New King James Version
Genesis 9:6
6“Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man.
Genesis 9:6 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.
- New International Version (NIV)“Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.
- New Living Translation (NLT)If anyone takes a human life, that person’s life will also be taken by human hands. For God made human beings in his own image.
Context of Genesis 9:6
4But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. 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. “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.” 8Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying:
Read all of Genesis 9Genesis 9:6 word by word
שֹׁפֵךְ֙ דַּ֣ם הָֽאָדָ֔ם בָּֽאָדָ֖ם דָּמ֣וֹ יִשָּׁפֵ֑ךְ כִּ֚י בְּצֶ֣לֶם אֱלֹהִ֔ים עָשָׂ֖ה אֶת־הָאָדָֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Genesis 9:6
- Exodus 21:12“He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death.
- Exodus 22:2If the thief is found breaking in, and he is struck so that he dies, there shall be no guilt for his bloodshed.
- Leviticus 17:4and does not bring it to the door of the tabernacle of meeting to offer an offering to the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord, the guilt of bloodshed shall be imputed to that man. He has shed blood; and that man shall be cut off from among his people,
- Leviticus 24:17‘Whoever kills any man shall surely be put to death.
- Numbers 35:25So the congregation shall deliver the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall return him to the city of refuge where he had fled, and he shall remain there until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil.
- 1 Kings 2:5“Moreover you know also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner and Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed. And he shed the blood of war in peacetime, and put the blood of war on his belt that was around his waist, and on his sandals that were on his feet.
- Matthew 26:52But Jesus said to him, “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.
- Romans 13:4For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.
- Revelation 13:10He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
- Genesis 1:26Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
- Genesis 5:1This is the book of the genealogy of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God.
- Psalms 51:4Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight— That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge.
- James 3:9With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God.
Commentaries on Genesis 9:6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood - Hence it appears that whoever kills a man, unless unwittingly, as the Scripture expresses it, shall forfeit his own life. A man is accused of the crime of murder; of this crime he is guilty or he is not: if he be guilty of murder he should die; if not, let him be punished according to the demerit of his crime; but for no offense but murder should he lose his life. Taking away the life of another is the…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. 6for in His own image God has made mankind: God made human beings in his own image. That is why this passage gives a theological reason for the death penalty in the Old Testament. Human beings have a unique place in creation because they bear God’s image (1:26–28). If someone murders another person, that person destroys a life that reflects God in a special way. Because of that, the murderer must receive the highest penalty. See also Exodus 21:23–25. This…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. Whoso sheddeth man's blood ... for in the image of God made he man--It is true that image has been injured by the fall, but it is not lost. In this view, a high value is attached to the life of every man, even the poorest and humblest, and an awful criminality is involved in the destruction of it.Read the comment
Topics related to Genesis 9:6
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