1In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.2The earth didn’t have any shape. And it was empty. There was darkness over the surface of the waves. At that time, the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.3God said, ‘Let there be light.’ And there was light.4God saw that the light was good. He separated the light from the darkness.5God called the light ‘day’. He called the darkness ‘night’. There was evening, and there was morning. It was day one.6God said, ‘Let there be a huge space between the waters. Let it separate water from water.’7And that’s exactly what happened. God made the huge space between the waters. He separated the water under the space from the water above it.8God called the huge space ‘sky’. There was evening, and there was morning. It was day two.9God said, ‘Let the water under the sky be gathered into one place. Let dry ground appear.’ And that’s exactly what happened.10God called the dry ground ‘land’. He called all the water that was gathered together ‘seas’. And God saw that it was good.11Then God said, ‘Let the land produce plants. Let them produce their own seeds. And let there be trees on the land that grow fruit with seeds in it. Let each kind of plant or tree have its own kind of seeds.’ And that’s exactly what happened.12So the land produced plants. Each kind of plant had its own kind of seeds. And the land produced trees that grew fruit with seeds in it. Each kind of tree had its own kind of seeds. God saw that it was good.13There was evening, and there was morning. It was day three.14God said, ‘Let there be lights in the huge space of the sky. Let them separate the day from the night. Let the lights set the times for the holy celebrations and the days and the years.15Let them be lights in the huge space of the sky to give light on the earth.’ And that’s exactly what happened.16God made two great lights. He made the larger light to rule over the day and the smaller light to rule over the night. He also made the stars.17God put the lights in the huge space of the sky to give light on the earth.18He put them there to rule over the day and the night. He put them there to separate light from darkness. God saw that it was good.19There was evening, and there was morning. It was day four.20God said, ‘Let the seas be filled with living things. Let birds fly above the earth across the huge space of the sky.’21So God created the great sea creatures. He created every kind of living thing that fills the seas and moves about in them. He created every kind of bird that flies. And God saw that it was good.22God blessed them. He said, ‘Have little ones so that there will be many of you. Fill the water in the seas. Let there be more and more birds on the earth.’23There was evening, and there was morning. It was day five.24God said, ‘Let the land produce every kind of living creature. Let there be livestock, and creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals.’ And that’s exactly what happened.25God made every kind of wild animal. He made every kind of livestock. He made every kind of creature that moves along the ground. And God saw that it was good.26Then God said, ‘Let us make human beings so that they are like us. Let them rule over the fish in the seas and the birds in the sky. Let them rule over the livestock and all the wild animals. And let them rule over all the creatures that move along the ground.’27So God created human beings in his own likeness. He created them to be like himself. He created them as male and female.28God blessed them. He said to them, ‘Have children so that there will be many of you. Fill the earth and bring it under your control. Rule over the fish in the seas and the birds in the sky. Rule over every living creature that moves along the ground.’29Then God said, ‘I am giving you every plant on the face of the whole earth that produces its own seeds. I am giving you every tree that has fruit with seeds in it. All of them will be given to you for food.30I am giving every green plant as food for all the land animals and for all the birds in the sky. I am also giving the plants to all the creatures that move along the ground. I am giving them to every living thing that breathes.’ And that’s exactly what happened.31God saw everything he had made. And it was very good. There was evening, and there was morning. It was day six.
Genesis 1
English Standard Version
The Creation of the World
1In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. (Job 38:4; Ps 33:6; Ps 136:5; Isa 42:5; Isa 45:18; Joh 1:1; Ac 14:15; Ac 17:24; Col 1:16; Heb 1:10; Heb 11:3; Re 4:11)2The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. (Jer 4:23)3And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. (2Co 4:6)4And God 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. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.6And God said, “Let there be an expanse[1] in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” (Job 37:18; Ps 136:5; Jer 10:12; Jer 51:15)7And God made[2] the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. (Ps 148:4; Pr 8:27)8And God called the expanse Heaven.[3] And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.9And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. (Job 38:8; Ps 33:7; Ps 136:6; Jer 5:22; 2Pe 3:5)10God called the dry land Earth,[4] and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.11And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants[5] yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. (Ps 104:14)12The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.13And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.14And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons,[6] and for days and years, (Ps 104:19; Jer 10:2; Eze 32:7; Joe 2:30; Joe 3:15; Mt 24:29; Lu 21:25)15and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so.16And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. (De 4:19; Ps 136:7)17And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth,18to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. (Jer 31:35)19And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.20And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds[7] fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.”21So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. (Ps 104:25)22And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” (Ge 8:17; Ge 9:1)23And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.24And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so.25And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.26Then God said, “Let us make man[8] in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” (Ge 3:22; Ge 5:1; Ge 9:2; Ge 9:6; Ge 11:7; Ps 8:6; Isa 6:8; 1Co 11:7; Eph 4:24; Col 3:10; Jas 3:7; Jas 3:9)27So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (Ge 2:18; Ge 2:21; Ge 5:2; Mal 2:15; Mt 19:4; Mr 10:6)28And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Ge 9:1; Ge 9:7)29And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. (Ge 9:3; Ps 104:14; Ps 145:15)30And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. (Ps 147:9)31And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. (Ec 7:29; 1Ti 4:4)