Genesis 1
1
1 In the beginning, God created heaven and earth.
2 But the earth was empty and unoccupied, and darknesses were over the face of the abyss; and so the Spirit of God was brought over the waters.
3 And God said, "Let there be light." And light became.
4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and so he divided the light from the darknesses.
5 And he called the light, 'Day,' and the darknesses, 'Night.' And it became evening and morning, one day.
6 God also said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide waters from waters."
7 And God made a firmament, and he divided the waters that were under the firmament, from those that were above the firmament. And so it became.
8 And God called the firmament 'Heaven.' And it became evening and morning, the second day.
9 Truly God said: "Let the waters that are under heaven be gathered together into one place; and let the dry land appear." And so it became.
10 And God called the dry land, 'Earth,' and he called the gathering of the waters, 'Seas.' And God saw that it was good.
11 And he said, "Let the land spring forth green plants, both those producing seed, and fruit-bearing trees, producing fruit according to their kind, whose seed is within itself, over all the earth." And so it became.
12 And the land brought forth green plants, both those producing seed, according to their kind, and trees producing fruit, with each having its own way of sowing, according to its species. And God saw that it was good.
13 And it became evening and the morning, the third day.
14 Then God said: "Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven. And let them divide day from night, and let them become signs, both of the seasons, and of the days and years.
15 Let them shine in the firmament of heaven and illuminate the earth." And so it became.
16 And God made two great lights: a greater light, to rule over the day, and a lesser light, to rule over the night, along with the stars.
17 And he set them in the firmament of heaven, to give light over all the earth,
18 and to rule over the day as well as the night, and to divide light from darkness. And God saw that it was good.
19 And it became evening and morning, the fourth day.
20 And then God said, "Let the waters produce animals with a living soul, and flying creatures above the earth, under the firmament of heaven."
21 And God created the great sea creatures, and everything with a living soul and the ability to move that the waters produced, according to their species, and all the flying creatures, according to their kind. And God saw that it was good.
22 And he blessed them, saying: "Increase and multiply, and fill the waters of the sea. And let the birds be multiplied above the land."
23 And it became evening and morning, the fifth day.
24 God also said, "Let the land produce living souls in their kind: cattle, and animals, and wild beasts of the earth, according to their species." And so it became.
25 And God made the wild beasts of the earth according to their species, and the cattle, and every animal on the land, according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
26 And he said: "Let us make Man to our image and likeness. And let him rule over the fish of the sea, and the flying creatures of the air, and the wild beasts, and the entire earth, and every animal that moves on the earth."
27 And God created man to his own image; to the image of God he created him; male and female, he created them.
28 And God blessed them, and he said, "Increase and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and the flying creatures of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth."
29 And God said: "Behold, I have given you every seed-bearing plant upon the earth, and all the trees that have in themselves the ability to sow their own kind, to be food for you,
30 and for all the animals of the land, and for all the flying things of the air, and for everything that moves upon the earth and in which there is a living soul, so that they may have these on which to feed." And so it became.
31 And God saw everything that he had made. And they were very good. And it became evening and morning, the sixth day.
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
3God said, “I command light to shine!” And light started shining.#2 Co 4.6. 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 and then morning—that was the first day.#1.5 the first day: A day was measured from evening to evening.
The second day
6God said, “I command a dome to separate the water above it from the water below it.”#2 P 3.5. 7And that's what happened. God made the dome 8and named it “Sky”. Evening came and 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 “Sea”. 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 and 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 worshipped 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 and then morning—that was the fourth day.
The fifth day
20God said, “I command the sea 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 sea. 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 sea creatures to live everywhere in the sea and the birds to live everywhere on earth. 23Evening came and 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.
26God 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.”#1 Co 11.7.
27So God created humans to be like himself; he made men and women.#Gn 5.1,2.#Mt 19.4; Mk 10.6. 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 sea, 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. These will be food for animals, both wild and tame, and for birds.
31God looked at what he had done. All of it was very good! Evening came and then morning—that was the sixth day.
© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012