Passage

Genesis 9.5-6

Book: Genesis · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

3. Every moving thing that liveth shall be food for you; as the green herb have I given you all. 4. But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.

5. And surely your blood, the blood of your lives, will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it: and at the hand of man, even at the hand of every man's brother, will I require the life of man. 6. Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.

And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein. 8. And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, (Genesis 9:3-8, ASV)

WEB

3. Every moving thing that lives will be food for you. As I gave you the green herb, I have given everything to you. 4. But flesh with its life, that is, its blood, you shall not eat.

5. 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. 6. Whoever sheds man’s blood, his blood will be shed by man, for God made man in his own image.

Be fruitful and multiply. Increase abundantly in the earth, and multiply in it.” 8. God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, (Genesis 9:3-8, WEB)

KJV

3. Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. 4. But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.

5. 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. 6. Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.

And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein. 8. And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, (Genesis 9:3-8, KJV)

YLT

3. Every creeping thing that is alive, to you it is for food; as the green herb I have given to you the whole; 4. only flesh in its life, its blood, ye do not eat.

5. 'And only your blood for your lives do I require; from the hand of every living thing I require it, and from the hand of man, from the hand of every man's brother I require the life of man; 6. whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man is his blood shed: for in the image of God hath He made man.

And ye, be fruitful and multiply, teem in the earth, and multiply in it.' 8. And God speaketh unto Noah, and unto his sons with him, saying, (Genesis 9:3-8, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: God, speaking to Noah and his sons (Genesis 9:1, 8)
Audience: Noah, his sons, and through them all their descendants
Location: the land where the ark came to rest, in the mountains of Ararat (Genesis 8:4)
Time period: after the flood

Theological reading

"Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man." (Genesis 9:6, KJV).

Why murder is so grave. God requires a reckoning for human blood "for in the image of God made he man." The ground of the law is not social usefulness but the image of God in the victim.

The image survives the Fall and the flood. This is said after sin entered the world and after judgment. Fallen humans still bear God's image, so every human life keeps its dignity. See Imago Dei and Mosaic Capital Punishment.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

H6754 - tselem, tselem, Strong's H6754
H1818 - dam, dam, Strong's H1818
H2416 - chay, chay, Strong's H2416
H0120 - adam, adam, Strong's H0120
H5315 - nephesh, nephesh, Strong's H5315
H0430 - elohim, elohim, Strong's H0430

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

Biblical Dignity, via Genesis 9.6
Death Before the Fall, via Genesis 9.6
Divine Wipeouts and Their Justification, via Genesis 9.6
Imago Dei, via Genesis 9.6
Morality, via Genesis 9.6
Verses on Gods Goodness and Human Worth, via Genesis 9.6

Lexicon:

Guides:

Ris3n Arguments, via Genesis 9.6

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.