New Living Translation
Genesis 1:6
6Then God said, “Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth.”
Genesis 1:6 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
- New International Version (NIV)And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)And God said, "Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters."
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.”
Context of Genesis 1:6
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. Then God said, “Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth.” 7And that is what happened. God made this space to separate the waters of the earth from the waters of the heavens. 8God called the space “sky.” And evening passed and morning came, marking the second day.
Read all of Genesis 1Genesis 1:6 word by word
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֔ים יְהִ֥י רָקִ֖יעַ בְּת֣וֹךְ הַמָּ֑יִם וִיהִ֣י מַבְדִּ֔יל בֵּ֥ין מַ֖יִם לָמָֽיִם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Genesis 1:6
- Genesis 1:14Then God said, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them be signs to mark the seasons, days, and years.
- Genesis 7:11When Noah was 600 years old, on the seventeenth day of the second month, all the underground waters erupted from the earth, and the rain fell in mighty torrents from the sky.
- Job 26:7God stretches the northern sky over empty space and hangs the earth on nothing.
- Job 37:11He loads the clouds with moisture, and they flash with his lightning.
- Job 38:22“Have you visited the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of hail?
- Psalms 19:1The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship.
- Psalms 33:6The Lord merely spoke, and the heavens were created. He breathed the word, and all the stars were born.
- Psalms 104:2You are dressed in a robe of light. You stretch out the starry curtain of the heavens;
- Psalms 136:5Give thanks to him who made the heavens so skillfully. His faithful love endures forever.
- Psalms 148:4Praise him, skies above! Praise him, vapors high above the clouds!
- Psalms 150:1Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heaven!
- Ecclesiastes 11:3When clouds are heavy, the rains come down. Whether a tree falls north or south, it stays where it falls.
- Jeremiah 10:10But the Lord is the only true God. He is the living God and the everlasting King! The whole earth trembles at his anger. The nations cannot stand up to his wrath.
- Jeremiah 51:15The Lord made the earth by his power, and he preserves it by his wisdom. With his own understanding he stretched out the heavens.
- Zechariah 12:1This message concerning the fate of Israel came from the Lord: “This message is from the Lord, who stretched out the heavens, laid the foundations of the earth, and formed the human spirit.
Commentaries on Genesis 1:6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6And God said, Let there be a firmament - Our translators, by following the firmamentum of the Vulgate, which is a translation of the of the Septuagint, have deprived this passage of all sense and meaning. The Hebrew word רקיע rakia, from רקע raka, to spread out as the curtains of a tent or pavilion, simply signifies an expanse or space, and consequently that circumambient space or expansion separating the clouds, which are in the higher regions of it…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6-8Verses 6-8 - IV. The Second Day 6. רקיע rāqı̂ya‛ “expanse;” ́ stereōma רקע rāqa‛ “spread out by beating, as leaf gold.” This expanse was not understood to be solid, as the fowl is said to fly on the face of it Genesis 1:21. It is also described as luminous Daniel 12:3, and as a monument of divine power Psalm 150:1. 7. עשׂה ‛āśâh “work on,” “make out of already existing materials.” The second act of creative power bears upon the deep of waters, over…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 6-13Verses 6-13 The earth was emptiness, but by a word spoken, it became full of God's riches, and his they are still. Though the use of them is allowed to man, they are from God, and to his service and honour they must be used. The earth, at his command, brings forth grass, herbs, and fruits. God must have the glory of all the benefit we receive from the produce of the earth. If we have, through grace, an interest in Him who is the Fountain, we may rejoice…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6-8The creation story describes how things appear from a human perspective. The sky looks like a shiny dome separating two groups of water (see Job 37:18; Ezekiel 1:22). In the ancient Near East, people understood the universe to have three levels, with rain coming from the highest level (see Genesis 7:11–12 and study note).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 6-86. firmament--an expanse--a beating out as a plate of metal: a name given to the atmosphere from its appearing to an observer to be the vault of heaven, supporting the weight of the watery clouds. By the creation of an atmosphere, the lighter parts of the waters which overspread the earth's surface were drawn up and suspended in the visible heavens, while the larger and heavier mass remained below. The air was thus "in the midst of the waters," that is…Read the comment
Topics related to Genesis 1:6
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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