he said, “Cursed be Canaan! A servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.”
Parallel translations
- WEB He said, “Canaan is cursed. He will be a servant of servants to his brothers.”
- KJV And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.
- NKJV Then he said: “Cursed be Canaan; A servant of servants He shall be to his brethren.”
- NASB So he said, “Cursed be Canaan; A servant of servants He shall be to his brothers.”
- NLT Then he cursed Canaan, the son of Ham: “May Canaan be cursed! May he be the lowest of servants to his relatives.”
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 pronounced a curse on Canaan, that he would be the lowest of servants to his brothers. Ham's dishonor bears consequences in his descendants.
Overview
Noah's words fall on Canaan, Ham's son, foreshadowing the later subjugation of the Canaanite peoples by Israel. The curse concerns the historical destiny of nations, not any racial group, and must never be twisted to justify mistreatment. It anticipates the just judgment that comes upon the wicked and the deliverance God provides through the line of blessing.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Deut 27:16‘Cursed is he who dishonors his father or mother.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
- Josh 9:23Now therefore you are under a curse and will perpetually serve as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.”
- Judg 1:28–30When Israel became stronger, they pressed the Canaanites into forced labor, but they never drove them out completely.
- Josh 9:27On that day he made them woodcutters and water carriers, as they are to this day for the congregation of the LORD and for the altar at the place He would choose.
- John 8:34Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.
- 1 Kgs 9:20–21As for all the people who remained of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites (the people who were not Israelites)—
- 2 Chr 8:7–8As for all the people who remained of the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites (the people who were not Israelites)—
- Gen 9:22And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father’s nakedness and told his two brothers outside.
- Deut 28:18The fruit of your womb will be cursed, as well as the produce of your land, the calves of your herds, and the lambs of your flocks.
- Gen 49:7Cursed be their anger, for it is strong, and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will disperse them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.
- Matt 25:41Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
- Gen 4:11Now you are cursed and banished from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.
- Gen 3:14So the LORD God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and every beast of the field! On your belly will you go, and dust you will eat, all the days of your life.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 9:25 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.