Verses 12-17 speak of the rainbow as a sign of the covenant or promise God has made not to destroy the earth and its life through a flood. In 17.11 circumcision is the sign of the covenant God makes with Abraham.
And God said introduces this part of God’s speech. Good News Translation does not include these words here but makes them part of the introduction of the terms of the covenant at the beginning of verse 11: “With these words I make….”
This is the sign of the covenant: This points ahead to verse 13. Sign was used in 1.14 in regard to the lights, in the expression “for signs and for seasons.” The sense here is that the rainbow will be a signal, a mark in the sky, a reminder that God will keep his promise not to destroy the earth. A sign is an event or object (in the case of the rainbow it is both) that has been chosen as having a special significance. In languages that do not have a noun-like word for sign, it may be necessary to say, for example, “This is what I will do to remind you of the covenant…,” “There is something I will show in the sky to recall to mind the covenant…,” or “You will see something in the sky to make you remember the covenant….”
Which I make between me and you: you is again plural. Every living creature that is with you: for every living creature see 1.20, 24.
The word translated generations refers to the successive stages of natural reproduction, that is, a lineage or line of descent from parent to child, to grandchild, to great-grandchild, and so on. For all future generations states how long the covenant will last, and means “for ever,” “for all time,” “everlasting,” “eternal.” New English Bible has “To endless generations,” while Bible en français courant says “for as long as there are people.” Good News Translation has shifted this phrase so that it modifies covenant: “everlasting covenant.” Biblia Dios Habla Hoy likewise shifts the expression forward and says “This is the sign of the pact that I make for ever with you [plural].” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch provides a good model to follow for the whole verse: “This promise that I make for you [plural] and all living beings will be valid for all times.”
In some languages this verse or the two verses 12-13 are restructured in the interests of making clear the relationship between the terms covenant, bow, and sign. For example, one translation links the two verses as follows: “This promise of mine will never finish, and the sign of it is like this: (13) I will put my rainbow….” Another brings the term “rainbow” to the beginning of verse 12: “I am putting my rainbow in the clouds as a sign of this contract for all time that I am making with….”
Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .