And God said, “Let the waters teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky.”
Parallel translations
- WEB God said, “Let the waters abound with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky.”
- 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.
- 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.”
- NASB Then God said, “Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens.”
- NLT Then God said, “Let the waters swarm with fish and other life. Let the skies be filled with birds of every kind.”
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
God commands the waters and skies to teem with living creatures. Life now fills the realms God earlier prepared.
Overview
On the fifth day God calls the seas to swarm with creatures and the air to be filled with birds, populating the domains formed on days two and three. The abundance of living things displays God's generosity and delight in life. This filling of empty spaces with teeming life reflects the order and fullness that characterize God's good creation.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Gen 2:19And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and He brought them to the man to see what he would name each one. And whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.
- Ps 104:24–25How many are Your works, O LORD! In wisdom You have made them all; the earth is full of Your creatures.
- 1 Kgs 4:33He spoke of trees, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop growing in the wall, and he taught about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish.
- Ps 148:10wild animals and all cattle, crawling creatures and flying birds,
- Gen 1:30And to every beast of the earth and every bird of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth—everything that has the breath of life in it—I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.
- Gen 8:17Bring out all the living creatures that are with you—birds, livestock, and everything that crawls upon the ground—so that they can spread out over the earth and be fruitful and multiply upon it.”
- Gen 1:7So God made the expanse and separated the waters beneath it from the waters above. And it was so.
- Gen 1:22Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters of the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”
- Gen 1:14And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to distinguish between the day and the night, and let them be signs to mark the seasons and days and years.
- Acts 17:25Nor is He served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.
- Eccl 2:21When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and he must give his portion to a man who has not worked for it, this too is futile and a great evil.
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 1:20 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.