And surely I will require the life of any man or beast by whose hand your lifeblood is shed. I will demand an accounting from anyone who takes the life of his fellow man:
Parallel translations
- WEB I will surely require your blood of your lives; at the hand of every animal I will require it. At the hand of man, even at the hand of every man’s brother, I will require the life of man.
- KJV And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man.
- NKJV Surely 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.
- NASB I certainly will require your lifeblood; from every animal I will require it. And from every person, from every man as his brother I will require the life of a person.
- NLT “And I will require the blood of anyone who takes another person’s life. If a wild animal kills a person, it must die. And anyone who murders a fellow human must die.
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 declares that He will hold every creature and every person accountable for shedding human lifeblood. Human life is sacred to its Maker.
Overview
Following the flood, God establishes that murder will not go unanswered; He Himself requires a reckoning for the blood of human beings, whether shed by animal or man. This sets the foundation for justice in the renewed world. The sanctity of life flows from humanity bearing God's image, a value ultimately vindicated when Christ gives His own lifeblood to redeem image-bearers.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Exod 21:28–29If an ox gores a man or woman to death, the ox must surely be stoned, and its meat must not be eaten. But the owner of the ox shall not be held responsible.
- Exod 21:12Whoever strikes and kills a man must surely be put to death.
- Gen 4:9–10And the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I do not know!” he answered. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
- Num 35:31–33You are not to accept a ransom for the life of a murderer who deserves to die; he must surely be put to death.
- Ps 9:12For the Avenger of bloodshed remembers; He does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.
- Matt 23:35And so upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
- Exod 20:13You shall not murder.
- Deut 21:1–9If one is found slain, lying in a field in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him,
- Lev 19:16You must not go about spreading slander among your people. You must not endanger the life of your neighbor. I am the LORD.
- Acts 17:26From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their lands.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 9:5 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.