By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them 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.
- BSB By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and all the stars 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 11:3Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
- Job 33:4The spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.
- 2 Pet 3:5For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the 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 spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.
- Gen 2:1Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
- Gen 2:7And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
- Gen 1:1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
- Gen 6:7And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
- John 20:22And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
- Gen 1:6And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
- Rom 1:25Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
- Ps 104:30Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.
- Job 26:13By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.
- Ps 148:1–5Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise him in the heights.
- Deut 4:19And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.
- Jer 8:2And they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and after whom they have walked, and whom they have sought, and whom they have worshipped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried; they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth.
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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
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