Genesis 1 · Verse 28

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.
Genesis 1:28, King James Version

Genesis 1:28 in other translations

BSBGod blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth.”
WEBGod blessed them. God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
ASVAnd 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 birds of the heavens, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
YLTAnd God blesseth them, and God saith to them, ‘Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and rule over fish of the sea, and over fowl of the heavens, and over every living thing that is creeping upon the earth.'
DARBYAnd God blessed them; and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heavens, and over every animal that moveth on the earth.
BBEAnd God gave them his blessing and said to them, Be fertile and have increase, and make the earth full and be masters of it; be rulers over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing moving on the earth.
WebsterAnd God blessed them, and God said to 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 animal that moveth upon the earth.

What does Genesis 1:28 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
28. Be fruitful, &c.--The human race in every country and age has been the offspring of the first pair. Amid all the varieties found among men, some black, some copper-colored, others white, the researches of modern science lead to a conclusion, fully accordant with the sacred history, that they are all of one species and of one family (Ac 17:26). What power in the word of God! "He spake and it was done. He commanded and all things stood fast" [Psa 33:9]. "Great and manifold are thy works, Lord God Almighty! in wisdom hast thou made them all" [Psa 104:24]. We admire that wisdom, not only in the regular progress of creation, but in its perfect adaptation to the end. God is represented as pausing at every stage to look at His work. No wonder He contemplated it with complacency. Every object was in its right place, every vegetable process going on in season, every animal in its structure and instincts suited to its mode of life and its use in the economy of the world. He saw everything that He had made answering the plan which His eternal wisdom had conceived; and, "Behold it was very good" [Ge 1:31].

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 28 And God blessed them - Marked them as being under his especial protection, and gave them power to propagate and multiply their own kind on the earth. A large volume would be insufficient to contain what we know of the excellence and perfection of man, even in his present degraded fallen state. Both his body and soul are adapted with astonishing wisdom to their residence and occupations; and also the place of their residence, as well as the surrounding objects, in their diversity, color, and mutual relations, to the mind and body of this lord of the creation. The contrivance, arrangement, action, and re-action of the different parts of the body, show the admirable skill of the wondrous Creator; while the various powers and faculties of the mind, acting on and by the different organs of this body, proclaim the soul's Divine origin, and demonstrate that he who was made in the image and likeness of God, was a transcript of his own excellency, destined to know, love, and dwell with his Maker throughout eternity.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Genesis 1:26-28

Man was made last of all the creatures: this was both an honour and a favour to him. Yet man was made the same day that the beasts were; his body was made of the same earth with theirs; and while he is in the body, he inhabits the same earth with them. God forbid that by indulging the body, and the desires of it, we should make ourselves like the beasts that perish! Man was to be a creature different from all that…

Read the full comment on Genesis 1:26-28 →

Genesis 1:28 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.

וַיְבָ֣רֶךְvay.Va.rekhand he blessedH1288
אֹתָם֮'o.Tam<obj.> themH853
אֱלֹהִים֒'E.lo.HimGodH430
וַיֹּ֨אמֶרvai.Yo.merand he saidH559
לָהֶ֜םla.Hemto <the> them
אֱלֹהִ֗ים'E.lo.HimGodH430
פְּר֥וּpe.Rube fruitfulH6509
וּרְב֛וּu.re.Vuand multiplyH7235
וּמִלְא֥וּu.mil.'Uand fillH4390
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
הָאָ֖רֶץha.'A.retzthe earthH776
וְכִבְשֻׁ֑הָve.khiv.Shu.haand subdue itH3533
וּרְד֞וּu.re.Duand ruleH7287
בִּדְגַ֤תbid.Gatover [the] fish ofH1710
הַיָּם֙hai.Yamthe seaH3220
וּבְע֣וֹףu.ve.'ofand over [the] bird[s] ofH5775
הַשָּׁמַ֔יִםha.sha.Ma.yimthe heavensH8064
וּבְכָל\־u.ve.Khol-and over everyH3605
חַיָּ֖הchai.YahanimalH2416
הָֽרֹמֶ֥שֶׂתha.ro.Me.setwhich creepsH7430
עַל\־'al-onH5921
הָאָֽרֶץ\׃ha.'A.retzthe earthH776

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

Cross references for Genesis 1:28

  • Genesis 9:1

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

  • Genesis 9:7

    And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.

  • Leviticus 26:9

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

  • Psalms 128:3-4

    Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table. Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord.

  • Genesis 22:17-18

    That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

  • 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 17:20

    And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.

  • Psalms 127:1-5

    A Song of degrees for Solomon. Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep. Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. …

  • Isaiah 45:18

    For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else.

  • 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.

  • Psalms 107:38

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

  • 1 Chronicles 4:10

    And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
22; 8:17; 9:1,7; 17:16,20; 22:17,18; 24:60; 26:3,4,24; 33:5; 49:25
Le 26:9; 1Ch 4:10; 26:5; Job 42:12; Ps 107:38; 127:1-5; 128:3,4
Isa 45:18; 1Ti 4:3
moveth. Heb. creepeth.
Ps 69:34; *marg:

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

Context

  • Genesis 1:27

    So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

  • 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.

  • Genesis 1:29

    And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

Read all of Genesis 1

Genesis 1:28 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y los bendijo Dios; y díjoles Dios: Fructificad y multiplicad, y henchid la tierra, y sojuzgadla, y señoread en los peces de la mar, y en las aves de los cielos, y en todas las bestias que se mueven sobre la tierra.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et Dieu les bénit; et Dieu leur dit: Fructifiez, et multipliez, et remplissez la terre et l’assujettissez; et dominez sur les poissons de la mer, et sur les oiseaux des cieux, et sur tout être vivant qui se meut sur la terre.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und Gott segnete sie, und Gott sprach zu ihnen: Seid fruchtbar und mehret euch und füllet die Erde und machet sie euch untertan; und herrschet über die Fische des Meeres und über das Gevögel des Himmels und über alles Getier, das sich auf der Erde regt!
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Benedixitque illis Deus, et ait: Crescite et multiplicamini, et replete terram, et subjicite eam, et dominamini piscibus maris, et volatilibus cæli, et universis animantibus, quæ moventur super terram.