Genesis 9:17

Amplified Bible

And God said to Noah, "This [rainbow] is the sign of the covenant (solemn pledge, binding agreement) which I have established between Me and all living things on the earth."

Parallel Translations

English Standard Version
God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth."

Update Bible Version
And 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.

New Century Version
So God said to Noah, "The rainbow is a sign of the agreement that I made with all living things on earth."

New English Translation
So God said to Noah, "This is the guarantee of the covenant that I am confirming between me and all living things that are on the earth."

Webster's Bible Translation
And God said to Noah, This [is] the token of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that [is] upon the earth.

World English Bible
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."

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And God seide to Noe, This schal be a signe of boond of pees, which Y made bitwixe me and ech fleisch on erthe.

Young's Literal Translation
And God saith unto Noah, `This [is] a token of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that [is] upon the earth.'

Berean Standard Bible
So God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between Me and all living things on the earth."

Contemporary English Version
The rainbow will be the sign of that solemn promise.

Complete Jewish Bible
God said to Noach, "This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between myself and every living creature on the earth."

American Standard Version
And 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.

Bible in Basic English
And God said to Noah, This is the sign of the agreement which I have made between me and all flesh on the earth.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And God sayd vnto Noah, This is the token of the couenaunt which I haue made betweene me and all fleshe that is vpon earth.

Darby Translation
And God said to Noah, This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.

Easy-to-Read Version
So God said to Noah, "This rainbow is proof of the agreement that I made with all living things on earth."

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And 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.'

King James Version (1611)
And God said vnto Noah, This is the token of the couenant, which I haue established betweene mee and all flesh, that is vpon the earth.

King James Version
And 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.

New Life Bible
God said to Noah, "This is the special thing to see because of the agreement I have made between Me and all flesh upon the earth."

New Revised Standard
God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And God said unto Noah, This is the sign of the covenant which have established, between me and all flesh that is on the earth.

Geneva Bible (1587)
God said yet to Noah, This is the signe of the couenant, which I haue established betweene me and all flesh that is vpon the earth.

George Lamsa Translation
And God said to Noah, This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between me and all the flesh that is upon the earth,

Good News Translation
That is the sign of the promise which I am making to all living beings."

Douay-Rheims Bible
And God said to Noe: This shall be the sign of the covenant, which I have established, between me and all flesh upon the earth.

Revised Standard Version
God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth."

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And God said to Noe, This is the sign of the covenant, which I have made between me and all flesh, which is upon the earth.

English Revised Version
And 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.

Christian Standard Bible®
God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and every creature on earth.”

Hebrew Names Version
God said to Noach, "This is the token of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that is on the eretz."

Lexham English Bible
And God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant which I am establishing between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.

Literal Translation
And 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.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
God sayde also vnto Noe: This is the toke of the couenaunt, which I haue made betwene me and all flesh vpon earth.

THE MESSAGE
And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant that I've set up between me and everything living on the Earth."

New American Standard Bible
And 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."

New King James Version
And 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."

New Living Translation
Then God said to Noah, "Yes, this rainbow is the sign of the covenant I am confirming with all the creatures on earth."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
And 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."

Legacy Standard Bible
And 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."

Contextual Overview

¹²And God said, "This is the token (visible symbol, memorial) of the [solemn] covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations; ¹³I set My rainbow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth. ¹⁴"It shall come about, when I bring clouds over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the clouds, ¹⁵and I will [compassionately] remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again will the water become a flood to destroy all flesh. ¹⁶"When the rainbow is in the clouds and I look at it, I will [solemnly] remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." ¹⁷And God said to Noah, "This [rainbow] is the sign of the covenant (solemn pledge, binding agreement) which I have established between Me and all living things on the earth."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Reciprocal: Genesis 6:12 - for all Genesis 9:9 - General

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And God said to Noah, this is the token of the covenant,.... Which is repeated for the greater confirmation and certainty of it, since the fears of men would be apt to run very high, especially while the flood was fresh in memory;

which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth: see Genesis 9:9, it is highly probable, that from the rainbow being the token of the covenant between God and Noah, and the creatures, sprung the fable of the Chinese concerning their first emperor, Fohi, who seems to be the same with Noah, and whom they call the son of heaven, and say he had no father; which is this, that his mother, walking on the bank of a lake near Lanthien, in the province of Xensi, trod upon a large footstep of a man impressed upon the sand, and from thence, being surrounded with the rainbow, conceived and brought forth Fohi x.

x Martin. Sinic. Hist. p. 11.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

- XXIX. The Covenant with Noah

13. קשׁת qeshet, “bow; related: be bent.”

14. ענן ‛ānan, “cover, cast over; noun: cloud.”

The covenant made with Noah Genesis 6:18 is now formally confirmed. The purpose conceived in the heart Genesis 8:21 now receives significant expression. Not only a new blessing is bestowed, but also a new covenant is formed with Noah. For he that has offered an acceptable sacrifice is not only at peace with God, but renewed in mind after the image of God. He is therefore a fit subject for entering into a covenant.

Genesis 9:8-11

Unto Noah and to his sons. - God addresses the sons of Noah as the progenitors of the future race. “I establish.” He not merely makes כרת kārat, but ratifies, his covenant with them. “My covenant.” The covenant which was before mentioned to Noah in the directions concerning the making of the ark, and which was really, though tacitly, formed with Adam in the garden.

Genesis 9:9-10

The party with whom God now enters into covenant is here fully described. “You and your seed after you, and every breathing living thing;” the latter merely “on account of the former.” The animals are specially mentioned because they partake in the special benefit of preservation from a flood, which is guaranteed in this covenant. There is a remarkable expression employed here - “From all that come out of the ark, to every beast of the land.” It seems to imply that the beast of the land, or the wild beast, was not among those that came out of the ark, and, therefore, not among those that went in. This coincides with the view we have given of the inmates of the ark.

