Genesis 1:9
New International Version
And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so.

New Living Translation
Then God said, “Let the waters beneath the sky flow together into one place, so dry ground may appear.” And that is what happened.

English Standard Version
And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so.

Berean Standard Bible
And God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered into one place, so that the dry land may appear.” And it was so.

King James Bible
And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

New King James Version
Then God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so.

New American Standard Bible
Then God said, “Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so.

NASB 1995
Then God said, “Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear"; and it was so.

NASB 1977
Then God said, “Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so.

Legacy Standard Bible
Then God said, “Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so.

Amplified Bible
Then God said, “Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place [of standing, pooling together], and let the dry land appear”; and it was so.

Christian Standard Bible
Then God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Then God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so.

American Standard Version
And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

Contemporary English Version
God said, "I command the water under the sky to come together in one place, so there will be dry ground." And that's what happened.

English Revised Version
And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Then God said, "Let the water under the sky come together in one area, and let the dry land appear." And so it was.

Good News Translation
Then God commanded, "Let the water below the sky come together in one place, so that the land will appear"--and it was done.

International Standard Version
Then God said, "Let the water beneath the sky come together into one area, and let dry ground appear!" And that is what happened:

Majority Standard Bible
And God said, ?Let the waters under the sky be gathered into one place, so that the dry land may appear.? And it was so.

NET Bible
God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place and let dry ground appear." It was so.

New Heart English Bible
And God said, "Let the waters under the sky be gathered to one gathering, and let the dry land appear." And it was so. And the waters under the sky gathered to their gatherings, and the dry land appeared.

Webster's Bible Translation
And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

World English Bible
God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear;” and it was so.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And God says, “Let the waters under the heavens be collected to one place, and let the dry land be seen”: and it is so.

Young's Literal Translation
And God saith, 'Let the waters under the heavens be collected unto one place, and let the dry land be seen:' and it is so.

Smith's Literal Translation
And God will say the waters shall be gathered together from the under part of the heavens to one place, and the dry shall be seen: and it shall be so.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
God also said: Let the waters that are under the heaven, be gathered together into one place: and let the dry land appear. And it was so done.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Truly God said: “Let the waters that are under heaven be gathered together into one place; and let the dry land appear.” And so it became.

New American Bible
Then God said: Let the water under the sky be gathered into a single basin, so that the dry land may appear. And so it happened: the water under the sky was gathered into its basin, and the dry land appeared.

New Revised Standard Version
And God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And God said, Let the waters that are under the sky be gathered together in one place, and let the dry land appear; and it was so.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And God said, “The waters shall be gathered that are lower than Heaven to one region, and the dried land shall appear”, and it was in this way.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
And God said: 'Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear.' And it was so.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And God said, Let the water which is under the heaven be collected into one place, and let the dry land appear, and it was so. And the water which was under the heaven was collected into its places, and the dry land appeared.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Third Day
8God called the expanse “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day. 9And God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered into one place, so that the dry land may appear.” And it was so. 10God called the dry land “earth,” and the gathering of waters He called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.…

Cross References
Psalm 104:6-9
You covered it with the deep like a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. / At Your rebuke the waters fled; at the sound of Your thunder they hurried away— / the mountains rose and the valleys sank to the place You assigned for them— ...

Job 38:8-11
Who enclosed the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb, / when I made the clouds its garment and thick darkness its blanket, / when I fixed its boundaries and set in place its bars and doors, ...

2 Peter 3:5
But 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,

Jeremiah 5:22
Do you not fear Me?” declares the LORD. “Do you not tremble before Me, the One who set the sand as the boundary for the sea, an enduring barrier it cannot cross? The waves surge, but they cannot prevail. They roar but cannot cross it.

Proverbs 8:27-29
I was there when He established the heavens, when He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep, / when He established the clouds above, when the fountains of the deep gushed forth, / when He set a boundary for the sea, so that the waters would not surpass His command, when He marked out the foundations of the earth.

Exodus 20:11
For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, but on the seventh day He rested. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.

Isaiah 45:18
For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens—He is God; He formed the earth and fashioned it; He established it; He did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited: “I am the LORD, and there is no other.

Psalm 33:7
He piles up the waters of the sea; He puts the depths into storehouses.

Psalm 136:6
He spread out the earth upon the waters. His loving devotion endures forever.

