Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit contains seed. They will be yours for food.
Parallel translations
- WEB God said, “Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree, which bears fruit yielding seed. It will be your food.
- KJV And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
- NKJV And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.
- NASB Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you;
- NLT Then God said, “Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food.
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 gives the seed-bearing plants and fruit to humanity for food. The Creator graciously provides for the needs of those he made.
Overview
God designates the seed-bearing herbs and fruit trees as food for humanity, displaying his provision for human life from the very beginning. The generosity of this gift shows that God's intent for creation is the flourishing of his creatures. This pattern of God providing daily bread continues throughout Scripture and finds its fullest expression in Christ, the bread of life (John 6:35).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 20
- Gen 9:3Everything that lives and moves will be food for you; just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you all things.
- Ps 104:14–15He makes the grass grow for the livestock and provides crops for man to cultivate, bringing forth food from the earth:
- Ps 145:15–16The eyes of all look to You, and You give them their food in season.
- Ps 104:27–28All creatures look to You to give them their food in due season.
- Acts 14:17Yet He has not left Himself without testimony to His goodness: He gives you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with food and gladness.”
- Ps 147:9He provides food for the animals, and for the young ravens when they call.
- Ps 24:1A Psalm of David. The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness thereof, the world and all who dwell therein.
- Job 36:31For by these He judges the nations and provides food in abundance.
- Matt 6:25–26Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?
- Matt 6:11Give us this day our daily bread.
- Gen 2:16And the LORD God commanded him, “You may eat freely from every tree of the garden,
- Acts 17:28‘For in Him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.’
- Ps 115:16The highest heavens belong to the LORD, but the earth He has given to mankind.
- Isa 33:16he will dwell on the heights; the mountain fortress will be his refuge; his food will be provided and his water assured.
- Hos 2:8For she does not acknowledge that it was I who gave her grain, new wine, and oil, who lavished on her silver and gold—which they crafted for Baal.
- Ps 146:7He executes justice for the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free,
- Ps 136:25He gives food to every creature. His loving devotion endures forever.
- Ps 111:5He provides food for those who fear Him; He remembers His covenant forever.
- 1 Tim 6:17Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy.
- Acts 17:24–25The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples made by human hands.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Lay
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
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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 1:29 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.