Genesis 9:11

The benefits conferred by this form of God’s covenant are here specified. First, all flesh shall no more be cut off by a flood; secondly, the land shall no more be destroyed by this means. The Lord has been true to his promise in saving Noah and his family from the flood of waters. He now perpetuates his promise by assuring him that the land would not again be overwhelmed with water. This is the new and present blessing of the covenant. Its former blessings are not abrogated, but only confirmed and augmented by the present. Other and higher benefits will flow out of this to those who rightly receive it, even throughout the ages of eternity. The present benefit is shared by the whole race descended from Noah.

Genesis 9:12-16

The token of the covenant is now pointed out. “For perpetual ages.” This stability of sea and land is to last during the remainder of the human period. What is to happen when the race of man is completed, is not the question at present. “My bow.” As God’s covenant is the well-known and still remembered compact formed with man when the command was issued in the Garden of Eden, so God’s bow is the primeval arch, coexistent with the rays of light and the drops of rain. It is caused by the rays of the sun reflected from the falling raindrops at a particular angle to the eye of the spectator. A beautiful arch of reflected and refracted light is in this way formed for every eye. The rainbow is thus an index that the sky is not wholly overcast, since the sun is shining through the shower, and thereby demonstrating its partial extent. There could not, therefore, be a more beautiful or fitting token that there shall be no more a flood to sweep away all flesh and destroy the land.

It comes with its mild radiance only when the cloud condenses into a shower. It consists of heavenly light, variegated in hue, and mellowed in lustre, filling the beholder with an involuntary pleasure. It forms a perfect arch, extends as far as the shower extends, connects heaven and earth, and spans the horizon. In these respects it is a beautiful emblem of mercy rejoicing against judgment, of light from heaven irradiating and beatifying the soul, of grace always sufficient for the need of the reunion of earth and heaven, and of the universality of the offer of salvation. “Have I given.” The rainbow existed as long as the present laws of light and air. But it is now mentioned for the first time, because it now becomes the fitting sign of security from another universal deluge, which is the special blessing of the covenant in its present form. “In the cloud.” When a shower-cloud is spread over the sky, the bow appears, if the sun, the cloud, and the spectator are in the proper relation to one another. 16. “And I will look upon it to remember.” The Scripture is most unhesitating and frank in ascribing to God all the attributes and exercises of personal freedom. While man looks on the bow to recall the promise of God, God himself looks on it to remember and perform this promise. Here freedom and immutability of purpose meet.

The covenant here ostensibly refers to the one point of the absence, for all time to come, of any danger to the human race from a deluge. But it presupposes and supplements the covenant with man subsisting from the very beginning. It is clearly of grace; for the Lord in the very terms affirms the fact that the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth, while at the same time the original transgression belonged to the whole race. The condition by which any man becomes interested in it is not expressed, but easily understood from the nature of a covenant, a promise, and a sign, all of which require of us consenting faith in the party who covenants, promises, and gives the sign. The meritorious condition of the covenant of grace is dimly shadowed forth in the burnt-offerings which Noah presented on coming out of the ark. One thing, however, was surely and clearly revealed to the early saints; namely, the mercy of God. Assured of this, they were prepared humbly to believe that all would rebound to the glory of his holiness, justice, and truth, as well as of his mercy, grace, and love, though they might not yet fully understand how this would be accomplished.

Genesis 9:17

God seems here to direct Noah’s attention to a rainbow actually existing at the time in the sky, and presenting to the patriarch the assurance of the promise, with all the impressiveness of reality.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Genesis 9:17. This is the token — אות oth, The Divine sign or portent: The bow shall be in the cloud. For the reasons above specified it must be there, when the circumstances already mentioned occur; if therefore it cannot fail because of the reasons before assigned, no more shall my promise; and the bow shall be the proof of its perpetuity.

Both the Greeks and Latins, as well as the Hebrews, have ever considered the rainbow as a Divine token or portent; and both of these nations have even deified it, and made it a messenger of the gods.

Homer, Il. xi., ver. 27, speaking of the figures on Agamemnon's breastplate, says there were three dragons, whose colours were

- - ιρισσιν εοικοτες, ἁς τε Κρονων.

Εν νεφεΐ στηριξε, τερας μεροπων ανθρωπων.

"like to the rainbow which the son of Saturn has placed in the cloud as a SIGN to mankind," or to men of various languages, for so the μεροπων αντρωπων of the poet has been understood. Some have thought that the ancient Greek writers give this epithet to man from some tradition of the confusion and multiplication of tongues at Babel; hence in this place the words may be understood as implying mankind at large, the whole human race; God having given the rainbow for a sign to all the descendants of Noah, by whom the whole earth was peopled after the flood. Thus the celestial bow speaks a universal language, understood by all the sons and daughters of Adam. Virgil, from some disguised traditionary figure of the truth, considers the rainbow as a messenger of the gods. AEn. v., ver. 606:

IRIM de caelo misit Saturnia Juno.

"Juno, the daughter of Saturn, sent down the rainbow from heaven;" and again, AEn. ix., ver. 803: -

aeriam caelo nam Jupiter IRIM Demisit.

"For Jupiter sent down the ethereal rainbow from heaven."

It is worthy of remark that both these poets understood the rainbow to be a sign, warning, or portent from heaven."

As I believe the rainbow to have been intended solely for the purpose mentioned in the text, I forbear to make spiritual uses and illustrations of it. Many have done this, and their observations may be very edifying, but they certainly have no foundation in the text.