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. |