Genesis 1:20
New International Version
And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.”

New Living Translation
Then God said, “Let the waters swarm with fish and other life. Let the skies be filled with birds of every kind.”

English Standard Version
And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.”

Berean Standard Bible
And God said, “Let the waters teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky.”

King James Bible
And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

New King James Version
Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.”

New American Standard Bible
Then God said, “Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens.”

NASB 1995
Then God said, “Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens.”

NASB 1977
Then God said, “Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens.”

Legacy Standard Bible
Then God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the expanse of the heavens.”

Amplified Bible
Then God said, “Let the waters swarm and abundantly produce living creatures, and let birds soar above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens.”

Christian Standard Bible
Then God said, “Let the water swarm with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Then God said, “Let the water swarm with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.”

American Standard Version
And God said, Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And God said, “Swarmers shall swarm the waters, the living soul, and the bird will fly above the Earth, above the face of the firmament of Heaven.”

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And God said, Let the waters bring forth reptiles having life, and winged creatures flying above the earth in the firmament of heaven, and it was so.

Contemporary English Version
God said, "I command the ocean to be full of living creatures, and I command birds to fly above the earth."

Douay-Rheims Bible
God also said: Let the waters bring forth the creeping creature having life, and the fowl that may fly over the earth under the firmament of heaven.

English Revised Version
And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and let fowl fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Then God said, "Let the water swarm with swimming creatures, and let birds fly through the sky over the earth."

Good News Translation
Then God commanded, "Let the water be filled with many kinds of living beings, and let the air be filled with birds."

International Standard Version
Then God said, "Let the oceans swarm with living creatures, and let flying creatures soar above the earth throughout the sky!"

JPS Tanakh 1917
And God said: 'Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let fowl fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.'

Literal Standard Version
And God says, “Let the waters teem with the teeming living creature, and let [the] bird fly above the earth on the face of the expanse of the heavens.”

Majority Standard Bible
And God said, “Let the waters teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky.”

New American Bible
Then God said: Let the water teem with an abundance of living creatures, and on the earth let birds fly beneath the dome of the sky.

NET Bible
God said, "Let the water swarm with swarms of living creatures and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky."

New Revised Standard Version
And God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.”

New Heart English Bible
And God said, "Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let flying creatures fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky." And it was so.

Webster's Bible Translation
And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

World English Bible
God said, “Let the waters abound with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky.”

Young's Literal Translation
And God saith, 'Let the waters teem with the teeming living creature, and fowl let fly on the earth on the face of the expanse of the heavens.'

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Fifth Day
19And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day. 20And God said, “Let the waters teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky.” 21So God created the great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters teemed according to their kinds, and every bird of flight after its kind. And God saw that it was good.…

Cross References
Genesis 1:19
And there was evening, and there was morning--the fourth day.

Genesis 1:21
So God created the great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters teemed according to their kinds, and every bird of flight after its kind. And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 7:21
And every living thing that moved upon the earth perished--birds, livestock, animals, every creature that swarms upon the earth, and all mankind.

Leviticus 11:42
Do not eat any creature that moves along the ground, whether it crawls on its belly or walks on four or more feet; for such creatures are detestable.

Leviticus 11:43
Do not defile yourselves by any crawling creature; do not become unclean or defiled by them.


Treasury of Scripture

And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that has life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

Let the waters.

Genesis 1:22
And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

Genesis 2:19
And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

Genesis 8:17
Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.

moving.

1 Kings 4:33
And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes.

life.

Genesis 1:30
And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

Ecclesiastes 2:21
For there is a man whose labour is in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in equity; yet to a man that hath not laboured therein shall he leave it for his portion. This also is vanity and a great evil.

fowl that may fly.

Genesis 2:19
And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

open firmament.

Genesis 1:7,14
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…

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Abundantly Arch Birds Creature Creatures Earth Expanse Face Firmament Flight Fly Forth Fowl Full Heaven Heavens Life Moving Open Sky Souls Swarm Swarms Teem Teeming Water Waters
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Genesis 1
1. God creates heaven and earth;
3. the light;
6. the firmament;
9. separates the dry land;
14. forms the sun, moon, and stars;
20. fishes and fowls;
24. cattle, wild beasts, and creeping things;
26. creates man in his own image, blesses him;
29. grants the fruits of the earth for food.














(20) Let the waters . . . in the open firmament.--The days of the second creative triad correspond to those of the first. Light was created on the first day, and on the fourth it was gathered into light-bearers; on the second day air and water were called into being, and on the fifth day they were peopled with life; lastly, on the third day the dry land appeared, and on the sixth day it became the home of animals and man.

Bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life.--Literally, let the waters swarm a swarm of living soul. But the word soul properly signifies "breath," and thus, after the long pause of the fourth day, during which vegetation was advancing under the ripening effects of solar heat, we now hasten onward to another creative act, by which God called into being creatures which live by breathing. And as vegetation began with a green tinge upon the rocks, so doubtless animal life began in the most rudimentary manner, and advanced through animalcules and insects up to fish and reptiles. The main point noticed in the text as to the living things produced on this day is their fecundity. They are all those creatures which multiply in masses. It does not, however, follow that the highest forms of fish and reptiles were reached before the lowest form of land animal was created. All that we are taught is that the Infusoria and Ovipara preceded the Mammalia. As the most perfect trees may not have been produced till the Garden of Eden was planted, so the peacock may not have spread his gaudy plumes till the time was approaching when there would be human eyes capable of admiring his beauty.

And fowl that may fly.--Heb., and let fowl, or winged creatures, fly above the earth. It does not say that they were formed out of the water (comp. Genesis 2:19). Nor is it confined to birds, but includes all creatures that can wing their way in the air.

In the open firmament.--Literally, upon the face of the expanse of heaven--that is, in front of it, upon the lower surface of the atmosphere near to the earth.

Verse 20.

Day five. The waters and the air, separated on the second day, are on this filled with their respective inhabitants. And God said. Nature never makes an onward movement, in the sense of an absolutely new departure, unless under the impulse of the word of Elohim. These words distinctly claim that the creatures of the sea and of the air, even if evolved from material elements, were produced in obedience to Divine command, and not spontaneously generated by the potentia vitae of either land, sea, or sky. Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature. Literally, swarm with swarmers, or crawl with crawlers. The fundamental signification of sharatz is to creep or swarm, and hence to multiply (Gesenius); or, vice versa, to multiply in masses, and hence to swarm or abound (Furst; cf. Genesis 8:17; Exodus 1:7; Exodus 8:3). The sheretzim, though including small aquatic creatures that have short or no legs, are obviously "all kinds of living creatures inhabiting either land or water which are oviparous and remarkable for fecundity" (Bush). We may, therefore, understand the creative fiat of the fifth day as summoning first into existence the insect creation (in Leviticus 11:20-23 defined as flying sheretzim), the fishes of the sea (sheretzim of the waters, Leviticus 11:9, 10), and the reptiles and saurians of sea and land (sheretzim of the land, Leviticus 11:41, 42). Dawson concludes that "the prolific animals of the fifth day's creation belonged to the three Cuvierian sub-kingdoms of the radiata articulata, mollusca, and to the classes of fish and reptiles among the vertebrata. That hath life. Nephesh chayyah; literally, a living breath. Here the creatures of the sea are distinguished from all previous creations, and in particular from vegetation, as being possessed of a vital principle. This does not, of course, contradict the well-known truth that plants are living organisms. Only the life principle of the animal creation is different from that of the vegetable kingdom. It may be impossible by the most acute microscopic analysis to differentiate the protoplasmic cell of vegetable matter from that of animal organisms, and plants may appear to be possessed of functions that resemble those of animals, yet the two are generically different - vegetable protoplasm never weaving animal texture, and plant fiber never issuing from the loom of animal protoplasm. That which constitutes an animal is the possession of respiratory organs, to which, doubtless. there is a reference in the term nephesh from naphash, to breathe. And fowl that may fly. Literally, let "winged creatures" fly. The fowls include all tribes covered with feathers that can raise themselves hate the air. The English version produces the impression that they were made from the waters, which is contrary to Genesis 2:19. The correct rendering disposes of the difficulty. Above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. Not above the firmament like the clouds (Von Bohlen, Baumgarten), but in the concave vault (Tuch, Delitzsch), or before the surface of the expanse (Kalisch).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
And God
אֱלֹהִ֔ים (’ĕ·lō·hîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative

said,
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר (way·yō·mer)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

“Let the waters
הַמַּ֔יִם (ham·ma·yim)
Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 4325: Water, juice, urine, semen

teem
יִשְׁרְצ֣וּ (yiš·rə·ṣū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 8317: To wriggle, swarm, abound

with living
נֶ֣פֶשׁ (ne·p̄eš)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 5315: A soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion

creatures,
שֶׁ֖רֶץ (še·reṣ)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 8318: A swarm, active mass of minute animals

and let birds
וְעוֹף֙ (wə·‘ō·wp̄)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5775: Flying creatures

fly
יְעוֹפֵ֣ף (yə·‘ō·w·p̄êp̄)
Verb - Piel - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5774: To fly, to faint

above
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

the earth
הָאָ֔רֶץ (hā·’ā·reṣ)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 776: Earth, land

in
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

the open
פְּנֵ֖י (pə·nê)
Noun - common plural construct
Strong's 6440: The face

expanse
רְקִ֥יעַ (rə·qî·a‘)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 7549: An expanse, the firmament, visible arch of the sky

of the sky.”
הַשָּׁמָֽיִם׃ (haš·šā·mā·yim)
Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 8064: Heaven, sky


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OT Law: Genesis 1:20 God said Let the waters swarm (Gen. Ge Gn)
Genesis 1:19
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