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
The Creation
1In the beginning#Ps 90:2; 102:12; Is 40:21; Jn 1:1–3; Eph 3:21 God created the heavens and the earth.#1:1 Or created the universe#Neh 9:6; Is 40:12–14; 43:7; Jr 10:12–16; Am 4:13; Rm 1:25; 1Co 11:9; Col 1:16; Rv 4:11
2Now the earth was formless and empty,#Jr 4:23 darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.#Jb 26:13; 33:4; Ps 33:6; 104:30 3Then God said, “Let there be light,”#2Co 4:6 and there was light. 4God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” There was an evening, and there was a morning: one day.
6Then God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters, separating water from water.”#Is 44:24; Jr 10:12 7So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above the expanse.#Ps 148:4 And it was so. 8God called the expanse “sky.”#1:8 Or “heavens.” Evening came and then morning: the second day.
9Then God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered into one place,#Jb 38:8–11; Ps 33:7; 136:6; Jr 5:22; 2Pt 3:5 and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. 10God called the dry land “earth,” and the gathering of the water he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good. 11Then God said, “Let the earth produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds.”#Ps 65:9–13; 104:14 And it was so. 12The earth produced vegetation: seed-bearing plants according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13Evening came and then morning: the third day.
14Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night. They will serve as signs#Jr 10:2 for seasons#1:14 Or for the appointed times and for days and years.#Ps 104:19 15They will be lights in the expanse of the sky to provide light on the earth.” And it was so. 16God made the two great lights — the greater light to rule over the day and the lesser light to rule over the night — as well as the stars.#Dt 4:19; Ps 136:7–9; Is 40:26 17God placed them in the expanse of the sky to provide light on the earth, 18to rule the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness.#Jr 31:35 And God saw that it was good. 19Evening came and then morning: the fourth day.
20Then God said, “Let the water swarm with#1:20 Lit with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.” 21So God created the large sea-creatures and every living creature that moves and swarms in the water,#Ps 104:25–28 according to their kinds. He also created every winged creature according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22God blessed them: “Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the waters of the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.”#Gn 8:17; 9:1 23Evening came and then morning: the fifth day.
24Then God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that crawl, and the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. 25So God made the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that crawl on the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
26Then God said, “Let us#Gn 3:22; 11:7 make man#1:26 Or human beings; Hb ’adam, also in v. 27 in#1:26 Or as our image, according to our likeness.#Gn 5:1,3; 9:6; Rm 8:29; 1Co 11:7; 15:49; 2Co 3:18; 4:4; Eph 4:24; Col 1:15; Jms 3:9 They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl#1:26 Or scurry on the earth.”#Gn 9:2; Ps 8:6–8; Jms 3:7
27So God created man
in his own image;
he created him in the image of God;
he created them male and female.#Gn 5:2; Mt 19:4; Mk 10:6
28God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth,#Gn 9:1,7 and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.” 29God also said, “Look, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the surface of the entire earth and every tree whose fruit contains seed. This will be food for you,#Gn 9:3; Ps 104:14–15; 136:25; 145:15–16 30for all the wildlife of the earth, for every bird of the sky, and for every creature that crawls on the earth — everything having the breath of life in it — I have given#1:30 I have given added for clarity every green plant for food.”#Ps 147:9 And it was so. 31God saw all that he had made, and it was very good indeed.#1Tm 4:4 Evening came and then morning: the sixth day.
© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers