So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
Parallel translations
- WEB God created man in his own image. In God’s image he created him; male and female he created them.
- BSB So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
- NKJV So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
- NASB So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
- NLT So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
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 makes humanity — male and female together — in his own image, giving every person dignity and a calling to represent him.
Overview
The verse's poetry triples "image/created" and lands on "male and female." Both sexes equally bear the image; the dignity is not earned and not erased by the fall. To be the image is to represent God's rule and reflect his character — a vocation the New Testament says is perfected in Christ and restored in those united to him.
Cross-references & the web
Theme
- Image & GloryHumanity made in God's image.
Cross-references · 13
- Matt 19:4And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
- Gen 5:1–2This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;
- Eph 2:10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
- Mark 10:6But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.
- Gen 2:21–25And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
- Eph 4:24And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
- Ps 139:14I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
- Isa 43:7Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.
- Col 1:15Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
- Gen 2:18And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
- 1 Cor 11:7–9For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.
- Mal 2:15And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.
- Col 1:26Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Lay
A six-minute primer that makes the imago dei click — what it meant in the ancient world and why it matters now.
The single best free starting point for Genesis 1–11 — clear, visual, and faithful to the literary design.
Pastoral
The beloved devotional-pastoral classic, free and public domain — warm, quotable, verse by verse.
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 1:27 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.