Genesis 9 · Verse 2

Genesis 9:2

And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.
Genesis 9:2, King James Version

Genesis 9:2 in other translations

BSBThe fear and dread of you will fall on every living creature on the earth, every bird of the air, every creature that crawls on the ground, and all the fish of the sea. They are delivered into your hand.
WEBThe fear of you and the dread of you will be on every animal of the earth, and on every bird of the sky. Everything that moves along the ground, and all the fish of the sea, are delivered into your hand.
ASVAnd the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every bird of the heavens; with all wherewith the ground teemeth, and all the fishes of the sea, into your hand are they delivered.
YLTand your fear and your dread is on every beast of the earth, and on every fowl of the heavens, on all that creepeth on the ground, and on all fishes of the sea--into your hand they have been given.
DARBYAnd let the fear of you and the dread of you be upon every animal of the earth, and upon all fowl of the heavens: upon all that moveth on the ground; and upon all the fishes of the sea: into your hand are they delivered.
BBEAnd the fear of you will be strong in every beast of the earth and every bird of the air; everything which goes on the land, and all the fishes of the sea, are given into your hands.
WebsterAnd the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth on the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.

What does Genesis 9:2 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
2. And the fear of you and the dread of you--The second part re-establishes man's dominion over the inferior animals; it was now founded not as at first in love and kindness, but in terror; this dread of man prevails among all the stronger as well as the weaker members of the animal tribes and keeps away from his haunts all but those employed in his service.

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 2 The fear of you and the dread, etc. - Prior to the fall, man ruled the inferior animals by love and kindness, for then gentleness and docility were their principal characteristics. After the fall, untractableness, with savage ferocity, prevailed among almost all orders of the brute creation; enmity to man seems particularly to prevail; and had not God in his mercy impressed their minds with the fear and terror of man, so that some submit to his will while others flee from his residence, the human race would long ere this have been totally destroyed by the beasts of the field. Did the horse know his own strength, and the weakness of the miserable wretch who unmercifully rides, drives, whips, goads, and oppresses him, would he not with one stroke of his hoof destroy his tyrant possessor? But while God hides these things from him he impresses his mind with the fear of his owner, so that either by cheerful or sullen submission he is trained up for, and employed in, the most useful and important purposes; and even willingly submits, when tortured for the sport and amusement of his more brutish oppressor. Tigers, wolves, lions, and hyenas, the determinate foes of man, incapable of being tamed or domesticated, flee, through the principle of terror, from the dwelling of man, and thus he is providentially safe. Hence, by fear and by dread man rules every beast of the earth, every fowl of the air, and every fish of the sea. How wise and gracious is this order of the Divine providence! and with what thankfulness should it be considered by every human being!

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Genesis 9:1-3

The blessing of God is the cause of our doing well. On him we depend, to him we should be thankful. Let us not forget the advantage and pleasure we have from the labour of beasts, and which their flesh affords. Nor ought we to be less thankful for the security we enjoy from the savage and hurtful beasts, through the fear of man which God has fixed deep in them. We see the fulfilment of this promise every day, and on…

Read the full comment on Genesis 9:1-3 →

Genesis 9:2 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.

וּמוֹרַאֲכֶ֤םu.mo.ra.'a.Khemand fear yourH4172
וְחִתְּכֶם֙ve.chi.te.Khemand dread yourH2844
יִֽהְיֶ֔הyih.Yeh<it> will beH1961
עַ֚ל'alonH5921
כָּל\־kol-everyH3605
חַיַּ֣תchai.Yat<the> animal ofH2416
הָאָ֔רֶץha.'A.retzthe earthH776
וְעַ֖לve.'Aland onH5921
כָּל\־kol-everyH3605
ע֣וֹףof<the> bird ofH5775
הַשָּׁמָ֑יִםha.sha.Ma.yimthe heavensH8064
בְּכֹל֩be.Kholon allH3605
אֲשֶׁ֨ר'a.SherthatH834
תִּרְמֹ֧שׂtir.Mos<it> creepsH7430
הָֽאֲדָמָ֛הha.'a.da.Mahthe groundH127
וּֽבְכָל\־u.ve.Khol-and on allH3605
דְּגֵ֥יde.Gei[the] fish ofH1709
הַיָּ֖םhai.Yamthe seaH3220
בְּיֶדְכֶ֥םbe.yed.Khemin hand yourH3027
נִתָּֽנוּ\׃ni.Ta.nuthey are givenH5414

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

Cross references for Genesis 9:2

  • Psalms 8:4-8

    What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; …

  • Hosea 2:18

    And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely.

  • James 3:7

    For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:

  • 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.

  • Leviticus 26:6

    And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land.

  • Job 5:22-23

    At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth. For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field: and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee.

  • Ezekiel 34:25

    And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods.

  • Genesis 35:5

    And they journeyed: and the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.

  • Genesis 2:19

    And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

  • Leviticus 26:22

    I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your high ways shall be desolate.

  • Psalms 104:20-23

    Thou makest darkness, and it is night: wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth. The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God. The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens. Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1:28; 2:19; 35:5; Le 26:6,22; Job 5:22,23; Ps 8:4-8; 104:20-23
Eze 34:25; Ho 2:18; Jas 3:7

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

Context

  • Genesis 9:1

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

  • Genesis 9:2

    And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.

  • Genesis 9:3

    Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.

Read all of Genesis 9

Genesis 9:2 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y vuestro temor y vuestro pavor será sobre todo animal de la tierra, y sobre toda ave de los cielos, en todo lo que se moverá en la tierra, y en todos los peces del mar: en vuestra mano son entregados.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et vous serez un sujet de crainte et de frayeur pour tout animal de la terre, et pour tout oiseau des cieux, pour tout ce qui se meut sur la terre, aussi bien que pour tous les poissons de la mer; ils sont livrés entre vos mains.
German
Elberfelder 1871		und die Furcht und der Schrecken vor euch sei auf allem Getier der Erde und auf allem Gevögel des Himmels! Alles, was sich auf dem Erdboden regt, und alle Fische des Meeres, in eure Hände sind sie gegeben:
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Et terror vester ac tremor sit super cuncta animalia terræ, et super omnes volucres cæli, cum universis quæ moventur super terram: omnes pisces maris manui vestræ traditi sunt.