And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.
Parallel translations
- WEB He drank of the wine and got drunk. He was uncovered within his tent.
- BSB But when he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and uncovered himself inside his tent.
- NKJV Then he drank of the wine and was drunk, and became uncovered in his tent.
- NASB He drank some of the wine and became drunk, and uncovered himself inside his tent.
- NLT One day he drank some wine he had made, and he became drunk and lay naked inside his tent.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Noah drank the wine, became drunk, and lay uncovered in his tent. Even this righteous man falls into sin and shame.
Overview
Noah's drunkenness and exposure show that the flood did not cleanse the human heart; sin persists even in the godly. The scene is reported plainly, without excusing it, as a sober warning. It underscores the need for a righteousness greater than Noah's, found only in Christ, who never failed and who covers our shame.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Prov 20:1Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.
- Hab 2:15–16Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!
- Prov 23:31–32Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.
- Gal 5:21Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
- Titus 2:2That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.
- Rom 13:13Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.
- Gen 19:32–36Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.
- Eccl 7:20For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.
- Gen 6:9These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.
- 1 Cor 10:12Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
- Luke 22:3–4Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve.
- Rev 3:18I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 9:21 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.