Genesis 1:1–11

The Story of Creation

1In the beginning, when God created the universe,^{a 2}the earth was formless and desolate. The raging ocean that covered everything was engulfed in total darkness, and the Spirit of God^b was moving over the water. ^3*Then God commanded, “Let there be light”—and light appeared. ⁴God was pleased with what he saw. Then he separated the light from the darkness, ⁵and he named the light “Day” and the darkness “Night”. Evening passed and morning came—that was the first day.

^6–7*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. ^8*He named the dome “Sky”. Evening passed and morning came—that was the second day.

⁹Then God commanded, “Let the water below the sky come together in one place, so that the land will appear”—and it was done. ¹⁰He named the land “Earth”, and the water which had come together he named “Sea”. And God was pleased with what he saw. ¹¹Then he commanded, “Let the earth produce all kinds of plants, those that bear grain and those that bear fruit”—and it was done.