Christian Standard Bible
Genesis 1:3
3Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
Genesis 1:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
- New International Version (NIV)And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
Context of Genesis 1:3
1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” There was an evening, and there was a morning: one day.
Read all of Genesis 1Genesis 1:3 word by word
וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֖ים יְהִ֣י א֑וֹר וַֽיְהִי־אֽוֹר׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Genesis 1:3
- Psalms 33:6The heavens were made by the word of the Lord, and all the stars, by the breath of his mouth.
- Psalms 148:5Let them praise the name of the Lord, for he commanded, and they were created.
- Matthew 8:3Reaching out his hand, Jesus touched him, saying, “I am willing; be made clean.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
- John 11:43After he said this, he shouted with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”
- Job 36:30See how he spreads his lightning around him and covers the depths of the sea.
- Job 38:19Where is the road to the home of light? Do you know where darkness lives,
- Psalms 97:11Light dawns for the righteous, gladness for the upright in heart.
- Psalms 104:2He wraps himself in light as if it were a robe, spreading out the sky like a canopy,
- Psalms 118:27The Lord is God and has given us light. Bind the festival sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.
- Isaiah 45:7I form light and create darkness, I make success and create disaster; I am the Lord, who does all these things.
- Isaiah 60:19The sun will no longer be your light by day, and the brightness of the moon will not shine on you. The Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your splendor.
- John 1:5That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.
- John 3:19This is the judgment: The light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.
- 2 Corinthians 4:6For God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of God’s glory in the face of Jesus Christ.
- Ephesians 5:8For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light —
- 1 Timothy 6:16who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see, to him be honor and eternal power. Amen.
Commentaries on Genesis 1:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3And God said, Let there be light - אור ויהי אור הי Yehi or, vaihi or . Nothing can be conceived more dignified than this form of expression. It argues at once uncontrollable authority, and omnific power; and in human language it is scarcely possible to conceive that God can speak more like himself. This passage, in the Greek translation of the Septuagint, fell in the way of Dionysius Longinus, one of the most judicious Greek critics that ever lived, and…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3-5Verses 3-5 - III. The First Day 3. אמר 'āmar “say, bid.” After this verb comes the thing said in the words of the speaker, or an equivalent expression. In this respect it corresponds with our English “say.” אור 'ôr “light.” Light is simply what makes a sensible impression on the organs of vision. It belongs to a class of things which occasionally produce the same effect. ויאמר vayo'mer “then said.” Here we have come to the narrative or the record of a…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 3-5Verses 3-5 God said, Let there be light; he willed it, and at once there was light. Oh, the power of the word of God! And in the new creation, the first thing that is wrought in the soul is light: the blessed Spirit works upon the will and affections by enlightening the understanding. Those who by sin were darkness, by grace become light in the Lord. Darkness would have been always upon fallen man, if the Son of God had not come and given us…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3And God said: God created everything in chapter 1 by his powerful word (compare Psalm 33:6, 9). “Let there be … and there was": God's command put his will into action to create the world. God is not part of creation or limited by it. He supremely rules over everything (see Nehemiah 9:6).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3-53. God said--This phrase, which occurs so repeatedly in the account means: willed, decreed, appointed; and the determining will of God was followed in every instance by an immediate result. Whether the sun was created at the same time with, or long before, the earth, the dense accumulation of fogs and vapors which enveloped the chaos had covered the globe with a settled gloom. But by the command of God, light was rendered visible; the thick murky clouds…Read the comment
Topics related to Genesis 1:3
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Genesis 1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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