Genesis 1
1
The Creation
1In the beginning#Ps 90:2; 102:12; Is 40:21; Jn 1:1–3; Eph 3:21 God created the heavens and the earth.#1:1 Or created the universe#Neh 9:6; Is 40:12–14; 43:7; Jr 10:12–16; Am 4:13; Rm 1:25; 1Co 11:9; Col 1:16; Rv 4:11
2Now the earth was formless and empty,#Jr 4:23 darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.#Jb 26:13; 33:4; Ps 33:6; 104:30 3Then God said, “Let there be light,”#2Co 4:6 and there was light. 4God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” There was an evening, and there was a morning: one day.
6Then God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters, separating water from water.”#Is 44:24; Jr 10:12 7So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above the expanse.#Ps 148:4 And it was so. 8God called the expanse “sky.”#1:8 Or “heavens.” Evening came and then morning: the second day.
9Then God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered into one place,#Jb 38:8–11; Ps 33:7; 136:6; Jr 5:22; 2Pt 3:5 and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. 10God called the dry land “earth,” and the gathering of the water he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good. 11Then God said, “Let the earth produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds.”#Ps 65:9–13; 104:14 And it was so. 12The earth produced vegetation: seed-bearing plants according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13Evening came and then morning: the third day.
14Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night. They will serve as signs#Jr 10:2 for seasons#1:14 Or for the appointed times and for days and years.#Ps 104:19 15They will be lights in the expanse of the sky to provide light on the earth.” And it was so. 16God made the two great lights — the greater light to rule over the day and the lesser light to rule over the night — as well as the stars.#Dt 4:19; Ps 136:7–9; Is 40:26 17God placed them in the expanse of the sky to provide light on the earth, 18to rule the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness.#Jr 31:35 And God saw that it was good. 19Evening came and then morning: the fourth day.
20Then God said, “Let the water swarm with#1:20 Lit with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.” 21So God created the large sea-creatures and every living creature that moves and swarms in the water,#Ps 104:25–28 according to their kinds. He also created every winged creature according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22God blessed them: “Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the waters of the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.”#Gn 8:17; 9:1 23Evening came and then morning: the fifth day.
24Then God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that crawl, and the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. 25So God made the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that crawl on the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
26Then God said, “Let us#Gn 3:22; 11:7 make man#1:26 Or human beings; Hb ’adam, also in v. 27 in#1:26 Or as our image, according to our likeness.#Gn 5:1,3; 9:6; Rm 8:29; 1Co 11:7; 15:49; 2Co 3:18; 4:4; Eph 4:24; Col 1:15; Jms 3:9 They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl#1:26 Or scurry on the earth.”#Gn 9:2; Ps 8:6–8; Jms 3:7
27So God created man
in his own image;
he created him in the image of God;
he created them male and female.#Gn 5:2; Mt 19:4; Mk 10:6
28God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth,#Gn 9:1,7 and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.” 29God also said, “Look, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the surface of the entire earth and every tree whose fruit contains seed. This will be food for you,#Gn 9:3; Ps 104:14–15; 136:25; 145:15–16 30for all the wildlife of the earth, for every bird of the sky, and for every creature that crawls on the earth — everything having the breath of life in it — I have given#1:30 I have given added for clarity every green plant for food.”#Ps 147:9 And it was so. 31God saw all that he had made, and it was very good indeed.#1Tm 4:4 Evening came and then morning: the sixth day.
© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Genesis 1
1
The Beginning
1In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2The earth didn’t have any shape. And it was empty. There was darkness over the surface of the waves. At that time, the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3God said, “Let there be light.” And there was light. 4God saw that the light was good. He separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light “day.” He called the darkness “night.” There was evening, and there was morning. It was day one.
6God said, “Let there be a huge space between the waters. Let it separate water from water.” 7And that’s exactly what happened. God made the huge space between the waters. He separated the water under the space from the water above it. 8God called the huge space “sky.” There was evening, and there was morning. It was day two.
9God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered into one place. Let dry ground appear.” And that’s exactly what happened. 10God called the dry ground “land.” He called all the water that was gathered together “seas.” And God saw that it was good.
11Then God said, “Let the land produce plants. Let them produce their own seeds. And let there be trees on the land that grow fruit with seeds in it. Let each kind of plant or tree have its own kind of seeds.” And that’s exactly what happened. 12So the land produced plants. Each kind of plant had its own kind of seeds. And the land produced trees that grew fruit with seeds in it. Each kind of tree had its own kind of seeds. God saw that it was good. 13There was evening, and there was morning. It was day three.
14God said, “Let there be lights in the huge space of the sky. Let them separate the day from the night. Let the lights set the times for the holy celebrations and the days and the years. 15Let them be lights in the huge space of the sky to give light on the earth.” And that’s exactly what happened. 16God made two great lights. He made the larger light to rule over the day and the smaller light to rule over the night. He also made the stars. 17God put the lights in the huge space of the sky to give light on the earth. 18He put them there to rule over the day and the night. He put them there to separate light from darkness. God saw that it was good. 19There was evening, and there was morning. It was day four.
20God said, “Let the seas be filled with living things. Let birds fly above the earth across the huge space of the sky.” 21So God created the great sea creatures. He created every kind of living thing that fills the seas and moves about in them. He created every kind of bird that flies. And God saw that it was good. 22God blessed them. He said, “Have little ones so that there will be many of you. Fill the water in the seas. Let there be more and more birds on the earth.” 23There was evening, and there was morning. It was day five.
24God said, “Let the land produce every kind of living creature. Let there be livestock, and creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals.” And that’s exactly what happened. 25God made every kind of wild animal. He made every kind of livestock. He made every kind of creature that moves along the ground. And God saw that it was good.
26Then God said, “Let us make human beings so that they are like us. Let them rule over the fish in the seas and the birds in the sky. Let them rule over the livestock and all the wild animals. And let them rule over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
27So God created human beings in his own likeness.
He created them to be like himself.
He created them as male and female.
28God blessed them. He said to them, “Have children so that there will be many of you. Fill the earth and bring it under your control. Rule over the fish in the seas and the birds in the sky. Rule over every living creature that moves along the ground.”
29Then God said, “I am giving you every plant on the face of the whole earth that produces its own seeds. I am giving you every tree that has fruit with seeds in it. All of them will be given to you for food. 30I am giving every green plant as food for all the land animals and for all the birds in the sky. I am also giving the plants to all the creatures that move along the ground. I am giving them to every living thing that breathes.” And that’s exactly what happened.
31God saw everything he had made. And it was very good. There was evening, and there was morning. It was day six.
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