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God made the expanse, and divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so.
Genesis 1:7 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
  • BSB So God made the expanse and separated the waters beneath it from the waters above. And it was so.
  • ESV And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so.
  • NKJV Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so.
  • NASB God made the expanse, and separated the waters that were below the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse; and it was so.
  • NLT And that is what happened. God made this space to separate the waters of the earth from the waters of the heavens.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 11

  • Prov 8:28–29when he established the clouds above, when the springs of the deep became strong,
  • Ps 148:4Praise him, you heavens of heavens, You waters that are above the heavens.
  • Matt 8:27The men marveled, saying, “What kind of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
  • Job 38:8–11“Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it broke out of the womb,
  • Gen 1:9God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so.
  • Job 26:8He binds up the waters in his thick clouds, and the cloud is not burst under them.
  • Gen 1:15and let them be for lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth”; and it was so.
  • Gen 1:24God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures after their kind, livestock, creeping things, and animals of the earth after their kind”; and it was so.
  • Eccl 11:3If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves on the earth; and if a tree falls toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falls, there shall it be.
  • Gen 1:11God said, “Let the earth yield grass, herbs yielding seeds, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with their seeds in it, on the earth”; and it was so.
  • Ps 104:10He sends springs into the valleys. They run among the mountains.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Lay

  • ★ Start hereVideoOverview: Genesis 1–11BibleProject · 9 min · Free

    The single best free starting point for Genesis 1–11 — clear, visual, and faithful to the literary design.

Pastoral

  • CommentaryCommentary on Genesis 1Matthew Henry · Free

    The beloved devotional-pastoral classic, free and public domain — warm, quotable, verse by verse.

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Genesis videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Genesis 1:7YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on GenesisMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 1:7 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.