Job 26:10
He has inscribed a horizon on the face of the waters at the boundary between light and darkness.

Hebrews 11:3
By 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.

John 1:3
Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made.

Colossians 1:16-17
For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him. / He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

Revelation 4:11
“Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things; by Your will they exist and were created.”

Nehemiah 9:6
You alone are the LORD. You created the heavens, the highest heavens with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to all things, and the host of heaven worships You.


Treasury of Scripture

And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

Job 26:7,10
He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing…

Job 38:8-11
Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb? …

Psalm 24:1,2
A Psalm of David. The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein…

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Appear Below Collected Dry Gathered Ground Heaven Heavens Sky Together Water Waters
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Appear Below Collected Dry Gathered Ground Heaven Heavens Sky Together Water Waters
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.














And God said
This phrase underscores the power and authority of God's word. In Hebrew, the word for "said" is "אָמַר" (amar), which conveys not just speaking but commanding. The divine speech acts as a creative force, emphasizing that God's word is both intentional and effective. This reflects the theological truth that God is sovereign and His will is accomplished through His spoken word, a theme that resonates throughout Scripture.

Let the waters under the heavens
The phrase "waters under the heavens" refers to the primordial waters that covered the earth. In the ancient Near Eastern context, water often symbolized chaos and disorder. By addressing these waters, God is demonstrating His control over chaos, bringing order and structure to creation. This act of separation is a continuation of the ordering process begun in the previous verses, highlighting God's role as the divine architect.

be gathered into one place
The Hebrew verb "קָוָה" (qavah) means to collect or gather. This gathering of waters into one place signifies the establishment of boundaries, a theme prevalent in the creation narrative. It reflects God's intention to create a habitable world, setting the stage for the emergence of life. The gathering of waters also prefigures the concept of divine separation, which is a recurring motif in the Bible, symbolizing God's ability to bring clarity and purpose.

and let the dry land appear
The emergence of dry land is a pivotal moment in the creation account. The Hebrew word for "appear" is "רָאָה" (ra'ah), which means to see or become visible. This act of revealing the dry land signifies the transition from chaos to order, from potential to actuality. It is a testament to God's creative power, as He transforms the earth into a place suitable for habitation. The dry land is not just a physical space but a symbol of stability and foundation, essential for the flourishing of life.

And it was so
This phrase serves as a divine affirmation of the creative act. In Hebrew, "וַיְהִי־כֵן" (vayehi ken) indicates that what God commanded came to pass exactly as He intended. It underscores the reliability and faithfulness of God's word. This statement of fulfillment is a recurring refrain in the creation narrative, reinforcing the idea that God's purposes are accomplished with precision and certainty. It inspires confidence in the believer, affirming that God's plans are unshakeable and His promises are sure.

(9) Let the waters be gathered together.--The verb, as Gesenius shows, refers rather to the condensation of water, which, as we have seen, was impossible till the surface of the earth was made cool by the radiation of heat into the open expanse around it.

Unto one place.--The ocean bed. We must add the vast depth of the ocean to the height of the mountains before we can rightly estimate the intensity of the forces at work on the third day. Vast, too, as the surface of the ocean may appear compared with the dry land, it is evidently only just sufficient to supply the rain necessary for vegetation. Were it less, either the laws of evaporation must be altered, with painful and injurious effects, or much of the earth's surface would be barren.

Let the dry land appear.--Simple as this might appear, it yet required special provision on the part of the Creator; for otherwise the various materials of the earth would have arranged themselves in concentric strata, according to their density, and upon them the water would have reposed evenly, and above it the air. But geologists tell us that these strata have been broken up and distorted from below by volcanic agencies, while the surface has been furrowed and worn by the denuding power of water. This was the third day's work. By the cooling of the crust of the earth the vast mass of waters, which now covers two-thirds of its surface, and which hitherto had existed only as vapour, began to condense, and pour down upon the earth as rain. Meanwhile the earth parted with its internal heat but slowly, and thus, while its crust grew stiff, there was within a mass of molten fluid. As this would be acted upon by the gravity of the sun and moon, in just the same way as the ocean is now, this inner tidal wave would rupture the thin crust above, generally in lines trending from northeast to south-west. Hence mountain ranges and deep sea beds, modified by many changes since, but all having the same final object of providing dry land for man's abode.

