Genesis 1
1
1In the beginning God created heaven, and earth.
2And the earth was void and empty, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the spirit of God moved over the waters.
3And God said: Be light made. And light was made.
4And God saw the light that it was good; and he divided the light from the darkness.
5And he called the light Day, and the darkness Night. And there was evening and morning one day.
6And God said: Let there be a firmament made amidst the waters: and let it divide the waters from the waters.
7And God made a firmament, and divided the waters that were under the firmament, from those that were above the firmament. And it was so.
8And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and morning were the second day.
9God also said: Let the waters that are under the heaven, be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear. And it was so done.
10And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters, he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
11And he said: Let the earth bring forth the green herb, and such as may seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after its kind, which may have seed in itself upon the earth. And it was so done.
12And the earth brought forth the green herb, and such as yieldeth seed according to its kind, and the tree that beareth fruit, having seed each one according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
13And the evening and the morning were the third day.
14And God said: Let there be lights made in the firmament of heaven, to divide the day and the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years:
15To shine in the firmament of heaven, and to give light upon the earth. And it was so done.
16And God made two great lights: a greater light to rule the day; and a lesser light to rule the night: and the stars.
17And he set them in the firmament of heaven to shine upon the earth.
18And to rule the day and the night, and to divide the light and the darkness. And God saw that it was good.
19And the evening and morning were the fourth day.
20God also said: Let the waters bring forth the creeping creature having life, and the fowl that may fly over the earth under the firmament of heaven.
21And God created the great whales, and every living and moving creature, which the waters brought forth, according to their kinds, and every winged fowl according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
22And he blessed them, saying: Increase and multiply, and fill the waters of the sea; and let the birds be multiplied upon the earth.
23And the evening and morning were the fifth day.
24And God said: Let the earth bring forth the living creature in its kind, cattle and creeping things, and beasts of the earth, according to their kinds. And it was so done.
25And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds, and cattle, and every thing that creepeth on the earth after its kind. And God saw that it was good.
26And he said: Let us make man to our image and likeness; and let him have dominion over the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the air, and the beasts, and the whole earth, and every creeping creature that moveth upon the earth.
27And God created man to his own image; to the image of God he created him. Male and female he created them.
28And God blessed them, saying: Increase and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and rule over the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the air, and all living creatures that move upon the earth.
29And God said: Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed upon the earth, and all trees that have in themselves seed of their own kind, to be your meat:
30And to all the beasts of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to all that move upon the earth, and wherein there is life, that they may have to feed upon. And it was so done.
31And God saw all the things that he had made, and they were very good. And the evening and morning were the sixth day.
An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
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