Genesis 1

CHAPTER 1

1In the beginning God made of nought heaven and earth.

2Forsooth the earth was idle and void, and darknesses were on the face of depth; and the Spirit of the Lord was borne on the waters [or the Spirit of God was borne upon the waters].

3And God said, Light be made, and the light was made.

4And God saw the light, that it was good, and he parted the light from darknesses;

5and he called the light, day, and the darknesses, night. And the eventide and the morrowtide was made, one day.

6And God said, The firmament be made in the midst of waters, and part waters from waters.

7And God made the firmament, and parted the waters that were under the firmament, from the waters that were on the firmament [or that were above the firmament]; and it was done so.

8And God called the firmament, heaven. And the eventide and the morrowtide was made, the second day.

9Forsooth God said, The waters, that be under heaven, be gathered into one place, and a dry place appear; and it was done so.

10And God called the dry place, earth; and he called the gatherings together of waters, the seas. And God saw that it was good;

11and said, The earth bring forth green herb, and making seed, and an apple tree making fruit by his kind, whose seed be in itself, on [the] earth; and it was done so.

12And the earth brought forth green herb and making seed by his kind, and a tree making fruit, and each having seed by his kind. And God saw that it was good.

13And the eventide and the morrowtide was made, the third day.

14Forsooth God said, Lights be made in the firmament of heaven, and part they the day and night; and be they into signs, and times, and days, and years;

15and shine those in the firmament of heaven, and lighten they the earth; and it was done so.

16And God made two great lights, the greater light that it should be before to the day, and the lesser light that it should be before to the night; and God made stars;

17and setted them in the firmament of heaven, that they should shine on [the] earth,

18and that they should be before to the day and [to the] night, and should part light and darkness. And God saw that it was good.

19And the eventide and the morrow-tide was made, the fourth day.

20Also God said, The waters bring forth a reptile, either a creeping beast, of living soul, and a volatile, either a bird flying above [the] earth, under the firmament of heaven.

21And God made of nought great whales, and each living soul and movable, which the waters have brought forth in their kinds; and God made of nought each volatile by his kind. And God saw that it was good;

22and blessed them, and said, Wax ye, and be ye multiplied, and fill ye the waters of the sea, and [the] birds be multiplied on [the] earth.

23And the eventide and the morrowtide was made, the fifth day.

24And God said, The earth bring forth a living soul in his kind, work beasts, and reptiles, either creeping beasts, and unreasonable beasts of [the] earth, by their kinds; and it was done so.

25And God made unreasonable beasts of the earth by their kinds, and work beasts, and each creeping beast of the earth in his kind. And God saw that it was good;

26and said, Make we man to our image and likeness, and be he sovereign to the fishes of the sea, and to the volatiles of heaven, and to [the] unreasonable beasts of [the] earth, and to each creature, and to each creeping beast or each reptile, which is moved in [the] earth.

27And God made of nought a man to his image and likeness; God made of nought a man, to the image of God; God made of nought them, male and female.

28And God blessed them, and said, Increase ye, and be ye multiplied, and fill ye the earth, and make ye it subject; and be ye lords to the fishes of the sea, and to [the] volatiles of heaven, and to all living beasts that be moved on [the] earth.

29And God said, Lo! I have given to you each herb bearing seed on [the] earth, and all trees that have in themselves the seed of their kind, that they be into meat to you;

30and to all living beasts of [the] earth, and to each bird of heaven, and to all things that be moved in [the] earth, and in which is a living soul, that they have to eat; and it was done so.

31And God saw all things which he made, and they were full good. And the eventide and the morrowtide was made, the sixth day.

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Genesis 1

The Beginning of the World

1In the beginning, when God created the earth and sky,#1:1 Or “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” “God” in this first section (1:1-2:3) is the most general word for God in the Old Testament. It is a plural form. See verse 26. 2the earth was without life and not yet useful for anything. Deep waters covered the earth, and darkness covered the water. God’s Spirit#1:2 God’s Spirit Or “A wind from God” or “A mighty wind.” was moving like a storm over the surface of the water.

