you so that never again will all life be cut off by floodwaters. There will never again be a flood to destroy the earth."
12God said, "This is the symbol of the covenant that I am drawing up between me and you and every living thing with you, on behalf of every future generation. 13I have placed my bow in the clouds; it will be the symbol of the covenant between me and the earth. 14When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow appears in the clouds,15I will remember the covenant between me and you and every living being among all the creatures. Floodwaters will never again destroy all creatures. 16The bow will be in the clouds, and upon seeing it I will remember the enduring covenant between God and every living being of all the earth's creatures."17God said to Noah, "This is the symbol of the covenant that I have set up between me and all creatures on earth."
Shem's blessing and Canaan's curse
18Noah's sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth came out of the ark. Now Ham was Canaan's father. 19These were Noah's three sons, and from them the whole earth was populated. 20Noah, a farmer, made a new start and planted a vineyard. 21He drank some of the wine, became drunk, and took off his clothes in his tent. 22Ham, Canaan's father, saw his father naked and told his two brothers who were outside. 23Shem and Japheth took a robe, threw it over their shoulders, walked backward, and covered their naked father without looking at him because they turned away. 24When Noah woke up from his wine, he discovered what his youngest son had done to him. 25He said,
"Cursed be Canaan:
the lowest servant
he will be for his brothers."
26He also said,
"Bless the LORD,
the God of Shem;
Canaan will be his servant.
27May God give spacei to Japheth;
he will live in Shem's tents,
and Canaan will be his servant."
28After the flood, Noah lived 350 years. 29In all, Noah lived 950 years; then he died.
Noah's descendants
Genesis 10These are the descendants of Noah's sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, to whom children were born after the flood. 2Japheth's sons: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. 3Gomer's sons: Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. 4Javan's sons: Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Rodanim.j 5From these the island-nations were divided into their own countries, each according to their languages and their clans within their nations.
6Ham's sons: Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan. 7Cush's sons: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. Raamah's sons: Sheba and Dedan. 8Cush fathered Nimrod, the first great warrior on earth. 9The LORD saw him as a great hunter, and so it is said, "Like Nimrod, whom the LORD saw as a great hunter."10The most important cities in his kingdom were Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh in the land of Shinar. 11Asshur left that land and built Nineveh, Rehoboth City, Calah, 12and Resen, the great city between Nineveh and Calah. 13Egypt fathered Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, 14Pathrusim, Casluhim, and Caphtorim,k from which the Philistines came.
15Canaan fathered Sidon his oldest son, and Heth, 16the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, 17the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, 18the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. After this the Canaanite clans were dispersed. 19The Canaanite boundary extends from Sidon by way of Gerar to Gaza and by way of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim to Lasha. 20These are Ham's sons according to their clans, their languages, their lands, and their nations.
21Children were also born to Shem the father of all Eber's children and Japheth's older