Genesis 9:5

Genesis 9:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man.
• New International Version (NIV)And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each human being, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of another human being.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man.

Context of Genesis 9:5

3You may now eat anything that lives and moves. Before, I gave you the green plants to eat. Now I give you everything to eat as your food. 4But you must not eat meat that still has the blood of life in it. If any person or animal kills a human, I will certainly punish them. Their punishment will be death. 6God made people so that they were like himself. So if anyone kills a human, another human must kill him. 7But as for you, you should give birth to many children so that you become very many people. There will be many people and they will live all over the earth.’

Genesis 9:5 word by word

וְאַ֨ךְ אֶת־דִּמְכֶ֤ם לְנַפְשֹֽׁתֵיכֶם֙ אֶדְרֹ֔שׁ מִיַּ֥ד כָּל־חַיָּ֖ה אֶדְרְשֶׁ֑נּוּ וּמִיַּ֣ד הָֽאָדָ֗ם מִיַּד֙ אִ֣ישׁ אָחִ֔יו אֶדְרֹ֖שׁ אֶת־נֶ֥פֶשׁ הָֽאָדָֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And surelyאַךְ'ak · surelyH389
• your bloodדָּםdâm · bloodH1818
• of your livesנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: lifeH5315
• will I requireדָּרַשׁdârash · to seekH1875
• at the handיָדyâd · hand: toH3027
• of every beastחַיָּהchay · living thingH2416
• of manאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
• of every man’sאִישׁ'îysh · man: anyoneH376
• brotherאָח'âch · brother: compatriotH251

Cross-references for Genesis 9:5

• Exodus 21:12Perhaps a person may hit another person so that he dies. You must punish the murderer with death.
• Genesis 4:9Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Where is Abel, your brother?’ Cain replied, ‘I do not know where he is. Must I always keep my brother safe?’
• Leviticus 19:16You must not speak bad words about other people. If somebody is in danger of death, do not keep quiet if you know the truth. I am the Lord.
• Numbers 35:31You must not accept money to pay for the life of a murderer. If he is guilty of murder, you must kill him.
• Deuteronomy 21:1In the land that the Lord your God is giving to you, you may find someone's dead body lying in a field. Someone has killed him but you do not know who the murderer is.
• Psalms 9:12God punishes murderers, and he takes care of people who receive pain from others. When they call to him, he does not refuse to help them.
• Matthew 23:35Because of all this, God will punish you for all the good people that you and your ancestors have killed. Long ago, Abel was the first of those good people. You also killed Zechariah, the son of Berekiah. He died in the yard of the temple near the altar.
• Acts 17:26God first made one man. From that one man he made all the different groups of people. He caused them to live in different places all over the world. He decided where each group of people should live. He also decided how long they should live in each place.

Commentaries on Genesis 9:5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5Surely your blood - will I require; at the hand of every beast - This is very obscure, but if taken literally it seems to be an awful warning against cruelty to the brute creation; and from it we may conclude that horse-racers, hare-hunters, bull-baiters, and cock-fighters shall be obliged to give an account to God for every creature they have wantonly destroyed. Instead of חיה chaiyah, "beast," the Samaritan reads Yod Kaph chai, "living," any "living…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-7Verses 1-7 - The Blessing of Noah 2. מורא môrā' “fear, reverence, awful deed.” חת chat “dread, breaking of the courage.” Noah is saved from the deluge. His life is twice given to him by God. He had found grace in the sight of the Lord, and now he and his family have been graciously accepted when they approached the Lord with burnt-offerings. In him, therefore, the race of man is to be begun anew. Accordingly, as at the beginning, the Lord proceeds to…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 4-7Verses 4-7 The main reason of forbidding the eating of blood, doubtless was because the shedding of blood in sacrifices was to keep the worshippers in mind of the great atonement; yet it seems intended also to check cruelty, lest men, being used to shed and feed upon the blood of animals, should grow unfeeling to them, and be less shocked at the idea of shedding human blood. Man must not take away his own life. Our lives are God's, and we must only give…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5-6Violence, including murder, was a major factor in bringing about God’s judgment of the flood (4:8; 6:11, 13). At this new beginning for human beings, God affirmed the value of human life (that human life is sacred) and established justice for those who take a human life (see also Psalm 9:12; “Retribution” Theme Note). The function of law is to restrain human wickedness and preserve moral order. This law was further developed in the law of Moses (Exodus…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. surely your blood of your lives will I require--The fourth part establishes a new power for protecting life--the institution of the civil magistrate (Ro 13:4), armed with public and official authority to repress the commission of violence and crime. Such a power had not previously existed in patriarchal society.Read the comment

Topics related to Genesis 9:5

• Avenger of Blood
• Brother
• Covenant
• Homicide
• Punishment

In the dictionaries

• Blood
• Brother
• Cloud
• Covenant
• Dwell
• Enlarge
• Food
• Meat
• Move
• Murder

Commentaries on Genesis 9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings