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Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible. This view is only designed for doing comparisons of different translations. Click on any Bible version abbreviation to see the verse in more of its context. The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible. Please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.
OET (OET-RV) and he blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.”
OET-LV And_he/it_blessed DOM_them god to_say be_fruitful and_increase/multiply and_fill DOM the_waters in_the_seas and_the_bird let_it_multiply on_the_earth.
UHB וַיְבָ֧רֶךְ אֹתָ֛ם אֱלֹהִ֖ים לֵאמֹ֑ר פְּר֣וּ וּרְב֗וּ וּמִלְא֤וּ אֶת־הַמַּ֨יִם֙ בַּיַּמִּ֔ים וְהָע֖וֹף יִ֥רֶב בָּאָֽרֶץ׃ ‡
(vayəⱱārek ʼotām ʼₑlohiym lēʼmor pərū ūrəⱱū ūmilʼū ʼet-hammayim bayyammiym vəhāˊōf yireⱱ bāʼāreʦ.)
Key: yellow:verbs, blue:Elohim.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).
ULT Then God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.”
UST Then he blessed them all by saying to them, “You water animals must have many young so that you increase greatly in number and live all over the place in the ocean. You birds must also increase greatly in number all over the earth.”
BSB ¶ Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters of the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”
OEB He blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful,
⇔ increase, fill the oceans,
⇔ and let the birds increase on the land.’
WEB God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”
NET God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.”
LSV And God blesses them, saying, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let the bird multiply in the earth”:
FBV God blessed them and said, “Reproduce and increase, and fill the waters of the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.”
T4T God blessed them. He said, “Produce offspring and become very numerous. I want the creatures in the water to live in all the oceans, and birds also to become very numerous.” And that is what happened.
LEB And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.”
BBE And 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.
MOF No MOF GEN book available
JPS And God blessed them, saying: 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.'
ASV And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.
DRA And he blessed them, saying: Increase and multiply, and fill the waters of the sea: and let the birds be multiplied upon the earth.
YLT And God blesseth them, saying, 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and the fowl let multiply in the earth:'
DBY And [fn]God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply on the earth.
1.22 Elohim
RV And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
WBS And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
KJB And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
BB And God blessed them, saying: Be fruiteful, and multiplie, and fyll the waters of the sea, and let foule multiplie in the earth.
(And God blessed them, saying: Be fruiteful, and multiplie, and fill the waters of the sea, and let fowl/bird(s) multiply in the earth.)
GNV Then God blessed them, saying, Bring foorth fruite and multiplie, and fill the waters in the seas, and let the foule multiplie in the earth.
(Then God blessed them, saying, Bring forth fruit and multiplie, and fill the waters in the seas, and let the fowl/bird(s) multiply in the earth. )
CB and blessed them, sayenge: Growe, and multiplie, and fyll the waters of the sees, and let the foules multiplie vpon the earth.
(and blessed them, sayenge: Growe, and multiplie, and fill the waters of the sees, and let the fowls/birds multiply upon the earth.)
WYC and blesside hem, and seide, Wexe ye, and be ye multiplied, and fille ye the watris of the see, and briddis be multiplied on erthe.
(and blessed them, and said, Wexe ye, and be ye/you_all multiplied, and fille ye/you_all the waters of the see, and birds be multiplied on earth.)
LUT Und GOtt segnete sie und sprach: Seid fruchtbar und mehret euch und erfüllet das Wasser im Meer; und das Gevögel mehre sich auf Erden.
(And God segnete they/she/them and spoke: Seid fruchtbar and mehret you and erfüllet the water in_the Meer; and the Gevögel mehre itself/yourself/themselves on earthn.)
CLV Benedixitque eis, dicens: Crescite, et multiplicamini, et replete aquas maris: avesque multiplicentur super terram.[fn]
(Benedixitque eis, dicens: Crescite, and multiplicamini, and replete waters maris: avesque multiplicentur super the_earth/land.)
1.22 Benedixitque illis, etc. AUG., lib. de Gen. imp., c. 15, tom. 3 Benedictionem ad fecunditatem valere voluit, quæ in successione prolis apparet, ut ea benedictione qua infirma et mortalia creata sunt, genus suum nascendo custodiant. CHRYSOST., hom. 7 in Gen., tom. 4, col. 66 Ipsa ergo benedictio est, in magno numero, et multitudine augeri, et multiplicari. Nam quia animatæ creaturæ erant animalia, volebantque perpetuo esse, ideo subdidit: Crescite. Verbum enim illud usque in præsentem diem illa conservat. Crescite et multiplicamini, etc. BEDA, in Hexæm. Ad utrumque genus animantium de aquis factorum, id est pisces et aves, pertinet. Quia sicut omnes pisces nonnisi aquis vivere possunt, ita plurimæ aves; quæ si in terris aliquando requiescunt, fetusque faciunt, non tamen de terra, sed de mari vivunt, et libentius mari quam terra utuntur. Mystice. ISID. et AUG., ubi supra. Die quinta facta sunt in aquis reptilia animarum vivarum, id est, homines in vitam renovati per sacramentum baptismi. Facta sunt volatilia, id est, animæ volantes ad superna. Incipit provecta mens quinto die in actionibus turbulenti sæculi, tanquam in aquis maris operari, propter utilitatem fraternæ societatis, et de corporalibus agnitionibus quæ ad mare, id est hanc vitam, pertinent, producere animarum vivarum reptilia, id est opera quæ prosunt animis vivis; et cetos magnos, id est fortissimas agnitiones, quibus fluctus sæculi dirumpuntur et contemnuntur; et volatilia cœli, id est, voces cœlestia prædicantes.
1.22 Benedixitque to_them, etc. AUG., lib. about Gen. imp., c. 15, tom. 3 Benedictionem to fecunditatem valere voluit, which in successione prolis apparet, as ea benedictione which infirma and mortalia creata are, genus his_own nascendo custodiant. CHRYSOST., hom. 7 in Gen., tom. 4, col. 66 Ipsa ergo benedictio it_is, in magno numero, and multitudine augeri, and multiplicari. Nam because animatæ creaturæ they_were animalia, volebantque perpetuo esse, ideo subdidit: Crescite. Verbum because illud usque in præsentem diem illa conservat. Crescite and multiplicamini, etc. BEDA, in Hexæm. Ad utrumque genus animantium about awho/any factorum, id it_is pisces and aves, belongs. Quia like everyone pisces nonnisi awho/any vivere possunt, ita plurimæ aves; which when/but_if in terris aliquando requiescunt, fetusque faciunt, not/no tamen about terra, but about mari vivunt, and libentius mari how earth/land utuntur. Mystice. ISID. and AUG., where supra. Die quinta facts are in awho/any reptilia animarum vivarum, id it_is, homines in life renovati per sacramentum baptismi. Facta are volatilia, id it_is, animæ volantes to superna. Incipit provecta mens quinto die in actionibus turbulenti sæculi, tanquam in awho/any maris operari, propter utilitatem fraternæ societatis, and about corporalibus agnitionibus which to mare, id it_is hanc vitam, pertinent, producere animarum vivarum reptilia, id it_is opera which prosunt animis vivis; and cetos magnos, id it_is fortissimas agnitiones, to_whom wave sæculi dirumpuntur and contemnuntur; and volatilia cœli, id it_is, voices cœlestia prædicantes.
BRN And God blessed them, saying, Increase and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let the creatures that fly be multiplied on the earth.
BrLXX Καὶ εὐλόγησεν αὐτὰ ὁ Θεὸς, λέγων, αὐξάνεσθε καὶ πληθύνεσθε, καὶ πληρώσατε τὰ ὕδατα ἐν ταῖς θαλάσσαις, καὶ τὰ πετεινὰ πληθυνέσθωσαν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς.
(Kai eulogaʸsen auta ho Theos, legōn, auxanesthe kai plaʸthunesthe, kai plaʸrōsate ta hudata en tais thalassais, kai ta peteina plaʸthunesthōsan epi taʸs gaʸs. )
1:22 God blessed them: God’s blessing commissions and enables the fulfillment of what God has spoken (see “Blessing” Theme Note).
• Let the fish . . . let the birds: These directives define the blessing. The fish and birds are fertile by God’s command, not by pagan ritual, as some of Israel’s neighbors thought.
Blessing
Before his death, Jacob offered a blessing to each of his sons (49:1-28), as well as to Joseph’s sons (Gen 48:3-20), just as his father Isaac had blessed him (27:27-29). Blessing enables, enhances, and enriches life, whereas a curse diminishes it (Lev 26:14-39). A blessing is issued publicly by a benefactor and provides power for prosperity and success. Blessing is essential to covenant relationships in that it guides and motivates the parties to obey the covenant’s stipulations (Lev 26:3-13). Obedience leads to blessing, whereas rebellion brings a curse (see Deut 28).
