The earth produced vegetation: seed-bearing plants according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
Parallel translations
- WEB The earth yielded grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, with their seeds in it, after their kind; and God saw that it was good.
- KJV And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
- NKJV And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
- NASB The earth produced vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, according to their kind; and God saw that it was good.
- NLT The land produced vegetation—all sorts of seed-bearing plants, and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their seeds produced plants and trees of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The earth obeys and yields vegetation, and God sees it is good. Creation responds exactly to God's word and reflects his goodness.
Overview
The land brings forth grass, seed-bearing herbs, and fruit trees just as God commanded, fulfilling verse 11 to the letter. God's repeated approval, 'it was good,' confirms that the living world conforms to his good design. The dependable order of seedtime and harvest becomes a lasting sign of God's faithful provision (Genesis 8:22).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Mark 4:28All by itself the earth produces a crop—first the stalk, then the head, then grain that ripens within.
- Matt 13:24–26Jesus put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.
- Gal 6:7Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return.
- Isa 55:10–11For just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return without watering the earth, making it bud and sprout, and providing seed to sow and food to eat,
- Luke 6:44For each tree is known by its own fruit. Indeed, figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor grapes from brambles.
- Isa 61:11For as the earth brings forth its growth, and as a garden enables seed to spring up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.
- 2 Cor 9:10Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your store of seed and will increase the harvest of your righteousness.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Lay
The single best free starting point for Genesis 1–11 — clear, visual, and faithful to the literary design.
Pastoral
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Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 1:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.