Genesis 1
1
The Story of Creation
1In the beginning, when God created the universe,#1.1 In the beginning… the universe; or In the beginning God created the universe; or When God began to create the universe. 2the earth was formless and desolate. The raging ocean that covered everything was engulfed in total darkness, and the Spirit of God#1.2 the Spirit of God; or the power of God; or a wind from God; or an awesome wind. was moving over the water. 3#2 Cor 4.6Then God commanded, “Let there be light” — and light appeared. 4God was pleased with what he saw. Then he separated the light from the darkness, 5and he named the light “Day” and the darkness “Night”. Evening passed and morning came — that was the first day.
6-7 # 2 Pet 3.5 Then God commanded, “Let there be a dome to divide the water and to keep it in two separate places” — and it was done. So God made a dome, and it separated the water under it from the water above it. 8He named the dome “Sky”. Evening passed and morning came — that was the second day.
9Then God commanded, “Let the water below the sky come together in one place, so that the land will appear” — and it was done. 10He named the land “Earth”, and the water which had come together he named “Sea”. And God was pleased with what he saw. 11Then he commanded, “Let the earth produce all kinds of plants, those that bear grain and those that bear fruit” — and it was done. 12So the earth produced all kinds of plants, and God was pleased with what he saw. 13Evening passed and morning came — that was the third day.
14Then God commanded, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate day from night and to show the time when days, years, and religious festivals#1.14 religious festivals; or seasons. begin; 15they will shine in the sky to give light to the earth” — and it was done. 16So God made the two larger lights, the sun to rule over the day and the moon to rule over the night; he also made the stars. 17He placed the lights in the sky to shine on the earth, 18to rule over the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God was pleased with what he saw. 19Evening passed and morning came — that was the fourth day.
20Then God commanded, “Let the water be filled with many kinds of living beings, and let the air be filled with birds.” 21So God created the great sea monsters, all kinds of creatures that live in the water, and all kinds of birds. And God was pleased with what he saw. 22He blessed them all and told the creatures that live in the water to reproduce, and to fill the sea, and he told the birds to increase in number. 23Evening passed and morning came — that was the fifth day.
24Then God commanded, “Let the earth produce all kinds of animal life: domestic and wild, large and small” — and it was done. 25So God made them all, and he was pleased with what he saw.
26 # 1 Cor 11.7 Then God said, “And now we will make human beings; they will be like us and resemble us. They will have power over the fish, the birds, and all animals, domestic and wild,#1.26 One ancient translation animals, domestic and wild; Hebrew domestic animals and all the earth. large and small.” 27#Mt 19.4; Mk 10.6 #Gen 5.1–2So God created human beings, making them to be like himself. He created them male and female, 28blessed them, and said, “Have many children, so that your descendants will live all over the earth and bring it under their control. I am putting you in charge of the fish, the birds, and all the wild animals. 29I have provided all kinds of grain and all kinds of fruit for you to eat; 30but for all the wild animals and for all the birds I have provided grass and leafy plants for food” — and it was done. 31God looked at everything he had made, and he was very pleased. Evening passed and morning came — that was the sixth day.
Good News Bible with Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
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.