And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.
Parallel translations
- WEB Of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ship, to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female.
- BSB And you are to bring two of every living creature into the ark—male and female—to keep them alive with you.
- NKJV And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female.
- NASB And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female.
- NLT Bring a pair of every kind of animal—a male and a female—into the boat with you to keep them alive during the flood.
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
Noah is to bring two of every living creature, male and female, into the ark to keep them alive. God preserves the animal world through the flood.
Overview
God's command to save pairs of every kind shows his care to preserve his creation even amid judgment. The provision of male and female ensures the continuation of life after the waters recede. This preservation reflects God's commitment to his creation purposes and his promise that life will continue beyond judgment.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Gen 7:15–16And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life.
- Gen 7:8–9Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,
- Gen 7:2–3Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.
- Ps 36:6Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep: O LORD, thou preservest man and beast.
- Gen 8:17Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.
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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 6:19 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.