Genesis 1:20

Genesis 1:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
• New International Version (NIV)And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)And God said, "Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens."
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.”

Context of Genesis 1:20

18They were to rule over the day and night. They were to make the time of light separate from the time of dark. God looked at what he had made. He saw that it was good. 19Evening passed and then it was morning. That was the fourth day. God said, ‘The waters will become full with many living things. Birds will appear and fly above the earth, all across the sky.’ 21God made big animals to live in the sea. He made every different kind of living thing that filled the sea. He made every different kind of bird to fly in the sky. God looked at what he had made. He saw that it was good. 22God blessed the animals and the birds. He said to them, ‘Give birth to many young ones, so that you grow in number. Fill all the water in the seas. The birds also should become very many, all across the earth.’

Genesis 1:20 word by word

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֔ים יִשְׁרְצ֣וּ הַמַּ֔יִם שֶׁ֖רֶץ נֶ֣פֶשׁ חַיָּ֑ה וְעוֹף֙ יְעוֹפֵ֣ף עַל־הָאָ֔רֶץ עַל־פְּנֵ֖י רְקִ֥יעַ הַשָּׁמָֽיִם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Let the watersמַיmayim · waterH4325
• bring forth abundantlyשָׁרַץshârats · to swarmH8317
• the moving creatureשֶׁ֫רֶץsherets · swarmH8318
• that hathנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: animalH5315
• lifeחַיchay · aliveH2416
• and fowlעוֹף‛ôph · birdH5775
• may flyעוּף‛ûph · to flyH5774
• aboveעַל‛al · uponH5921
• the earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• in the openפָּנֶהpânîym · face: surfaceH6440
• firmamentרָקִיעַrâqîya‛ · expanseH7549
• of heavenשָׁמַיִםshâmayim shâmeh · heavenH8064

Cross-references for Genesis 1:20

• Genesis 1:22God blessed the animals and the birds. He said to them, ‘Give birth to many young ones, so that you grow in number. Fill all the water in the seas. The birds also should become very many, all across the earth.’
• Genesis 2:19The Lord God took soil from the ground and he made all the animals and birds. He brought them to the man. God wanted to know what names the man would call them. Whatever the man called each living thing, that became its name.
• Genesis 8:17Bring every different kind of living animal out of the ship. Bring out the birds, the animals, and the living things that move across the ground. Now they may give birth to young ones again. They can grow in number all over the earth.’
• Psalms 104:24Lord, you have made very many different things! You were very wise in the way that you have made them all. The earth is full of the living things that you have made.
• Psalms 148:10Praise him, wild animals and farm animals. Praise him, snakes and birds.
• Acts 17:25People make things to give to God. But God does not need anything like that. It is God himself who causes everyone to live. He gives them everything that they need.
• 1 Kings 4:33He could describe many plants. These included large trees like cedar trees that grow in Lebanon and small plants like hyssop that grows on walls. He also taught people about all kinds of animals, birds, insects and fish.
• Genesis 1:30I give to the animals green plants for their food. It will be food for all the animals on the earth, all the birds in the sky and all the animals that move along the ground. Everything that has life may eat every kind of green plant.’ And what God said happened.
• Ecclesiastes 2:21Some people are very wise and clever. They use their knowledge to provide good things for themselves. But after they die, someone else will have all their things. Their good things will belong to someone who did not have to work to get them. This also has no purpose. It only brings trouble.
• Genesis 1:7So God made this wide space. He made the water under the space separate from the water that was above it. What God said happened.

Commentaries on Genesis 1:20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20Let the waters bring forth abundantly - There is a meaning in these words which is seldom noticed. Innumerable millions of animalcula are found in water. Eminent naturalists have discovered not less than 30,000 in a single drop! How inconceivably small must each be, and yet each a perfect animal, furnished with the whole apparatus of bones, muscles, nerves, heart, arteries, veins, lungs, viscera in general, animal spirits, etc., etc. What a proof is this…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20-23Verses 20-23 - VII. The Fifth Day 20. שׁרץ shārats “crawl, teem, swarm, abound.” An intransitive verb, admitting, however, an objective noun of its own or a like signification. נפשׁ nephesh “breath, soul, self.” This noun is derived from a root signifying to breathe. Its concrete meaning is, therefore, “that which breathes,” and consequently has a body, without which there can be no breathing; hence, “a breathing body,” and even a body that once had…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 20-25Verses 20-25 God commanded the fish and fowl to be produced. This command he himself executed. Insects, which are more numerous than the birds and beasts, and as curious, seem to have been part of this day's work. The Creator's wisdom and power are to be admired as much in an ant as in an elephant. The power of God's providence preserves all things, and fruitfulness is the effect of his blessing.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 14-31On days four through six, God filled the domains that had been formed during days one through three (1:3–13).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 20-2320. moving creature--all oviparous animals, both among the finny and the feathery tribes--remarkable for their rapid and prodigious increase. fowl--means every flying thing: The word rendered "whales," includes also sharks, crocodiles, &c.; so that from the countless shoals of small fish to the great sea monsters, from the tiny insect to the king of birds, the waters and the air were suddenly made to swarm with creatures formed to live and sport in their…Read the comment

Topics related to Genesis 1:20

• Birds
• Firmament
• Fish
• God

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Above
• Appear
• Beginning
• Call
• Create
• Darkness
• Divide
• Earth

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