By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and all the stars by the breath of His mouth.
Parallel translations
- WEB By Yahweh’s word, the heavens were made; all their army by the breath of his mouth.
- KJV By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
- NKJV By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.
- NASB ¶By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And by the breath of His mouth all their lights.
- NLT The Lord merely spoke, and the heavens were created. He breathed the word, and all the stars were born.
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
By the Lord's word and breath the heavens and their hosts were made, showing his effortless creative power.
Overview
The psalmist celebrates creation by divine speech, the heavens and their starry array brought forth simply by God's word and breath. This underscores his sovereign, effortless power over all things. The New Testament identifies this creative Word with Christ, through whom all things were made (John 1:3).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Heb 11:3By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
- Job 33:4The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
- 2 Pet 3:5But they deliberately overlook the fact that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water,
- John 1:1–3In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
- Ps 33:9For He spoke, and it came to be; He commanded, and it stood firm.
- Gen 2:1Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
- Gen 2:7Then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.
- Gen 1:1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
- Gen 6:7So the LORD said, “I will blot out man, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—every man and beast and crawling creature and bird of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them.”
- John 20:22When He had said this, He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
- Gen 1:6And God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters, to separate the waters from the waters.”
- Rom 1:25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is forever worthy of praise! Amen.
- Ps 104:30When You send Your Spirit, they are created, and You renew the face of the earth.
- Job 26:13By His breath the skies were cleared; His hand pierced the fleeing serpent.
- Ps 148:1–5Hallelujah! Praise the LORD from the heavens; praise Him in the highest places.
- Deut 4:19When you look to the heavens and see the sun and moon and stars—all the host of heaven—do not be enticed to bow down and worship what the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.
- Jer 8:2They will be exposed to the sun and moon, and to all the host of heaven which they have loved, served, followed, consulted, and worshiped. Their bones will not be gathered up or buried, but will become like dung lying on the ground.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 33:6 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.