Genesis 9:13

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.

Genesis 17:13

17:13 They must indeed be circumcised, ⁴  whether born in your house or bought with money. The sign of my covenant ⁵  will be visible in your flesh as a permanent ⁶  reminder.

Genesis 9:16

9:16 When the rainbow is in the clouds, I will notice it and remember ⁷  the perpetual covenant between God and all living creatures of all kinds that are on the earth.”

Genesis 17:16

17:16 I will bless her and will give you a son through her. I will bless her and she will become a mother of nations. ⁸  Kings of countries ⁹  will come from her!”

[9:13]  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).

[9:13]  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.

[9:13]  ³ tn The perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here has the same aspectual function as the preceding perfect of certitude.

[17:13]  ⁴ tn The emphatic construction employs the Niphal imperfect tense (collective singular) and the Niphal infinitive.

[17:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “my covenant.” Here in v. 13 the Hebrew word בְּרִית (bÿrit) refers to the outward, visible sign, or reminder, of the covenant. For the range of meaning of the term, see the note on the word “requirement” in v. 9.

[17:13]  ⁶ tn Or “an eternal.”

[9:16]  ⁷ 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.”

[17:16]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “she will become nations.”

[17:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “peoples.”