The First Day—Light

3Then God said, “Let there be light!” And light began to shine.#1:1-3 Or “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. While 2 the earth had no special shape, and darkness covered the ocean, and God’s Spirit hovered over the water, 3 God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” Or “When God began to create the sky and the earth, 2 while the earth was completely empty, and darkness covered the ocean, and a powerful wind blew over the water, 3 God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” 4He saw the light, and he knew that it was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. 5God named the light “day,” and he named the darkness “night.”

There was evening, and then there was morning. This was the first day.

The Second Day—Sky

6Then God said, “Let there be a space#1:6 space Or “firmament.” The Hebrew word can refer to a piece of metal that has been hammered into the shape of a bowl. to separate the water into two parts!” 7So God made the space and separated the water. Some of the water was above it, and some of the water was below it. 8God named that space “sky.” There was evening, and then there was morning. This was the second day.

The Third Day—Dry Land and Plants

9Then God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered together so that the dry land will appear.” And it happened. 10God named the dry land “earth,” and he named the water that was gathered together “seas.” And God saw that this was good.

11Then God said, “Let the earth grow grass, plants that make grain, and fruit trees. The fruit trees will make fruit with seeds in it. And each plant will make its own kind of seed. Let these plants grow on the earth.” And it happened. 12The earth grew grass and plants that made grain. And it grew trees that made fruit with seeds in it. Every plant made its own kind of seeds. And God saw that this was good.

13There was evening, and then there was morning. This was the third day.

The Fourth Day—Sun, Moon, and Stars

14Then God said, “Let there be lights in the sky. These lights will separate the days from the nights. They will be used for signs to show when special meetings#1:14 special meetings The Israelites used the sun and moon to decide when the months and years began. Many Israelite festivals and special meetings began at the time of the new moon or full moon. begin and to show the days and years. 15They will be in the sky to shine light on the earth.” And it happened.

16So God made the two large lights. He made the larger light to rule during the day and the smaller light to rule during the night. He also made the stars. 17God put these lights in the sky to shine on the earth. 18He put them in the sky to rule over the day and over the night. They separated the light from the darkness. And God saw that this was good.

19There was evening, and then there was morning. This was the fourth day.

The Fifth Day—Fish and Birds

20Then God said, “Let the water be filled with many living things, and let there be birds to fly in the air over the earth.” 21So God created the large sea animals.#1:21 large sea animals Or “sea monsters.” He created all the many living things in the sea and every kind of bird that flies in the air. And God saw that this was good.

22God blessed all the living things in the sea and told them to have many babies and fill the seas. And he blessed the birds on land and told them to have many more babies.

23There was evening, and then there was morning. This was the fifth day.

The Sixth Day—Land Animals and People

24Then God said, “Let the earth produce many kinds of living things. Let there be many different kinds of animals. Let there be large animals and small crawling animals of every kind. And let all these animals produce more animals.” And all these things happened.

25So God made every kind of animal. He made the wild animals, the tame animals, and all the small crawling things. And God saw that this was good.

26Then God said, “Now let’s make humans#1:26 humans The Hebrew word means “man,” “people,” or the name “Adam.” It is like the word meaning “earth” or “red clay.” who will be like us.#1:26 Now let’s make … like us Or “Now let’s make humans in our image and in our likeness.” They will rule over all the fish in the sea and the birds in the air. They will rule over all the large animals and all the little things that crawl on the earth.”

27So God created humans in his own image. He created them to be like himself.#1:27 So God created humans … himself Or “So God created them in his image. In the image of God he created them.” Compare Gen. 5:1, 3. He created them male and female. 28God blessed them and said to them, “Have many children. Fill the earth and take control of it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the air. Rule over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

29God said, “I am giving you all the grain bearing plants and all the fruit trees. These trees make fruit with seeds in it. This grain and fruit will be your food. 30And I am giving all the green plants to the animals. These green plants will be their food. Every animal on earth, every bird in the air, and all the little things that crawl on the earth will eat that food.” And all these things happened.

31God looked at everything he had made. And he saw that everything was very good.

There was evening, and then there was morning. This was the sixth day.

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