Genesis 9:11
in Genesis 9And I establish My covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of the flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.
KJV
And 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.
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This verse in Genesis 9
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Then God said to Noah and his sons with him
on Genesis 9:8-11
The word covenant first enters the Bible at 6:18, spoken to this same man. Here it is established on the far side of the water, and it runs one way: God binds Himself and asks nothing back. The promise is exact: no flood will destroy the earth again.
This site's exposition
all life be cut off
What God said in His heart at 8:21 He now says to Noah as a covenant. Isaiah 54:9 holds up this oath from the days of Noah as the pattern for God's pledge to Zion. Cut off is karath, the verb for making a covenant.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
God's purpose, therefore, was to eliminate all apprehension from Noah's thinking and for him to be quite assured that this would not happen again. He said, remember, "Just as I brought on the deluge out of love, so as to put a stop to their wickedness and prevent their going to further extremes, so in this case too it is out of my love that I promise never to do it again, so that you may live free of all dread and in this way see your present life to its close." Hence he said, "Behold, I make my covenant," that is, I form an agreement. Just as in human affairs when someone makes a promise he forms an agreement and gives a firm guarantee, so too the good Lord said, "Behold, I make my covenant." God did not say that this massive disaster might come again to those who sin. Rather he said, "Behold, I make my covenant with you and your offspring after you." See the Lord's loving kindness: not only with your generation, he says, do I form my agreement, but also in regard to all those coming after you I give this firm guarantee.
And his Lord spoke to [Noah], as he desired that Noah hear, "Because of your righteousness, a remnant was preserved and did not perish in that flood that took place.
The Medieval Church1 voice
God also said to Noah and to his sons with him: Behold, I will establish my covenant with you, and with your offspring after you, and continuing until he says: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; nor …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And I will establish my covenant with you,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
It would appear from this sign that the rainbow in the cloud was not part of creation and that now G-d created a new thing by making a rainbow in the heavens on a cloudy day. Now commentators have said. I have found this opinion in Chizkuni.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַהֲקִמֹתִ֤י | vahakimoti | and I will establish | H6965 → | 628 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּרִיתִי֙ | beriti | covenant my | H1285 → | 284 times |
| אִתְּכֶ֔ם | ʾitekhem | with you | H854 → | 929 times |
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִכָּרֵ֧ת | yikaret | <it> will be cut off | H3772 → | 288 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| בָּשָׂ֛ר | basar | flesh | H1320 → | 270 times |
| ע֖וֹד | od | again | H5750 → | 490 times |
| מִמֵּ֣י | mimei | from [the] waters of | H4325 → | 581 times |
| הַמַּבּ֑וּל | hamabul | the flood | H3999 → | 13 times |
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִהְיֶ֥ה | yihyeh | <it> will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| ע֛וֹד | od | again | H5750 → | 490 times |
| מַבּ֖וּל | mabul | a flood | H3999 → | 13 times |
| לְשַׁחֵ֥ת | leshachet | to destroy | H7843 → | 146 times |
| הָאָֽרֶץ׃ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
וַהֲקִמֹתִ֤יand I will establish
vahakimotiH6965 →628 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בְּרִיתִי֙covenant my
beritiH1285 →284 times
אִתְּכֶ֔םwith you
ʾitekhemH854 →929 times
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
יִכָּרֵ֧ת<it> will be cut off
yikaretH3772 →288 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
בָּשָׂ֛רflesh
basarH1320 →270 times
ע֖וֹדagain
odH5750 →490 times
מִמֵּ֣יfrom [the] waters of
mimeiH4325 →581 times
הַמַּבּ֑וּלthe flood
hamabulH3999 →13 times
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
יִהְיֶ֥ה<it> will be
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
ע֛וֹדagain
odH5750 →490 times
מַבּ֖וּלa flood
mabulH3999 →13 times
לְשַׁחֵ֥תto destroy
leshachetH7843 →146 times
הָאָֽרֶץ׃the earth
haaretzH776 →2504 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
2 Peter 3:7And by that same word, the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
it leads to
- 2 Peter 3:12
as you anticipate and hasten the coming of the day of God, when the heavens will be destroyed by fire and the elements will melt in the heat.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Peter 3:10
But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and its works will be laid…
- Isaiah 51:6
Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth below; for the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and its people will die like…
- Revelation 21:1
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
- 2 Peter 3:12
Through
2 Peter 3:11Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to conduct yourselves in holiness and godliness
it leads to
- 1 Peter 1:15
But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do,
- Philippians 1:27
Nevertheless, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm…
- 1 Peter 2:12
Conduct yourselves with such honor among the Gentiles that, though they slander you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.
- 1 Timothy 6:11
But you, O man of God, flee from these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.
- 1 Peter 1:15
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies19
On this verse
On this chapter
About Genesis
This page draws on Bede, Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron); Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON GENESIS 6.13.2; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on Genesis; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 28.4; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.