Genesis 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®)

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Genesis 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.

Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®

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