Genèse 9:2

2 Et vous serez craints et redoutés de tous les animaux de la terre, et de tous les oiseaux des cieux; avec tout ce qui se meut sur le sol et tous les poissons de la mer, ils sont remis entre vos mains.

Genèse 9:2 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 9:2

And the fear or you, and the dread of you, shall be upon
every beast of the earth
This is a renewal, at least in part, of the grant of dominion to Adam over all the creatures; these obeyed him cheerfully, and from love, but sinning, he in a good measure lost his power over them, they rebelled against him; but now though the charter of power over them is renewed, they do not serve man freely, but are in dread of him, and flee from him; some are more easily brought into subjection to him, and even the fiercest and wildest of them may be tamed by him; and this power over them was the more easily retrieved in all probability by Noah and his sons, from the inhabitation of the creatures with them for so long a time in the ark:

and upon every fowl of the air, and upon all that moveth upon the
earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea;
as appears by fowls flying away, by beasts and creeping things getting off as fast as they can, and by fishes swimming away at the sight of men:

into your hand are they delivered;
as the lords and proprietors of them, for their use and service, and particularly for what follows, see ( Psalms 8:6-8 ) where there is an enumeration of the creatures subject to men.

Genèse 9:2 In-Context

1 Et Dieu bénit Noé, et ses fils, et leur dit: Croissez et multipliez, et remplissez la terre;
2 Et vous serez craints et redoutés de tous les animaux de la terre, et de tous les oiseaux des cieux; avec tout ce qui se meut sur le sol et tous les poissons de la mer, ils sont remis entre vos mains.
3 Tout ce qui se meut et qui a vie, vous servira de nourriture; je vous donne tout cela comme l'herbe verte.
4 Seulement, vous ne mangerez point de chair avec son âme, c'est à dire son sang.
5 Et certainement je redemanderai votre sang, le sang de vos âmes; je le redemanderai de tout animal. Et je redemanderai l'âme de l'homme, de la main de l'homme, de la main de son frère.
The Ostervald translation is in the public domain.