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.
Genesis 1
1
SONG 1
8,6,8,6
tune: St. Flavian, 100.
Genesis 1
1-11 Let heav’n arise, let earth appear,
said the Almighty Lord:
The heav’n arose, the earth appear’d,
at his creating word.
2 Thick darkness brooded o’er the deep:
God said, “Let there be light:”
The light shone forth with smiling ray,
and scatter’d ancient night.
3 He bade the clouds ascend on high;
the clouds ascend, and bear
A wat’ry treasure to the sky,
and float upon the air.
4 The liquid element below
was gather’d by his hand;
The rolling seas together flow,
and leave the solid land.
5 With herbs, and plants, and fruitful trees,
the new‐form’d globe he crown’d,
Ere there was rain to bless the soil,
or sun to warm the ground.
6 Then high in heav’n’s resplendent arch
he plac’d two orbs of light,
He set the sun to rule the day,
the moon to rule the night.
7 Next, from the deep, th’ Almighty King
did vital beings frame;
Fowls of the air of ev’ry wing,
and fish of ev’ry name.
8 To all the various brutal tribes
he gave their wondrous birth;
At once the lion and the worm
sprung from the teeming earth.
9 Then, chief o’er all his works below,
at last was Adam made;
His Maker’s image bless’d his soul,
and glory crown’d his head.
10 Fair in th’ Almighty Maker’s eye
the whole creation stood.
He view’d the fabric he had rais’d;
his word pronounc’d it good.
First published by the Church of Scotland in 1781.