The Covenant of the Rainbow

1And God blessed Noe and his sonnes and sayd vnto them: Increase and multiplye and fyll the erth. 2The feare also and drede of yow be vppon all beastes of the erth and vppon all foules of the ayre ad vppon all that crepeth on the erth and vppon all fyshes of the see which are geven vnto youre handes 3And all that moveth vppon the erth havynge lyfe shall be youre meate: Euen as ye grene herbes so geue I yow all thynge. 4Only the flesh with his life which is his bloud se that ye eate not. 5For verely the bloude of yow wherein youre lyves are wyll I requyre: Eue of the hande of all beastes wyll I requyre it And of the hande of man and of the hand off euery mannes brother wyll I requyre the lyfe of man:

6so yt he which shedeth mannes bloude shall haue hys bloud shed by man agayne: for God made man after his awne lycknesse.

7See that ye encrease and waxe and be occupyde vppon the erth and multiplye therein.

8Farthermore God spake vnto Noe and to hys sonnes wyth hym saynge: 9see I make my bod wyth you and youre seed after you 10and wyth all lyvynge thinge that is wyth you: both foule and catell and all maner beste of the erth that is wyth yow of all that commeth out of the arke what soeuer beste of the erth it be. 11I make my bonde wyth yow that hence forth all flesh shall not be destroyed wyth yt waters of any floud ad yt hence forth there shall not be a floud to destroy the erth. 12And God sayd. This is the token of my bode which I make betwene me and yow ad betwene all lyvynge thyng that is with yow for ever: 13I wyll sette my bowe in the cloudes and it shall be a sygne of the appoyntment made betwene me and the erth: 14So that when I brynge in cloudes vpo ye erth the bowe shall appere in ye cloudes. 15And than wyll I thynke vppon my testament which I haue made betwene me and yow and all that lyveth what soeuer flesh it be. So that henceforth there shall be no more waters to make a floud to destroy all flesh. 16The bowe shalbe in the cloudes and I wyll loke vpon it to remembre the euerlastynge testament betwene God and all that lyveth vppon the erth what soeuer flesh it be. 17And God sayd vnto Noe: This is the sygne of the testament which I have made betwene me and all flesh yt is on the erth.

Noah’s Shame and Canaan’s Curse

18The sonnes of Noe that came out of the arke were: Sem Ham and Iapheth. And Ham he is the father of Canaa. 19These are the .iij. sonnes of Noe and of these was all the world overspred.

20And Noe beynge an husbad man went furth and planted a vyneyarde 21and drancke of the wyne and was droncke and laye vncouered in the myddest of his tet. 22And Ham the father of Canaan sawe his fathers prevytees and tolde his ij. brethren that were wythout. 23And Sem and Iapheth toke a mantell and put it on both there shulders ad went backward ad covered there fathers secrets but there faces were backward So that they sawe not there fathers nakydnes. 24As soone as Noe was awaked fro his wyne and wyst what his yongest sonne had done vnto hym

25he sayd: cursed be Canaan ad a seruante, of all seruantes be he to his brethren.

Shem’s Blessing and Noah’s Death

26And he sayd: Blessed be the LORde God of Se and Canaan be his seruante.

27God increase Iapheth that he may dwelle in the tentes of Sem. And Canaan be their seruante.

28And Noe lyved after the floude .iij. hundred and .l. yere: 29So that all the dayes of Noe were ix. hundred and .l. yere ad than he dyed.