Bible Strands
Genesis 9:6
Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man his blood will be shed; for in His own image God has made mankind.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — God addresses Noah and his sons immediately after the Flood, as part of the post-flood covenant (Gen 9:8–17). This is the first divine grant of human judicial authority over murder.
The words — The root שׁפך (shaphak, "to shed/pour out") appears twice: once for the criminal's act, once for the punishment, binding crime and penalty in the same verb. The noun צֶלֶם (tselem, "image/form") is the stated ground for the penalty, not a suggestion.
The thread — The reciprocal "by the sword" logic recurs in Matthew 26:52 and Revelation 13:10; the capital penalty for murder is codified in Leviticus 24:17; the tselem ground is established earlier in Genesis 1:26–27.
Why it lands — It makes the protection of human life a matter of divine image-bearing, not social utility, and it is the first text that authorizes humans to execute judgment against one another.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.
Cross-references
- Leviticus 24:17 And if a man takes the life of anyone else, he must surely be put to death.
- Matthew 26:52 “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him. “For all who draw the sword will die by the sword.
- Revelation 13:10 “If anyone is destined for captivity, into captivity he will go; if anyone is to die by the sword, by the sword he must be killed.” Here is a call for the perseverance and faith of the saints.
- Exodus 21:12 Whoever strikes and kills a man must surely be put to death.
- Numbers 35:33 Do not pollute the land where you live, for bloodshed pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land on which the blood is shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it.
- Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness, to rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, and over all the earth itself and every creature that crawls upon it.”
- James 3:9 With the tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness.
- Genesis 5:1 This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in His own likeness.
- Genesis 4:14 Behold, this day You have driven me from the face of the earth, and from Your face I will be hidden; I will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
- 1 Kings 2:28 When the news reached Joab, who had conspired with Adonijah but not with Absalom, he fled to the tent of the LORD and took hold of the horns of the altar.