Genesis 9:13-16

9:13 I will place ¹  my rainbow ²  in the clouds, and it will become ³  a guarantee of the covenant between me and the earth. 9:14 Whenever ⁴  I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 9:15 then I will remember my covenant with you ⁵  and with all living creatures of all kinds. ⁶  Never again will the waters become a flood and destroy ⁷  all living things. ⁸  9:16 When the rainbow is in the clouds, I will notice it and remember ⁹  the perpetual covenant between God and all living creatures of all kinds that are on the earth.”

Isaiah 54:8-10

54:8 In a burst ¹⁰  of anger I rejected you ¹¹  momentarily,

but with lasting devotion I will have compassion on you,”

says your protector, ¹²  the Lord.

54:9 “As far as I am concerned, this is like in Noah’s time, ¹³ 

when I vowed that the waters of Noah’s flood ¹⁴  would never again cover the earth.

In the same way I have vowed that I will not be angry at you or shout at you.

54:10 Even if the mountains are removed

and the hills displaced,

my devotion will not be removed from you,

nor will my covenant of friendship ¹⁵  be displaced,”

says the Lord, the one who has compassion on you.

Revelation 4:3

4:3 And the one seated on it was like jasper ¹⁶  and carnelian ¹⁷  in appearance, and a rainbow looking like it was made of emerald ¹⁸  encircled the throne.

Revelation 10:1

The Angel with the Little Scroll

10:1 Then ¹⁹  I saw another powerful angel descending from heaven, wrapped ²⁰  in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun and his legs were like pillars of fire. ²¹ 

¹ tn The translation assumes that the perfect verbal form is used rhetorically, emphasizing the certainty of the action. Other translation options include “I have placed” (present perfect; cf. NIV, NRSV) and “I place” (instantaneous perfect; cf. NEB).

² sn The Hebrew word קֶשֶׁת (qeshet) normally refers to a warrior’s bow. Some understand this to mean that God the warrior hangs up his battle bow at the end of the flood, indicating he is now at peace with humankind, but others question the legitimacy of this proposal. See C. Westermann, Genesis, 1:473, and G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:196.

³ tn The perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here has the same aspectual function as the preceding perfect of certitude.

⁴ tn The temporal indicator (וְהָיָה, vÿhayah, conjunction + the perfect verb form), often translated “it will be,” anticipates a future development.

⁵ tn Heb “which [is] between me and between you.”

⁶ tn Heb “all flesh.”

⁷ tn Heb “to destroy.”

⁸ tn Heb “all flesh.”

⁹ tn The translation assumes that the infinitive לִזְכֹּר (lizkor, “to remember”) here expresses the result of seeing the rainbow. Another option is to understand it as indicating purpose, in which case it could be translated, “I will look at it so that I may remember.”

¹⁰ tn According to BDB 1009 s.v. שֶׁטֶף the noun שֶׁצֶף here is an alternate form of שֶׁטֶף (shetef, “flood”). Some relate the word to an alleged Akkadian cognate meaning “strength.”

¹¹ tn Heb “I hid my face from you.”

¹² tn Or “redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

¹³ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “For [or “indeed”] the waters of Noah [is] this to me.” כִּי־מֵי (ki-me, “for the waters of”) should be emended to כְּמֵי (kÿmey, “like the days of”), which is supported by the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a and all the ancient versions except LXX.

¹⁴ tn Heb “the waters of Noah” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV).

¹⁵ tn Heb “peace” (so many English versions); NLT “of blessing.”

¹⁶ tn Grk “jasper stone.”

¹⁷ sn Carnelian was a semiprecious gemstone, usually red in color (L&N 2.36).

¹⁸ tn Or “a rainbow emerald-like in appearance.”

¹⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

²⁰ tn Or “clothed.”

²¹ tn Or “like fiery pillars,” translating πυρός (puros) as an attributive genitive.