Genesis 1
1
Chapter 1
God makes the earth
1In the beginning, God made the heavens and the earth. 2The earth was without shape and it was empty. Deep water covered the earth and everywhere was dark. The Spirit of God moved above the water. #1:2 God was present before he made the universe. He made everything.
3God said, ‘There will be light!’
And there was light.
4God saw that the light was good.
He caused the light and the dark to be separate.
5God called the light ‘day’. He called the dark ‘night’.
Evening passed and then it was morning.
That was the first day. #1:5 Light appeared when it was morning. It was dark at night. One day is a time of light and a time of dark.
6Then God said, ‘A wide space will appear between the waters. So the waters will be in two separate places.’
7So God made this wide space. He made the water under the space separate from the water that was above it. What God said happened.
8God called the wide space ‘sky’.
Evening passed and then it was morning.
That was the second day.
9God said, ‘The water that is under the sky will come together in one place. Then dry ground will appear.’
And what God said happened.
10God called the dry ground ‘land’. He called the water that had come together ‘sea’.
God looked at what he had made. He saw that it was good.
11Then God said, ‘The land will cause plants to grow. There will be plants with their seeds and trees with their fruits. Each kind of plant and tree will have its own seeds and fruits.’
And what God said happened.
12All kinds of plants and trees began to grow in the ground. The plants made seeds. The trees made fruits with seeds in them. Each plant made its own kind of seeds.
God looked at what he had made. He saw that it was good.
13Evening passed and then it was morning.
That was the third day.
14God said, ‘There will be lights all across the sky. #1:14 ‘Lights’ means bright things that shine. They will make the day different from the night. They will show the seasons, days and years. 15The lights in the sky will give light to the earth.’
And what God said happened.
16God made two great lights. The brighter light ruled over the day. The less bright light ruled over the night. God also made the stars.
17God put all these lights in the sky to shine their light on the earth.
18They were to rule over the day and night. They were to make the time of light separate from the time of dark.
God looked at what he had made. He saw that it was good.
19Evening passed and then it was morning.
That was the fourth day.
20God said, ‘The waters will become full with many living things. Birds will appear and fly above the earth, all across the sky.’
21God made big animals to live in the sea. He made every different kind of living thing that filled the sea. He made every different kind of bird to fly in the sky.
God looked at what he had made. He saw that it was good.
22God blessed the animals and the birds. He said to them, ‘Give birth to many young ones, so that you grow in number. Fill all the water in the seas. The birds also should become very many, all across the earth.’ #1:22 ‘Birds’ here may include any living thing that can fly, for example bats and insects.
23Evening passed and then it was morning.
That was the fifth day.
24God said, ‘Different kinds of animals will now appear on the land. There will be farm animals and wild animals. There will also be other small animals that move along the ground. There will be many kinds of animals and each kind will be different.’ #1:24 Farm animals are animals that usually live in a village or on a farm. People take care of them and they may use their milk or their meat as food.
And what God said happened.
25God made the different kinds of wild animals and the different kinds of farm animals. He made all the different kinds of animals that move along the ground.
God looked at what he had made. He saw that it was good.
26Then God said, ‘We will make humans so that they are very much like us. #1:26 When God speaks about himself as ‘us’, he is speaking as the three persons of God. They are God the Father, God the Son (Jesus) and God the Holy Spirit. God was there as all three persons when he made the universe. They will rule over the fish in the sea and over the birds in the sky. They will rule over the farm animals. They will rule over the whole earth and all the animals that move along the ground.’
27God made humans.
He made them to be like himself.
He made some of them males and some of them females.
28God blessed them. He said to them, ‘Give birth to children. Grow in number. Fill the earth and rule over it. Rule over the fish in the sea. Rule over the birds in the sky. Rule over every different kind of living animal that moves along the ground.’ #1:28 God told the man and the woman to rule over the earth. This means that they have authority over the earth and everything in it. It also means that they must take care of everything.
29Then God said, ‘Listen! I now give to you every plant on the earth as your food. I give you every plant that has seeds in it. I give you every tree that has fruit with a seed in it. I give them to you for your food.
30I give to the animals green plants for their food. It will be food for all the animals on the earth, all the birds in the sky and all the animals that move along the ground. Everything that has life may eat every kind of green plant.’
And what God said happened.
31God looked at everything that he had made. He saw that it was very good.
Evening passed. And then it was morning.
That was the sixth day.
MissionAssist 2018
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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