Bible Verse of the Day for October 22, 2026

The verses beside it

Genesis 1:25. God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that crawls upon the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:26. Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness, to rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, and over all the earth itself and every creature that crawls upon it.”

Genesis 1:27. So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Genesis 1:28. God 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.”

Genesis 1:29. Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit contains seed. They will be yours for food.

Where this verse sits

Genesis 1 moves through six days of ordered speech, with creatures made “according to their kinds.” Verse 26 breaks the pattern: God proposes humankind in his image and likeness, to rule the fish, birds, livestock, and creeping things. Verse 27 reports the act and adds “male and female.” Verse 28 blesses them with fruitfulness and dominion, and verse 29 gives plants for food. Read verses 26 through 31. The image is announced before the fall, and the verdict on the finished work, including the man and the woman, is that it was very good.

Reflection

The creating word has already called light, seas, and living creatures good. Then God speaks in a way he has not spoken over the animals: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness,” and gives them rule over the creatures. Verse 27 repeats “created” and states the image twice, then says male and female he created them. Dignity is not earned and not assigned to one sex. The blessing that follows — be fruitful, fill the earth, subdue it — is spoken to the same pair. To be made in God’s image is to receive a life that represents him, including in the way human beings treat every other bearer of that image.

A prayer from this verse

“Creator, I rank people by usefulness and forget whose image they carry. Thank You for making us male and female in Your likeness, and for giving the care of the world as a blessing rather than a trophy. Let me honor the image in the person I am most tempted to dismiss. Amen.”

One action: Do one concrete good today for someone you usually overlook, as a way of honoring the image of God rather than their usefulness to you.