Genesis 1:1–10

The Beginning

1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2The earth didn’t have any shape. And it was empty. Darkness was over the surface of the ocean. At that time, the ocean covered the earth. The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

3 God 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.

6 God 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 that was under the space from the water that was above it. 8God called the huge space “sky.” There was evening, and there was morning. It was day two.

9 God 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 the waters that were gathered together “oceans.” And God saw that it was good.