Verse 9. - Day three. The distribution of land and water and the production of vegetation on this day engaged the formative energy of the word of Elohim. And God said, Let the waters under heaven be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear. To explain the second part of this phenomenon as a consequence of the first, the disclosure of the solid ground by the retirement of the waters from its surface, and not rather vice versa, is to reverse the ordinary processes of nature. Modern analogy suggests that the breaking up of the hitherto universal ocean into seas, lakes, and rivers was effected by the upheaval of the land through the action of subterranean fires, or the subsidence of the earth's crust in consequence of the cooling and shrinking of the interior mass. Psalm 104:7 hints at electric agency in connection with the elevation of the mountains and the sinking of the ocean beds. "At thy rebuke they (the waters) fled: at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away (were scattered). The mountains rose, the valleys sank (ἀναβαίνουσιν ὄρη καὶ καταβαίνουσι πεδία ( LXX.; ascendunt montes, et descendunt campi - Jerome) to the place which thou hadst established for them" (Perowne). The gathering of the waters into one place implies no more than that they were, from this day forward, to be collected into one vast body, and restrained within bounds in a place by themselves, so as to admit of the exposure of the earth's soil. The "place founded for them" was, of course, the depths and hollows in the earth's crust, into which they were immediately withdrawn, not through direct supernatural agency, but by their own natural gravitation. The configuration of the dry land is not described; but there is reason to believe that the original distribution of land and water was the same, or nearly the same, as it is at present. Physical geographers have observed that the coast lines of the great continents and the mountain ranges generally run from north-east to south-west, and that these lines are in reality parts of great circles, tangent to the polar circle, and at right angles to a line drawn from the sun's center to the moon's, when these bodies are either in conjunction or in opposition. These circles, it has further been remarked, are "the lines on which the thin crust of a cooling globe would be most likely to be ruptured by its internal tidal wave." Hence, though considerably modified by the mighty revolutions through which at successive periods the earth has passed, "these, with certain subordinate lines of fracture, have determined the forms of continents from the beginning" (Dawson, 'O.W.,' p. 184; cf. 'Green's Geology,' p. 512). And it was so. Though the separation of the dry land from the waters and the distribution of both were effected by Divine agency, nothing in the Mosaic narrative obliges us to think that these works were instantaneously completed. "There is truly no difficulty in supposing that the formation of the hills kept on through the succeeding creative days" (Lange). "Generally the works of the single creative days consist only in laying foundations; the birth process that is introduced in each extends its efficacy be, yond it" (Delitzsch). "Not how long, but how many times, God created is the thing intended to be set forth" by the creative days (Hoffman). Scripture habitually represents the world in an aspect at once natural and supernatural, speaking of it as natura and creatura, φύσις and κτίσις (cf. Marten, sen's 'Dogmatics,' § 63); and although the latter is the view exhibited with greatest prominence, indeed exclusively, in the Mosaic cosmogony, vet the frowner is not thereby denied, Not immediateness, but certainty of execution, is implied in the "it was so" appended to the creative fiat.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
And God
אֱלֹהִ֗ים (’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
הַמַּ֜יִם (ham·ma·yim)
Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 4325: Water, juice, urine, semen

under
מִתַּ֤חַת (mit·ta·ḥaṯ)
Preposition-m
Strong's 8478: The bottom, below, in lieu of

the sky
הַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙ (haš·šā·ma·yim)
Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 8064: Heaven, sky

be gathered
יִקָּו֨וּ (yiq·qā·wū)
Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 6960: To bind together, collect, to expect

into
אֶל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

one
אֶחָ֔ד (’e·ḥāḏ)
Number - masculine singular
Strong's 259: United, one, first

place,
מָק֣וֹם (mā·qō·wm)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4725: A standing, a spot, a condition

so that the dry [land]
הַיַּבָּשָׁ֑ה (hay·yab·bā·šāh)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 3004: Dry land, dry ground

may appear.”
וְתֵרָאֶ֖ה (wə·ṯê·rā·’eh)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Nifal - Conjunctive imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 7200: To see

And it was
וַֽיְהִי־ (way·hî-)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

so.
כֵֽן׃ (ḵên)
Adverb
Strong's 3651: So -- thus


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OT Law: Genesis 1:9 God said Let the waters under (Gen. Ge Gn)
Genesis 1:8
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