Discovery BoxGenesis 9:11-12 
Context9:11 I confirm 1 my covenant with you: Never again will all living things 2 be wiped out 3 by the waters of a flood; 4 never again will a flood destroy the earth.”
9:12 And God said, “This is the guarantee 5 of the covenant I am making 6 with you 7 and every living creature with you, a covenant 8 for all subsequent 9 generations:
1 tn The verb וַהֲקִמֹתִי (vahaqimoti) is a perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive and should be translated with the English present tense, just as the participle at the beginning of the speech was (v. 9). Another option is to translate both forms with the English future tense (“I will confirm”).
2 tn Heb “all flesh.”
3 tn Heb “cut off.”
4 tn Heb “and all flesh will not be cut off again by the waters of the flood.”
5 tn Heb “sign.”
6 sn On the making of covenants in Genesis, see W. F. Albright, “The Hebrew Expression for ‘Making a Covenant’ in Pre-Israelite Documents,” BASOR 121 (1951): 21-22.
7 tn Heb “between me and between you.”
8 tn The words “a covenant” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
9 tn The Hebrew term עוֹלָם (’olam) means “ever, forever, lasting, perpetual.” The covenant would extend to subsequent generations.