The initial realm of blessing is creation, in which God as Creator is the ultimate granter of blessing for animals (Gen 1:22) and humans (1:28; see Pss 104; 128:3-4). Humans also serve as channels of divine blessing. Abraham was called to be a blessing to the nations (Gen 12:2-3). The institutions of family (27:27-29), government (1 Kgs 8:14, 52, 66), and religion (Gen 14:19; Lev 9:22) are nurtured, commissioned, and purified through blessing. Israel’s priests mediated God’s blessing to Israel (Num 6:24-26; Deut 10:8).
Three basic characteristics can be observed in Old Testament blessings: (1) They are conveyed from a greater party to a lesser one (Gen 32:26; Heb 7:6-7); (2) they are signs of favor that result in well-being and productivity (Deut 28:3-7); and (3) they acknowledge that all power and blessing stems from the Creator. All blessings have their source in God’s love (Deut 7:7-8, 12-15).
God’s blessings in the Old Testament are in striking contrast with those of the pagan religions of antiquity. For pagan religions, fortunes and fertility of flock, family, and fields came about through sympathetic magic in ceremonial observances at their shrines—profane customs that were designed to manipulate the deities to act on their behalf so that the cycle of life could be maintained. In the Old Testament, all life, fertility, and blessing came by God’s decree, for he is the only true and living God.
In the New Testament, the emphasis of blessing shifts from the material to the spiritual, from the nation to the church, and from the temporal to the eternal (Matt 6:25; Eph 1:3; 1 Pet 3:9). In his death, Jesus carried the consequences of sin’s curse (Gal 3:13), established God’s Kingdom (Matt 3:2; 5:3-20; John 3:3-5), and blessed its citizens with forgiveness of sin (Rom 4:6-25). Now believers are called to bless the world (Luke 6:27-28; Rom 12:14; see also Isa 19:24; Zech 8:13).
Passages for Further Study
Gen 1:22, 28; 9:26-27; 12:2-3; 14:19-20; 24:59-60; 27:1-41; 28:1-4; 32:24-30; 46:1–50:26; Lev 26:3-13; Num 6:22-27; Deut 7:12-15; 10:8; 28:1-14; 33:1-29; 1 Sam 2:20-21; Ps 128:1-6; Matt 5:3-12; Luke 6:27-28; Rom 12:14; Gal 3:13-14; Eph 1:3; Heb 7:6-7; 1 Pet 3:9
Note 1 topic: writing-pronouns
וַיְבָ֧רֶךְ אֹתָ֛ם אֱלֹהִ֖ים
and=he/it_blessed DOM=them ʼₑlhīmv
For some languages it is necessary to specify what them refers to. Do what is best in your language. Alternate translation: “Then God caused them all to prosper” or “Then God blessed the water creatures and the birds”
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
לֵאמֹ֑ר
to=say
God blesses the water animals first. If that is not clear, you could make that explicit here in the quote margin or at the beginning of what God says. Alternate translation: “and said first to the water animals,”
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / 123person
פְּר֣וּ
be_fruitful
God speaks directly to the water animals using the second person (“you”), then later in the verse speaks about the birds in the third person (the birds). For some languages it is necessary to use either second person for both or third person for both, to prevent confusion. Do what is natural and clear in your language. Alternate translation: “Reproduce” or “You water animals will produce many young”
Note 4 topic: grammar-connect-logic-goal
וּרְב֗וּ
and=increase/multiply
Alternate translation: “so that you and your offspring will multiply greatly in number” or “so that you and your offspring will become very many”
וּמִלְא֤וּ
and=fill
Alternate translation: “and live throughout”
אֶת הַמַּ֨יִם֙ בַּיַּמִּ֔ים
DOM the=waters in_the=seas
For some languages, “water in the seas” is too repetitive, so it is more natural here to just say “seas/sea” or “ocean” or “water”. Do what is best in your language. Alternate translation: “the water of the sea”
וְהָע֖וֹף יִ֥רֶב
and=the=bird increase/multiply
Consider whether or not it is better in your language to begin a new sentence here. Also, see how you translated multiply earlier in this verse. Alternate translation: “And the birds will also increase greatly in number” or “You birds will also become very many”
בָּאָֽרֶץ
on_the=earth
Alternate translation: “throughout the earth.” or “and live all over the earth.”