Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed

“Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed” is a rule about bloodshed and accountability, placed after the flood as part of God’s instructions to Noah and his sons. Its stated foundation is the divine image: human life is not to be treated as disposable, and the taking of a human life brings a corresponding consequence.

Setting and Meaning

After Noah and his family leave the ark, God blesses Noah and his sons and commands them to be fruitful and multiply. The rule on bloodshed appears within this new ordering of human life, alongside permission to eat living creatures and the restriction against eating flesh with its life—that is, its blood.

The saying specifies a reciprocal penalty: whoever sheds human blood is to have his own blood shed by another. The text explains the principle by saying that God made humanity in the image of God, linking the gravity of killing to the status of human life.

Covenant Context and Significance

The rule forms part of a wider covenant address to Noah, his sons, their descendants, and every living creature. God promises that a flood will never again destroy all flesh and sets the bow in the cloud as the sign of this enduring covenant. Against that promise of preservation, the bloodshed saying marks human responsibility for protecting life within the post-flood world.

Its concise, balanced form makes accountability explicit: human bloodshed is answered by human judgment. In the passage, that principle accompanies the renewed command to fill the earth and the prohibition against consuming blood, presenting the preservation and value of life as central terms of the new beginning.