Chapter One
The Beginning1 In the beginning God
created the heavens and
the earth. 2 Now the earth
was formless and empty,
darkness was over the surface
of the deep, and the
Spirit of God was hovering
over the waters.
3 And God said, "Let there be
light," and there was light.
4 God saw that the light was
good, and he separated the
light from the darkness.
5 God called the light "day"
and the darkness he called
"night." And there was
evening, and there was
morning-the first day.
6 And God said, "Let there be
an expanse between the
waters to separate water
from water." 7 So God
made the expanse and separated
the water under the
expanse from the water
above it. And it was so.
8 God called the expanse
"sky." And there was evening,
and there was morning-the
second day.
9 And God said, "Let the water
under the sky be gathered
to one place, and let dry
ground appear." And it
was so. 10 God called the dry
ground "land," and the
gathered waters he called
"seas." And God saw that
it was good.
11 Then God said, "Let the
land produce vegetation:
seed-bearing plants and
trees on the land that bear
fruit with seed in it, according
to their various
kinds." And it was so.
12 The land produced vegetation:
plants bearing seed
according to their kinds
and trees bearing fruit
with seed in it according
to their kinds. And God
saw that it was good.
13 And there was evening,
and there was morning-the
third day.
14 And God said, "Let there be
lights in the expanse of the
sky to separate the day
from the night, and let
them serve as signs to
mark seasons and days
and years, 15 and let them
be lights in the expanse of
the sky to give light on the
earth." And it was so.
16 God made two great
lights-the greater light to
govern the day and the
lesser light to govern the
night. He also made the
stars. 17 God set them in the
expanse of the sky to give
light on the earth, 18 to govern
the day and the night,
and to separate light from
darkness. And God saw
that it was good. 19 And
there was evening, and
there was morning-the
fourth day.
20 And God said, "Let the water
teem with living creatures,
and let birds fly above the
earth across the expanse of
the sky." 21 So God created
the great creatures of the
sea and every living and
moving thing with which
the water teems, according
to their kinds, and every
winged bird according to
its kind. And God saw that
it was good. 22 God blessed
them and said, "Be fruitful
and increase in number
and fill the water in the
seas, and let the birds increase
on the earth." 23 And
there was evening, and
there was morning-the
fifth day.
24 And God said, "Let the land
produce living creatures
according to their kinds:
livestock, creatures that
move along the ground,
and wild animals, each according
to its kind." And it
was so. 25 God made the
wild animals according to
their kinds, the livestock
according to their kinds,
and all the creatures that
move along the ground according
to their kinds.
And God saw that it was
good.
26 Then God said, "Let us
make man in our image, in
our likeness, and let them
rule over the fish of the sea
and the birds of the air,
over the livestock, over all
the earth, and over all the
creatures that move along
the ground."
27 So God created man in his
own image, in the image of God he
created him; male and female he
created them.
28 God blessed them and
said to them, "Be fruitful
and increase in number;
fill the earth and subdue it.
Rule over the fish of the
sea and the birds of the air
and over every living creature
that moves on the
ground."
29 Then God said, "I give
you every seed-bearing
plant on the face of the
whole earth and every tree
that has fruit with seed in
it. They will be yours for
food. 30 And to all the beasts
of the earth and all the
birds of the air and all the
creatures that move on the
ground-everything that
has the breath of life in
it-I give every green plant
for food." And it was so.
31 God saw all that he had
made, and it was very
good. And there was evening,
and there was morning-the
sixth day.
2 Thus the heavens and
the earth were completed
in all their vast array.
2 By the seventh day God had
finished the work he had
been doing; so on the seventh
day he rested from all
his work. 3 And God
blessed the seventh day
and made it holy, because
on it he rested from all the
work of creating that he
had done.
Adam and Eve
4 This is the account of the
heavens and the earth when
they were created.
When the Lord God made
the earth and the heavens, 5 no
shrub of the field had yet appeared
on the earth and no
plant of the field had yet
sprung up; the Lord God had
not sent rain on the earth and
there was no man to work the
ground, 6 but streams came up
from the earth and watered
the whole surface of the
ground. 7 And the Lord God
formed man from the dust of
the ground and breathed into
his nostrils the breath of life,
and man became a living being.
8 Now the Lord God had
planted a garden in the east, in
Eden; and there he put the
man he had formed. 9 And the
Lord God made all kinds of
trees grow out of the ground-trees
that were pleasing to the
eye and good for food. In the
middle of the garden were the
tree of life and the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil.
(Continues.)
