1:1   In the beginning, when God created the universe,

1:2   the earth was formless and desolate. The raging ocean that covered everything was engulfed in total darkness, and the Spirit of God was moving over the water.

1:3   Then God commanded, "Let there be light"--and light appeared.

1:4   God was pleased with what he saw. Then he separated the light from the darkness,

1:5   and he named the light "Day" and the darkness "Night." Evening passed and morning came---that was the first day.

1:6   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.

1:7   (SEE 1:6)

1:8   He named the dome "Sky." Evening passed and morning came---that was the second day.

1:9   Then God commanded, "Let the water below the sky come together in one place, so that the land will appear"---and it was done.

1:10   He named the land "Earth," and the water which had come together he named "Sea." And God was pleased with what he saw.

1:11   Then he commanded, "Let the earth produce all kinds of plants, those that bear grain and those that bear fruit"---and it was done.

1:12   So the earth produced all kinds of plants, and God was pleased with what he saw.

1:13   Evening passed and morning came---that was the third day.

1:14   Then God commanded, "Let lights appear in the sky to separate day from night and to show the time when days, years, and religious festivals begin;

1:15   they will shine in the sky to give light to the earth"---and it was done.

1:16   So 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.

1:17   He placed the lights in the sky to shine on the earth,

1:18   to rule over the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God was pleased with what he saw.

1:19   Evening passed and morning came---that was the fourth day.

1:20   Then God commanded, "Let the water be filled with many kinds of living beings, and let the air be filled with birds."

1:21   So 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.

1:22   He 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.

1:23   Evening passed and morning came---that was the fifth day.

1:24   Then God commanded, "Let the earth produce all kinds of animal life: domestic and wild, large and small"---and it was done.

1:25   So God made them all, and he was pleased with what he saw.

1:26   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, large and small."

1:27   So God created human beings, making them to be like himself. He created them male and female,

1:28   blessed 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.

1:29   I have provided all kinds of grain and all kinds of fruit for you to eat;

1:30   but for all the wild animals and for all the birds I have provided grass and leafy plants for food"---and it was done.

1:31   God looked at everything he had made, and he was very pleased. Evening passed and morning came---that was the sixth day.