Psalms 33:9
in Psalms 33For He spoke, and it came to be; He commanded, and it stood firm.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For he spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.
KJV
For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.
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This verse in Psalms 33
Commentary
12 notes on this verseThe psalm bids us to exult in the one who has come to earth from heaven, as in one who is set over the entirety, and who has brought the entirety into being from not being and who maintains all things in being, whose command becomes reality. For this is the meaning of the divine words, "He spoke, and they were made; he commanded, and they were created."
This site's exposition
Let all the earth fear
on Psalms 33:8-9
The call widens from Israel to all the earth and all the people of the world. Verse 9 gives the ground, He spoke and it came to be, with no second cause named. The command that made it also holds it firm.
This site's exposition
He spoke, and it came to be
Albert Barnes listed eight places in Genesis 1 where creation waits on a divine command, and he heard this verse answering them. He and the Jamieson, Fausset and Brown commentary both judged that the word done, added in older English, weakens the Hebrew.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"For He spoke, and they were made:" for no other one made those things which are to fear; but He spoke, and they were made. "He commanded, and they were created" [Psalm 33:9]: He commanded by His Word, and they were created.
The Medieval Church2 voices
Then when he says, "For he spoke," he shows a twofold effect regarding the earth. First, the effect of creation; second, of governance, at "The Lord brings to naught." In creation, two things are to be considered: namely, the formation itself and the creation itself. …
A commentator
BonaventureCollations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
And so it is clear that possible things come forth from the most actual, changing things from the most stable, and the lowest things from the most sublime. And as the sun by shining brings forth a variety and number of colors, so out of …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
For he spake, and it was done,.... Or "it was" (a), it came into being by a word speaking, almighty power going along with it; see Gen 1:3; he commanded, and it stood fast; every created thing continued in its being; not only all things were produced into being by his all commanding word and power, "nutu Jovis", as Maximus Tyrius speaks (b); but by the same all things are upheld and consist, Heb 1:3, Col 1:
By the Word and Spirit of God as the world was made, so was man, that little world. God said, Let us make man, and he breathed into him the breath of life. By the Word and Spirit the church is built, that new world, and grace wrought in the soul, that new man, that new creation.
4 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
For he spake, and it was done. Creation was the fruit of a word. Jehovah said, "Light be, "and light was. The Lord's acts are sublime in their ease and instantaneousness. "What a word is this?" This was the wondering enquiry of old, and it may be ours to this day. He commanded, and it stood fast. Out of nothing creation stood forth, and was confirmed in existence. The same power which first uplifted, now makes the universe to abide; although we may not observe it, there is as great a display of sublime power in confirming as in creating.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
he spake--literally, "said." it was--The addition of "done" weakens the sense (compare Ge 1:3-10). In God's providence He thwarts men's purposes and executes His own. heathen--literally, "nations."
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Reasons for praise: first, God's truth, faithfulness, and mercy, generally; then, His creative power which all must honor.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
For he spake, and it was done - The word “done,” introduced here by our translators, enfeebles the sentence. It would be made more expressive and sublime as it is in the original: “He spake, and it was.” That is, Its existence depended on his word; the universe sprang into being at his command; he had only to speak, and it arose in all its grandeur where before there was nothing. There is here an undoubted allusion to the account in Genesis of the work of creation - where the statement is that all depended on the command or the word of God: Gen 1:3, Gen 1:6,Gen 1:9, Gen 1:11, Gen 1:14, Gen 1:20, Gen 1:24, Gen 1:26. Nothing more sublime can be conceived than the language thus employed in the Scriptures in describing that work. No more elevated conception can enter the human mind than that which is implied when it is said, God “spoke” and all this vast and wonderful universe rose into being. He commanded - He gave order; he required the universe to appear. And it stood fast - Or rather, “stood.” That is, it stood forth; it appeared; it rose into being. The idea of its “standing fast” is not in the original, and greatly enfeebles the expression.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֤י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| ה֣וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| אָמַ֣ר | ʾamar | he spoke | H559 → | 5305 times |
| וַיֶּ֑הִי | vaiyehi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| הֽוּא־ | hu'- | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| צִ֝וָּ֗ה | tzivah | he commanded | H6680 → | 494 times |
| וַֽיַּעֲמֹֽד׃ | vaiyaamod | and it stood forth | H5975 → | 521 times |
כִּ֤יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
ה֣וּאhe
hu'H1931 →1879 times
אָמַ֣רhe spoke
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
וַיֶּ֑הִיand it was
vaiyehiH1961 →3559 times
הֽוּא־he
hu'-H1931 →1879 times
צִ֝וָּ֗הhe commanded
tzivahH6680 →494 times
וַֽיַּעֲמֹֽד׃and it stood forth
vaiyaamodH5975 →521 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 1:3And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 4:6
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of…
- John 1:5
The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
- Isaiah 45:7
I form the light and create the darkness; I bring prosperity and create calamity. I, the LORD, do all these things.
- Isaiah 60:19
No longer will the sun be your light by day, nor the brightness of the moon shine on your night; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your…
- 2 Corinthians 4:6
Through
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 came to be.”
it leads to
- 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.
- John 1:1–3
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 5:12
In a loud voice they were saying: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing!”
- Isaiah 40:28
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary; His understanding is beyond searching…
- Colossians 1:16–17
Where this verse is studied
About Psalms
This page draws on 13 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 33; Bonaventure, Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 2; Gregory of Nyssa, ON THE INSCRIPTIONS OF THE PSALMS 2:8.79; Gregory of Nyssa, On the Inscriptions of the Psalms; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on the Book of Psalms; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.