Genesis 9:5

KJV1611 – Modern English

And surely for your blood, the blood of your lives, I will demand an account; at the hand of every beast I will demand it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother I will demand the life of man.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

וְאַ֨ךְ אֶת־דִּמְכֶ֤ם לְנַפְשֹֽׁתֵיכֶם֙ אֶדְרֹ֔שׁ מִיַּ֥ד כָּל־חַיָּ֖ה אֶדְרְשֶׁ֑נּוּ וּמִיַּ֣ד הֽ͏ָאָדָ֗ם מִיַּד֙ אִ֣ישׁ אָחִ֔יו אֶדְרֹ֖שׁ אֶת־נֶ֥פֶשׁ הֽ͏ָאָדָֽם׃

Transliteration

And-ʾak ʾet-dimkem for-napšōtêkem ʾedrōš from-yad kol-ḥayyāh ʾedreešennû and-from-yad hāʾādām from-yad ʾîš ʾāḥîw ʾedrōš ʾet-nepeš hāʾādām.

Grammar Details

• *ʾak*: particle of restriction - only/but/surely
• *dimkem*: noun, masculine, singular + 2nd person masculine plural possessive suffix - your blood
• *napšōtêkem*: noun, feminine, plural + 2nd person masculine plural possessive suffix - your lives/souls
• *ʾedrōš*: imperfect, 1st singular - I will require/seek
• *yad*: noun, feminine, singular, construct state - hand of
• *kol*: construct state - all of/every
• *ḥayyāh*: noun, feminine, singular - living thing/animal
• *ʾedreešennû*: imperfect, 1st singular + 3rd person masculine singular suffix - I will require it
• *hāʾādām*: noun, masculine, singular + definite article - the man/mankind
• *ʾîš*: noun, masculine, singular, construct state - man of
• *ʾāḥîw*: noun, masculine, singular + 3rd person masculine singular possessive suffix - his brother
• *nepeš*: noun, feminine, singular, construct state - life/soul of

Word Meanings

• *ʾak*: surely/indeed/only/however
• *dimkem*: your blood/your lifeblood
• *napšōtêkem*: your lives/your souls/your beings
• *ʾedrōš*: I will require/I will seek/I will demand
• *yad*: hand/power/authority
• *ḥayyāh*: living thing/beast/animal
• *hāʾādām*: mankind/human/man
• *ʾîš*: man/each/individual/person
• *ʾāḥîw*: his brother/his kinsman/his fellow
• *nepeš*: life/soul/being/self

Other Translations

• Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

  I will require an accounting for your lifeblood. I will demand it from any animal and from every person. From each person, I will demand an accounting for the life of another person.

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

  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.

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  And surely{H389} your blood,{H1818} [the blood] of your lives,{H5315} will I require;{H1875} at the hand{H3027} of every beast{H2416} will I require it:{H1875} and at the hand{H3027} of man,{H120} even at the hand{H3027} of every man's{H120} brother,{H251} will I require{H1875} the life{H5315} of man.{H120}

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  And surely{H389} your blood{H1818} of your lives{H5315} will I require{H1875}{(H8799)}; at the hand{H3027} of every beast{H2416} will I require it{H1875}{(H8799)}, and at the hand{H3027} of man{H120}; at the hand{H3027} of every man's{H376} brother{H251} will I require{H1875}{(H8799)} the life{H5315} of man{H120}.

• Tyndale Bible (1526/1534)

  For verely the bloude of yow wherein youre lyves are wyll I requyre: Eue of the hande of all beastes wyll I requyre it And of the hande of man and of the hand off euery mannes brother wyll I requyre the lyfe of man:

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  For the bloude of you wherin youre soule is, wyll I requyre of the hande of all beastes: and the soule of ma wyll I requyre of mans hande, yee euery mans soule of anothers hande.

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  For surely I will require your blood, wherein your liues are: at the hand of euery beast will I require it: and at the hand of man, euen at the hand of a mans brother will I require the life of man.

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  And surely your blood of your lyues wyl I require: at the hande of euery beast wyll I require it, and at the hand of man, at the hande of mans brother wyll I require the life of man.

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  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.

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  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.

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  `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;

• American Standard Version (1901)

  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.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  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.

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  And for your blood, which is your life, will I take payment; from every beast I will take it, and from every man will I take payment for the blood of his brother-man.

• World English Bible (2000)

  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.

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  For your lifeblood I will surely exact punishment, from every living creature I will exact punishment. From each person I will exact punishment for the life of the individual since the man was his relative.

Referenced Verses

• Exod 21:28-29 : 28 If an ox gores a man or a woman, and they die, then the ox shall surely be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be acquitted. 29 But if the ox was known to gore in time past, and its owner has been warned, and he has not kept it in, and it kills a man or woman, the ox shall be stoned, and its owner also shall be put to death.
• Gen 4:9-9 : 9 And the LORD said to Cain, Where is Abel your brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? 10 And he said, What have you done? the voice of your brother's blood cries to me from the ground.
• Exod 21:12 : 12 He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death.
• Exod 20:13 : 13 You shall not murder.
• Lev 19:16 : 16 You shall not go around as a talebearer among your people; nor shall you stand against the life of your neighbor: I am the LORD.
• Num 35:31-33 : 31 Moreover you shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer, who is guilty of death: but he shall surely be put to death. 32 And you shall take no ransom for him that is fled to the city of his refuge, that he may return to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest. 33 So you shall not pollute the land where you are: for blood defiles the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed in it, but by the blood of him who shed it.
• Deut 21:1-9 : 1 If someone is found slain in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess, lying in the field, and it is not known who has slain him, 2 Then your elders and your judges shall come forth, and they shall measure to the cities which are around him that is slain; 3 And it shall be that the city which is nearest to the slain man, even the elders of that city shall take a heifer, which has not been worked with, and which has not drawn in the yoke; 4 And the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a rough valley, which is neither plowed nor sown, and shall break the heifer's neck there in the valley; 5 And the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come near, for them the LORD your God has chosen to minister to Him, and to bless in the name of the LORD; and by their word every controversy and every stroke shall be tried: 6 And all the elders of that city, that are nearest to the slain man, shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the valley, 7 And they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it. 8 Be merciful, O LORD, to Your people Israel, whom You have redeemed, and do not place innocent blood upon Your people of Israel's charge. And the blood shall be forgiven them. 9 So shall you put away the guilt of innocent blood from among you, when you do what is right in the sight of the LORD.
• Ps 9:12 : 12 When he avenges blood, he remembers them; he does not forget the cry of the humble.
• Matt 23:35 : 35 that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
• Acts 17:26 : 26 And has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings;