New Living Translation
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. 2The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.” And evening passed and morning came, marking the first 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 Lord merely spoke, and the heavens were created. He breathed the word, and all the stars were born.
- Psalms 148:5Let every created thing give praise to the Lord, for he issued his command, and they came into being.
- Matthew 8:3Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared.
- John 11:43Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!”
- Job 36:30See how he spreads the lightning around him and how it lights up the depths of the sea.
- Job 38:19“Where does light come from, and where does darkness go?
- Psalms 97:11Light shines on the godly, and joy on those whose hearts are right.
- Psalms 104:2You are dressed in a robe of light. You stretch out the starry curtain of the heavens;
- Psalms 118:27The Lord is God, shining upon us. Take the sacrifice and bind it with cords on the altar.
- Isaiah 45:7I create the light and make the darkness. I send good times and bad times. I, the Lord, am the one who does these things.
- Isaiah 60:19“No longer will you need the sun to shine by day, nor the moon to give its light by night, for the Lord your God will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.
- John 1:5The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.
- John 3:19And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil.
- 2 Corinthians 4:6For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.
- Ephesians 5:8For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!
- 1 Timothy 6:16He alone can never die, and he lives in light so brilliant that no human can approach him. No human eye has ever seen him, nor ever will. All honor and power to him forever! 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
New Living Translation — © 1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation
Commentaries