Berĕshith (Genesis) 1
1
1In the beginning Elohim created the heavens and the earth.
2And the earth came to be#Or the earth became. formless and empty, and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of Elohim was moving on the face of the waters.
3And Elohim said, “Let light come to be,” and light came to be.
4And Elohim saw the light, that it was good. And Elohim separated the light from the darkness.
5And Elohim called the light ‘day’ and the darkness He called ‘night.’ And there came to be evening and there came to be morning, one day.
6And Elohim said, “Let an expanse come to be in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.”
7And Elohim made the expanse, and separated the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse. And it came to be so.
8And Elohim called the expanse ‘heavens.’ And there came to be evening and there came to be morning, the second day.
9And Elohim said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it came to be so.
10And Elohim called the dry land ‘earth,’ and the collection of the waters He called ‘seas.’ And Elohim saw that it was good.
11And Elohim said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the plant that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth.” And it came to be so.
12And the earth brought forth grass, the plant that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And Elohim saw that it was good.
13And there came to be evening and there came to be morning, the third day.
14And Elohim said, “Let lights come to be in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and appointed times, and for days and years,
15and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth.” And it came to be so.
16And Elohim made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night, and the stars.
17And Elohim set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth,
18and to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And Elohim saw that it was good.
19And there came to be evening and there came to be morning, the fourth day.
20And Elohim said, “Let the waters teem with shoals of living beings, and let birds fly above the earth on the face of the expanse of the heavens.”
21And Elohim created great sea creatures and every living being that moves, with which the waters teemed, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And Elohim saw that it was good.
22And Elohim blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and increase, and fill the waters in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.”
23And there came to be evening and there came to be morning, the fifth day.
24And Elohim said, “Let the earth bring forth the living being according to its kind: livestock and creeping creatures and beasts of the earth, according to its kind.” And it came to be so.
25And Elohim made the beast of the earth according to its kind, livestock according to its kind, and all that creep on the earth according to its kind. And Elohim saw that it was good.
26And Elohim said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over the livestock, and over all the earth and over all the creeping creatures that creep on the ground.”
27And Elohim created the man in His image, in the image of Elohim He created him – male and female He created them.
28And Elohim blessed them, and Elohim said to them, “Be fruitful and increase, and fill the earth and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over all creeping creatures on the earth.”
29And Elohim said, “See, I have given you every plant that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed, to you it is for food.
30And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the heavens, and to every creeping creature on the earth, in which there is a living being, every green plant is for food.” And it came to be so.
31And Elohim saw all that He had made, and see, it was very good. And there came to be evening and there came to be morning, the sixth day.
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Genesis 1
1
The Story of Creation
1In the beginning God
created the heavens
and the earth.#1.1 the heavens and the earth: “The heavens and the earth” stood for the universe.
2The earth was barren,
with no form of life;#1.1,2 In … life: Or “When God began to create the heavens and the earth, the earth was barren with no form of life.”
it was under a roaring ocean
covered with darkness.
But the Spirit of God#1.2 the Spirit of God: Or “a mighty wind.”
was moving over the water.
The First Day
3 #
2 Macc 7.28; 2 Co 4.6. God said, “I command light to shine!” And light started shining. 4God looked at the light and saw that it was good. He separated light from darkness 5and named the light “Day” and the darkness “Night.” Evening came, then morning—that was the first day.#1.5 the first day: A day was measured from evening to evening.
The Second Day
6 #
2 P 3.5. God said, “I command a dome to separate the water above it from the water below it.” 7And that's what happened. God made the dome 8and named it “Sky.” Evening came, then morning—that was the second day.
The Third Day
9God said, “I command the water under the sky to come together in one place, so there will be dry ground.” And that's what happened. 10God named the dry ground “Land,” and he named the water “Ocean.” God looked at what he had done and saw that it was good.
11God said, “I command the earth to produce all kinds of plants, including fruit trees and grain.” And that's what happened. 12The earth produced all kinds of vegetation. God looked at what he had done, and it was good. 13Evening came, then morning—that was the third day.
The Fourth Day
14God said, “I command lights to appear in the sky and to separate day from night and to show the time for seasons, special days, and years. 15I command them to shine on the earth.” And that's what happened. 16God made two powerful lights, the brighter one to rule the day and the other#1.16 the brighter … the other: The sun and the moon. But they are not called by their names, because in Old Testament times some people worshiped the sun and the moon as though they were gods. to rule the night. He also made the stars. 17Then God put these lights in the sky to shine on the earth, 18to rule day and night, and to separate light from darkness. God looked at what he had done, and it was good. 19Evening came, then morning—that was the fourth day.
The Fifth Day
20God said, “I command the ocean to be full of living creatures, and I command birds to fly above the earth.” 21So God made the giant sea monsters and all the living creatures that swim in the ocean. He also made every kind of bird. God looked at what he had done, and it was good. 22Then he gave the living creatures his blessing—he told the ocean creatures to increase and live everywhere in the ocean and the birds to increase everywhere on earth. 23Evening came, then morning—that was the fifth day.
The Sixth Day
24God said, “I command the earth to give life to all kinds of tame animals, wild animals, and reptiles.” And that's what happened. 25God made every one of them. Then he looked at what he had done, and it was good.
26 #
Ws 2.23; Si 17.3,4; 1 Co 11.7. God said, “Now we will make humans, and they will be like us. We will let them rule the fish, the birds, and all other living creatures.”
27 #
Gn 5.1,2. #Mt 19.4; Mk 10.6. So God created humans to be like himself; he made men and women. 28God gave them his blessing and said:
Have a lot of children! Fill the earth with people and bring it under your control. Rule over the fish in the ocean, the birds in the sky, and every animal on the earth.
29I have provided all kinds of fruit and grain for you to eat. 30And I have given the green plants as food for everything else that breathes, including animals, both wild and tame, and birds. And so it was.
31God looked at what he had done. All of it was very good! Evening came, then morning—that was the sixth day.
Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.