By the word of the Lord the heavens were 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.
- KJV By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them 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.
- 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 has been framed by the word of God, so that what is seen has not been made out of things which are visible.
- Job 33:4The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
- 2 Pet 3:5For this they willfully forget, that there were heavens from of old, and an earth formed out of water and amid water, by the word of God;
- 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 was done. He commanded, and it stood firm.
- Gen 2:1The heavens, the earth, and all their vast array were finished.
- Gen 2:7Yahweh God formed man from 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 heavens and the earth.
- Gen 6:7Yahweh said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the surface of the ground — man, along with animals, creeping things, and birds of the sky — for I am sorry that I have made them.”
- John 20:22When he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit!
- Gen 1:6God said, “Let there be an expanse in the middle of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.”
- Rom 1:25who exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
- Ps 104:30You send out your Spirit and they are created. You renew the face of the ground.
- Job 26:13By his Spirit the heavens are garnished. His hand has pierced the swift serpent.
- Ps 148:1–5Praise Yah! Praise Yahweh from the heavens! Praise him in the heights!
- Deut 4:19and lest you lift up your eyes to the sky, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, even all the army of the sky, you are drawn away and worship them, and serve them, which Yahweh your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole sky.
- Jer 8:2and they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the army of the sky, which they have loved, and which they have served, and after which they have walked, and which they have sought, and which they have worshiped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried, they shall be for dung on the surface of the earth.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
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
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.