And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
Parallel translations
- WEB God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
- BSB And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
- NKJV Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
- NASB Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
- NLT Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
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 speaks light into existence, the first creative word in a dark, formless world. It shows that creation happens by God's effortless command.
Overview
On the first day God addresses the darkness and chaos described in verse 2 by speaking light into being. The phrase 'Let there be' reveals a God who creates not from struggle but by sovereign command, and the immediate result ('and there was light') underscores his power. The New Testament echoes this when Paul says God who commanded light to shine out of darkness has shone in our hearts (2 Corinthians 4:6), and John presents Christ, the Word, as the true light coming into the world.
Cross-references & the web
Theme
- Light & Darkness"Let there be light."
Cross-references · 21
- 2 Cor 4:6For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
- John 1:5And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
- Isa 45:7I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
- Isa 60:19The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.
- 1 Jn 1:5This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
- Eph 5:8For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:
- John 3:19And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
- Ps 97:11Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.
- John 1:9That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
- Ps 33:6By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
- Ps 33:9For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.
- Ps 148:5Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created.
- 1 Jn 2:8Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.
- Eph 5:14Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.
- Job 38:19Where is the way where light dwelleth? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof,
- Ps 104:2Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:
- 1 Tim 6:16Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.
- Ps 118:27God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.
- Job 36:30Behold, he spreadeth his light upon it, and covereth the bottom of the sea.
- Matt 8:3And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
- John 11:43And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
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
The beloved devotional-pastoral classic, free and public domain — warm, quotable, verse by verse.
Commentaries & study tools
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Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 1:3 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.