The Creation of the World

1:1 In the beginning1 God2 created3 the heavens and the earth.4

1:2 Now5 the earth6 was without shape and empty,7 and darkness8 was over the surface of the watery deep,9 but the Spirit of God10 was moving11 over the surface12 of the water.13 1:3 God said,14 “Let there be15 light.”16 And there was light! 1:4 God saw17 that the light was good,18 so God separated19 the light from the darkness. 1:5 God called20 the light “day” and the darkness21 “night.” There was evening, and there was morning, marking the first day.22

1:6 God said, “Let there be an expanse23 in the midst of the waters and let it separate water24 from water. 1:7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it.25 It was so.26 1:8 God called the expanse “sky.”27 There was evening, and there was morning, a second day.

1:9 God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place28 and let dry ground appear.”29 It was so. 1:10 God called the dry ground “land”30 and the gathered waters he called “seas.” God saw that it was good.

1:11 God said, “Let the land produce vegetation:31 plants yielding seeds according to their kinds,32 and33 trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds.” It was so. 1:12 The land produced vegetation—plants yielding seeds according to their kinds, and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. God saw that it was good. 1:13 There was evening, and there was morning, a third day.

1:14 God said, “Let there be lights34 in the expanse35 of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them be signs36 to indicate seasons and days and years, 1:15 and let them serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.” It was so. 1:16 God made two great lights37—the greater light to rule over the day and the lesser light to rule over the night. He made the stars also.38 1:17 God placed the lights39 in the expanse of the sky to shine on the earth, 1:18 to preside over the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness.40 God saw that it was good. 1:19 There was evening, and there was morning, a fourth day.

1:20 God said, “Let the water swarm with swarms41 of living creatures and let birds fly42 above the earth across the expanse of the sky.” 1:21 God created the great sea creatures43 and every living and moving thing with which the water swarmed, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. God saw that it was good. 1:22 God blessed them44 and said, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.”45 1:23 There was evening, and there was morning, a fifth day.

1:24 God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: cattle, creeping things, and wild animals, each according to its kind.”46 It was so. 1:25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the cattle according to their kinds, and all the creatures that creep along the ground according to their kinds. God saw that it was good.

1:26 Then God said, “Let us make47 humankind48 in our image, after our likeness,49 so they may rule50 over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the cattle, and over all the earth,51 and over all the creatures that move52 on the earth.”

1:27 God created humankind53 in his own image,

in the image of God he created them,54

male and female he created them.55

1:28 God blessed56 them and said57 to them, “Be fruitful and multiply! Fill the earth and subdue it!58 Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that moves on the ground.”59 1:29 Then God said, “I now60 give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the entire earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.61 1:30 And to all the animals of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give62 every green plant for food.” It was so.

1:31 God saw all that he had made—and it was very good!63 There was evening, and there was morning, the sixth day.

2:1 The heavens and the earth1 were completed with everything that was in them.2 2:2 By3 the seventh day God finished the work that he had been doing,4 and he ceased5 on the seventh day all the work that he had been doing. 2:3 God blessed the seventh day and made it holy6 because on it he ceased all the work that he7 had been doing in creation.8