New King James Version
Genesis 9:5
5Surely 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.
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 Living Translation (NLT)“And I will require the blood of anyone who takes another person’s life. If a wild animal kills a person, it must die. And anyone who murders a fellow human must die.
Context of Genesis 9:5
3Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs. 4But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. 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. 6“Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man. 7And as for you, be fruitful and multiply; Bring forth abundantly in the earth And multiply in it.”
Read all of Genesis 9Genesis 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 21:12“He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death.
- Genesis 4:9Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”
- Leviticus 19:16You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people; nor shall you take a stand against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord.
- Numbers 35:31Moreover you shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death.
- Deuteronomy 21:1“If anyone is found slain, lying in the field in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him,
- Psalms 9:12When He avenges blood, He remembers them; He does not forget the cry of the humble.
- Matthew 23:35that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
- Acts 17:26And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings,
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
In the dictionaries
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries