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Then God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures according to their kind: livestock and crawling things and animals of the earth according to their kind”; and it was so.
Genesis 1:24 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures after their kind, livestock, creeping things, and animals of the earth after their kind”; and it was so.
  • KJV And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.
  • BSB And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, land crawlers, and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so.
  • NKJV Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind”; and it was so.
  • NLT Then God said, “Let the earth produce every sort of animal, each producing offspring of the same kind—livestock, small animals that scurry along the ground, and wild animals.” And that is what happened.

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

God commands the earth to bring forth land animals after their kinds. The dry land is now filled with living creatures.

Overview

On the sixth day God calls the land to produce livestock, creeping things, and wild animals, each 'after their kind,' and it is so. This populates the earth formed on day three, mirroring how the waters and sky were filled on day five. The orderly diversity of animal life reflects the wisdom and creativity of the God who made them all.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 13

  • Ps 50:9–10I have no need for a bull from your stall, nor male goats from your pens.
  • Gen 6:20Of the birds after their kind, of the livestock after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every sort will come to you, to keep them alive.
  • Job 40:15“See now, behemoth, which I made as well as you. He eats grass as an ox.
  • Gen 8:19Every animal, every creeping thing, and every bird, whatever moves on the earth, after their families, went out of the ship.
  • Ps 148:10wild animals and all livestock; small creatures and flying birds;
  • Gen 7:14they, and every animal after its kind, all the livestock after their kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, every bird of every sort.
  • Job 39:5“Who has set the wild donkey free? Or who has loosened the bonds of the swift donkey,
  • Job 39:19“Have you given the horse might? Have you clothed his neck with a quivering mane?
  • Job 38:39–40“Can you hunt the prey for the lioness, or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
  • Ps 104:23Man goes out to his work, to his labor until the evening.
  • Ps 104:18The high mountains are for the wild goats. The rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.
  • Job 39:9“Will the wild ox be content to serve you? Or will he stay by your feeding trough?
  • Job 39:1“Do you know the time when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch when the doe bears fawns?

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Lay

  • ★ Start hereVideoOverview: Genesis 1–11BibleProject · 9 min · Free

    The single best free starting point for Genesis 1–11 — clear, visual, and faithful to the literary design.

Pastoral

  • CommentaryCommentary on Genesis 1Matthew Henry · Free

    The beloved devotional-pastoral classic, free and public domain — warm, quotable, verse by verse.

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Genesis videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Genesis 1:24YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on GenesisMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 1:24 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.