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
Nuova Riveduta 2006
from Società Biblica di Ginevra
La creazione
1Nel principio Dio creò i cieli e la terra.2La terra era informe e vuota, le tenebre coprivano la faccia dell’abisso e lo Spirito di Dio aleggiava sulla superficie delle acque.3Dio disse: «Sia luce!» E luce fu.4Dio vide che la luce era buona; e Dio separò la luce dalle tenebre.5Dio chiamò la luce «giorno» e le tenebre «notte». Fu sera, poi fu mattina: primo giorno.6Poi Dio disse: «Vi sia una distesa tra le acque, che separi le acque dalle acque».7Dio fece la distesa e separò le acque che erano sotto la distesa dalle acque che erano sopra la distesa. E così fu.8Dio chiamò la distesa «cielo». Fu sera, poi fu mattina: secondo giorno.9Poi Dio disse: «Le acque che sono sotto il cielo siano raccolte in un unico luogo e appaia l’asciutto». E così fu.10Dio chiamò l’asciutto «terra», e chiamò la raccolta delle acque «mari». Dio vide che questo era buono.11Poi Dio disse: «Produca la terra della vegetazione, delle erbe che facciano seme e degli alberi fruttiferi che, secondo la loro specie, portino del frutto avente in sé la propria semenza, sulla terra». E così fu.12La terra produsse della vegetazione, delle erbe che facevano seme secondo la loro specie e degli alberi che portavano del frutto avente in sé la propria semenza, secondo la loro specie. Dio vide che questo era buono.13Fu sera, poi fu mattina: terzo giorno.14Poi Dio disse: «Vi siano delle luci nella distesa dei cieli per separare il giorno dalla notte; siano dei segni per le stagioni, per i giorni e per gli anni;15facciano luce nella distesa dei cieli per illuminare la terra». E così fu.16Dio fece le due grandi luci: la luce maggiore per presiedere al giorno e la luce minore per presiedere alla notte; e fece pure le stelle.17Dio le mise nella distesa dei cieli per illuminare la terra,18per presiedere al giorno e alla notte e separare la luce dalle tenebre. Dio vide che questo era buono.19Fu sera, poi fu mattina: quarto giorno.20Poi Dio disse: «Producano le acque in abbondanza esseri viventi, e volino degli uccelli sopra la terra per l’ampia distesa del cielo».21Dio creò i grandi animali acquatici e tutti gli esseri viventi che si muovono, e che le acque produssero in abbondanza secondo la loro specie, e ogni volatile secondo la sua specie. Dio vide che questo era buono.22Dio li benedisse dicendo: «Crescete, moltiplicatevi e riempite le acque dei mari, e si moltiplichino gli uccelli sulla terra».23Fu sera, poi fu mattina: quinto giorno.24Poi Dio disse: «Produca la terra animali viventi secondo la loro specie: bestiame, rettili e animali selvatici della terra, secondo la loro specie». E così fu.25Dio fece gli animali selvatici della terra secondo le loro specie, il bestiame secondo le sue specie e tutti i rettili della terra secondo le loro specie. Dio vide che questo era buono.
Creazione dell’uomo e della donna
26Poi Dio disse: «Facciamo l’uomo a nostra immagine, conforme alla nostra somiglianza, e abbiano dominio sui pesci del mare, sugli uccelli del cielo, sul bestiame, su tutta la terra e su tutti i rettili che strisciano sulla terra».27Dio creò l’uomo a sua immagine; lo creò a immagine di Dio; li creò maschio e femmina.28Dio li benedisse; e Dio disse loro: «Siate fecondi e moltiplicatevi; riempite la terra, rendetevela soggetta, dominate sui pesci del mare e sugli uccelli del cielo e sopra ogni animale che si muove sulla terra».29Dio disse: «Ecco, io vi do ogni erba che fa seme sulla superficie di tutta la terra, e ogni albero fruttifero che fa seme; questo vi servirà di nutrimento.30A ogni animale della terra, a ogni uccello del cielo e a tutto ciò che si muove sulla terra e ha in sé un soffio di vita, io do ogni erba verde per nutrimento». E così fu.31Dio vide tutto quello che aveva fatto, ed ecco, era molto buono. Fu sera, poi fu mattina: sesto giorno.