Genesis 1:6-8
New English Translation
6 God said, “Let there be an expanse[a] in the midst of the waters and let it separate water[b] from water.” 7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it.[c] It was so.[d] 8 God called the expanse “sky.”[e] There was evening, and there was morning, a second day.
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- Genesis 1:6 tn The Hebrew word refers to an expanse of air pressure between the surface of the sea and the clouds, separating water below from water above. In v. 8 it is called “sky.”sn An expanse. In the poetic texts the writers envision, among other things, something rather strong and shiny, no doubt influencing the traditional translation “firmament” (cf. NRSV “dome”). Job 37:18 refers to the skies poured out like a molten mirror. Dan 12:3 and Ezek 1:22 portray it as shiny. The sky or atmosphere may have seemed like a glass dome. For a detailed study of the Hebrew conception of the heavens and sky, see L. I. J. Stadelmann, The Hebrew Conception of the World (AnBib), 37-60.
- Genesis 1:6 tn Heb “the waters from the waters.”
- Genesis 1:7 tn Heb “the expanse.”
- Genesis 1:7 tn This statement indicates that it happened the way God designed it, underscoring the connection between word and event.
- Genesis 1:8 tn Though the Hebrew word can mean “heaven,” it refers in this context to “the sky.”
Genesis 1:6-8
New International Version
6 And God said,(A) “Let there be a vault(B) between the waters(C) to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it.(D) And it was so.(E) 8 God called(F) the vault “sky.”(G) And there was evening, and there was morning(H)—the second day.
Genesis 1:6-8
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
6 And God said, “Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.”(A) 7 So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so.(B) 8 God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
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Genesis 1:6-8
New Living Translation
6 Then God said, “Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth.” 7 And that is what happened. God made this space to separate the waters of the earth from the waters of the heavens. 8 God called the space “sky.”
And evening passed and morning came, marking the second day.
Genesis 1:6-8
Holman Christian Standard Bible
6 Then God said, “Let there be an expanse[a] between the waters, separating water from water.”(A) 7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above the expanse.(B) And it was so. 8 God called the expanse “sky.”[b] Evening came and then morning: the second day.
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- Genesis 1:6 The Hb word for expanse is from a root meaning “to spread out, stamp, beat firmly,” which suggests something like a dome; Jb 37:16-18; Is 40:22.
- Genesis 1:8 Or “heavens”
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