Genesis 1
1
1In the beginning God#GodHebrew: Elohim created the heavens and the earth. 2And the earth was waste and empty, and darkness was on the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God#GodHebrew: Elohim was hovering over the face of the waters.
3And God#GodHebrew: Elohim said, Let there be light. And there was light. 4And God#GodHebrew: Elohim saw the light that it was good; and God#GodHebrew: Elohim divided between the light and the darkness. 5And God#GodHebrew: Elohim called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening, and there was morning — the first day.
6And God#GodHebrew: Elohim said, Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it be a division between waters and waters. 7And God#GodHebrew: Elohim made the expanse, and divided between the waters that are under the expanse and the waters that are above the expanse; and it was so. 8And God#GodHebrew: Elohim called the expanse Heavens. And there was evening, and there was morning — a second day.
9And God#GodHebrew: Elohim said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear. And it was so. 10And God#GodHebrew: Elohim called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters he called Seas. And God#GodHebrew: Elohim saw that it was good. 11And God#GodHebrew: Elohim said, Let the earth cause grass to spring up, herb producing seed, fruit-trees yielding fruit after their kind, the seed of which is in them, on the earth. And it was so. 12And the earth brought forth grass, herb producing seed after its kind, and trees yielding fruit, the seed of which is in them, after their kind. And God#GodHebrew: Elohim saw that it was good. 13And there was evening, and there was morning — a third day.
14And God#GodHebrew: Elohim said, Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens, to divide between the day and the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, 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 was so. 16And God#GodHebrew: Elohim made the two great lights, the great light to rule the day, and the small light to rule the night, — and the stars. 17And God#GodHebrew: Elohim set them in the expanse of the heavens, to give light on the earth, 18and to rule during the day and during the night, and to divide between the light and the darkness. And God#GodHebrew: Elohim saw that it was good. 19And there was evening, and there was morning — a fourth day.
20And God#GodHebrew: Elohim said, Let the waters swarm with swarms of living souls, and let fowl fly above the earth in the expanse of the heavens. 21And God#GodHebrew: Elohim created the great sea monsters, and every living soul that moves with which the waters swarm, after their kind, and every winged fowl after its kind. And God#GodHebrew: Elohim saw that it was good. 22And God#GodHebrew: Elohim blessed them, saying, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply on the earth. 23And there was evening, and there was morning — a fifth day.
24And God#GodHebrew: Elohim said, Let the earth bring forth living souls after their kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth, after their kind. And it was so. 25And God#GodHebrew: Elohim made the beast of the earth after its kind, and the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing of the ground after its kind. And God#GodHebrew: Elohim saw that it was good.
26And God#GodHebrew: Elohim said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heavens, and over the cattle, and over the whole earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth on the earth. 27And God#GodHebrew: Elohim created Man in his image, in the image of God#GodHebrew: Elohim created he him; male and female created he them. 28And God#GodHebrew: Elohim blessed them; and God#GodHebrew: Elohim said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heavens, and over every animal that moveth on the earth.
29And God#GodHebrew: Elohim said, Behold, I have given you every herb producing seed that is on the whole earth, and every tree in which is the fruit of a tree producing seed: it shall be food for you; 30and to every animal of the earth, and to every fowl of the heavens, and to everything that creepeth on the earth, in which is a living soul, every green herb for food. And it was so.
31And God#GodHebrew: Elohim saw everything that he had made, and behold it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning — the sixth day.
First published in 1890. This edition is maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Genesis 1
1
Heaven and Earth
1-2First this: God created the Heavens and Earth—all you see, all you don’t see. Earth was a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness. God’s Spirit brooded like a bird above the watery abyss.
3-5God spoke: “Light!”
And light appeared.
God saw that light was good
and separated light from dark.
God named the light Day,
he named the dark Night.
It was evening, it was morning—
Day One.
6-8God spoke: “Sky! In the middle of the waters;
separate water from water!”
God made sky.
He separated the water under sky
from the water above sky.
And there it was:
he named sky the Heavens;
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Two.
9-10God spoke: “Separate!
Water-beneath-Heaven, gather into one place;
Land, appear!”
And there it was.
God named the land Earth.
He named the pooled water Ocean.
God saw that it was good.
11-13God spoke: “Earth, green up! Grow all varieties
of seed-bearing plants,
Every sort of fruit-bearing tree.”
And there it was.
Earth produced green seed-bearing plants,
all varieties,
And fruit-bearing trees of all sorts.
God saw that it was good.
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Three.
14-15God spoke: “Lights! Come out!
Shine in Heaven’s sky!
Separate Day from Night.
Mark seasons and days and years,
Lights in Heaven’s sky to give light to Earth.”
And there it was.
16-19God made two big lights, the larger
to take charge of Day,
The smaller to be in charge of Night;
and he made the stars.
God placed them in the heavenly sky
to light up Earth
And oversee Day and Night,
to separate light and dark.
God saw that it was good.
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Four.
20-23God spoke: “Swarm, Ocean, with fish and all sea life!
Birds, fly through the sky over Earth!”
God created the huge whales,
all the swarm of life in the waters,
And every kind and species of flying birds.
God saw that it was good.
God blessed them: “Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Ocean!
Birds, reproduce on Earth!”
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Five.
24-25God spoke: “Earth, generate life! Every sort and kind:
cattle and reptiles and wild animals—all kinds.”
And there it was:
wild animals of every kind,
Cattle of all kinds, every sort of reptile and bug.
God saw that it was good.
26-28God spoke: “Let us make human beings in our image, make them
reflecting our nature
So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea,
the birds in the air, the cattle,
And, yes, Earth itself,
and every animal that moves on the face of Earth.”
God created human beings;
he created them godlike,
Reflecting God’s nature.
He created them male and female.
God blessed them:
“Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge!
Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air,
for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth.”
29-30Then God said, “I’ve given you
every sort of seed-bearing plant on Earth
And every kind of fruit-bearing tree,
given them to you for food.
To all animals and all birds,
everything that moves and breathes,
I give whatever grows out of the ground for food.”
And there it was.
31God looked over everything he had made;
it was so good, so very good!
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Six.
THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.