Genesis 1 · Verse 22

Genesis 1:22

And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
Genesis 1:22, King James Version

Genesis 1:22 in other translations

BSBThen God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters of the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”
WEBGod blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”
ASVAnd God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.
YLTAnd God blesseth them, saying, ‘Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and the fowl let multiply in the earth:'
DARBYAnd God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply on the earth.
BBEAnd God gave them his blessing, saying, Be fertile and have increase, making all the waters of the seas full, and let the birds be increased in the earth.
WebsterAnd God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

What does Genesis 1:22 mean?

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 22 Let fowl multiply in the earth - It is truly astonishing with what care, wisdom, and minute skill God has formed the different genera and species of birds, whether intended to live chiefly on land or in water. The structure of a single feather affords a world of wonders; and as God made the fowls that they might fly in the firmament of heaven, Gen 1:20, so he has adapted the form of their bodies, and the structure and disposition of their plumage, for that very purpose. The head and neck in flying are drawn principally within the breast-bone, so that the whole under part exhibits the appearance of a ship's hull. The wings are made use of as sails, or rather oars, and the tail as a helm or rudder. By means of these the creature is not only able to preserve the center of gravity, but also to go with vast speed through the air, either straight forward, circularly, or in any kind of angle, upwards or downwards. In these also God has shown his skill and his power in the great and in the little - in the vast ostrich and cassowary, and In the beautiful humming-bird, which in plumage excels the splendor of the peacock, and in size is almost on a level with the bee.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Genesis 1:20-25

God commanded the fish and fowl to be produced. This command he himself executed. Insects, which are more numerous than the birds and beasts, and as curious, seem to have been part of this day's work. The Creator's wisdom and power are to be admired as much in an ant as in an elephant. The power of God's providence preserves all things, and fruitfulness is the effect of his blessing.

Read the full comment on Genesis 1:20-25 →

Genesis 1:22 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיְבָ֧רֶךְvay.Va.rekhand he blessedH1288
אֹתָ֛ם'o.Tam<obj.> themH853
אֱלֹהִ֖ים'E.lo.HimGodH430
לֵאמֹ֑רle.Mor<to> sayingH559
פְּר֣וּpe.Rube fruitfulH6509
וּרְב֗וּu.re.Vuand multiplyH7235
וּמִלְא֤וּu.mil.'Uand fillH4390
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
הַמַּ֙יִם֙ha.Ma.yimthe watersH4325
בַּיַּמִּ֔יםbai.ya.Mimin the seasH3220
וְהָע֖וֹףve.ha.'ofand the bird[s]H5775
יִ֥רֶבYi.revlet it multiplyH7235
בָּאָֽרֶץ\׃ba.'A.retzon the earthH776

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Genesis 1:22

  • Job 40:15

    Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox.

  • Genesis 8:17

    Bring 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.

  • Genesis 1:28

    And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

  • Psalms 107:38

    He blesseth them also, so that they are multiplied greatly; and suffereth not their cattle to decrease.

  • Genesis 35:11

    And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins;

  • Genesis 9:1

    And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.

  • Job 42:12

    So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses.

  • Leviticus 26:9

    For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you.

  • Genesis 30:30

    For it was little which thou hadst before I came, and it is now increased unto a multitude; and the Lord hath blessed thee since my coming: and now when shall I provide for mine own house also?

  • Psalms 128:3

    Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table.

  • Proverbs 10:22

    The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.

  • Psalms 144:13-14

    That our garners may be full, affording all manner of store: that our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets: That our oxen may be strong to labour; that there be no breaking in, nor going out; that there be no complaining in our streets.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
28; 8:17; 9:1; 30:27,30; 35:11; Le 26:9; Job 40:15; 42:12; Ps 107:31,38
Ps 128:3; 144:13,14; Pr 10:22

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Genesis 1:21

    And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

  • Genesis 1:22

    And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

  • Genesis 1:23

    And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

Read all of Genesis 1

Genesis 1:22 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Y Dios los bendijo diciendo: Fructificad y multiplicad, y henchid las aguas en los mares, y las aves se multipliquen en la tierra.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et Dieu les bénit, disant: Fructifiez, et multipliez, et remplissez les eaux dans les mers, et que l’oiseau multiplie sur la terre.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und Gott segnete sie und sprach: Seid fruchtbar und mehret euch und füllet die Wasser in den Meeren, und das Gevögel mehre sich auf der Erde!
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Benedixitque eis, dicens: Crescite, et multiplicamini, et replete aquas maris: avesque multiplicentur super terram.