Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Genesis 1:20 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 20. 20And 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.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
God commands the waters and sky to swarm with living creatures, beginning the filling of the previously ordered realms.
Read It With
- Genesis 1:1–2:3
Read verses 20–23 together. The command is fulfilled through sea creatures and birds, followed by evaluation, blessing, fruitfulness, and the fifth-day refrain.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The fifth day begins filling the watery and sky realms that were ordered on the second day.
What Remains True
The creator delights in abundant nonhuman life and gives it room to flourish.
How It Can Shape Life
- Protect the conditions in which animal life can flourish rather than valuing creatures only for immediate human use.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Genesis 1:1–2:3 — God Orders, Fills, and Blesses CreationSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Reader-facing Scripture wording, verse numbering, paragraph data, and supplied-word markup.
Exact location: Pinned eBible/CrossWire standardized 1769 KJV corpus, Genesis 1:1–2:3
Open source ↗hebrew text morphology and lemma data
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible — Genesis
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project
Open Scriptures, Version 2.2 released 2021; repository inspected 2026
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, verse structure, and the repeated creation formulas.
Exact location: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible, wlc/Gen.xml, Genesis 1:1–2:3
Open source ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — Genesis with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, Digital edition accessed 2026
Supports: Material syntax, translation, textual-variant, firmament, image, rule, and seventh-day notes.
Exact location: NET Bible, Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 translator and study notes
Open NET Genesis 1 ↗