In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.

And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.

14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:

15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.

16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,

18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.

19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.

25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

In the beginning God (prepared, formed, fashioned, and) created the heavens and the earth.(A)

The earth was without form and an empty waste, and darkness was upon the face of the very great deep. The Spirit of God was moving (hovering, brooding) over the face of the waters.

And God said, Let there be light; and there was light.

And God saw that the light was good (suitable, pleasant) and He approved it; and God separated the light from the darkness.(B)

And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

And God said, Let there be a firmament [the expanse of the sky] in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters [below] from the waters [above].

And God made the firmament [the expanse] and separated the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse. And it was so.

And God called the firmament Heavens. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.

And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be collected into one place [of standing], and let the dry land appear. And it was so.

10 God called the dry land Earth, and the accumulated waters He called Seas. And God saw that this was good (fitting, admirable) and He approved it.

11 And God said, Let the earth put forth [tender] vegetation: plants yielding seed and fruit trees yielding fruit whose seed is in itself, each according to its kind, upon the earth. And it was so.

12 The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed according to their own kinds and trees bearing fruit in which was their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good (suitable, admirable) and He approved it.

13 And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.

14 And God said, Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be signs and tokens [of God’s provident care], and [to mark] seasons, days, and years,(C)

15 And let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light upon the earth. And it was so.

16 And God made the two great lights—the greater light (the sun) to rule the day and the lesser light (the moon) to rule the night. He also made the stars.

17 And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth,

18 To rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good (fitting, pleasant) and He approved it.

19 And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly and swarm with living creatures, and let birds fly over the earth in the open expanse of the heavens.

21 God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, which the waters brought forth abundantly, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good (suitable, admirable) and He approved it.

22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let the fowl multiply in the earth.

23 And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creeping things, and [wild] beasts of the earth according to their kinds. And it was so.

25 And God made the [wild] beasts of the earth according to their kinds, and domestic animals according to their kinds, and everything that creeps upon the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good (fitting, pleasant) and He approved it.

26 God said, Let Us [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] make mankind in Our image, after Our likeness, and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the [tame] beasts, and over all of the earth, and over everything that creeps upon the earth.(D)

27 So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them.(E)

28 And God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it [using all its vast resources in the service of God and man]; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and over every living creature that moves upon the earth.

29 And God said, See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the land and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food.

30 And to all the animals on the earth and to every bird of the air and to everything that creeps on the ground—to everything in which there is the breath of life—I have given every green plant for food. And it was so.

31 And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good (suitable, pleasant) and He approved it completely. And there was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.

When God began creating[a] the heavens and the earth, the earth was[b] a shapeless, chaotic mass, with the Spirit of God brooding over the dark vapors.

Then God said, “Let there be light.” And light appeared. 4-5 And God was pleased with it and divided the light from the darkness. He called the light “daytime,” and the darkness “nighttime.” Together they formed the first day.[c]

And God said, “Let the vapors separate[d] to form the sky above and the oceans below.” 7-8 So God made the sky, dividing the vapor above from the water below. This all happened on the second day.[e]

9-10 Then God said, “Let the water beneath the sky be gathered into oceans so that the dry land will emerge.” And so it was. Then God named the dry land “earth,” and the water “seas.” And God was pleased. 11-12 And he said, “Let the earth burst forth with every sort of grass and seed-bearing plant, and fruit trees with seeds inside the fruit, so that these seeds will produce the kinds of plants and fruits they came from.” And so it was, and God was pleased. 13 This all occurred on the third day.[f]

14-15 Then God said, “Let bright lights appear in the sky to give light to the earth and to identify the day and the night; they shall bring about the seasons on the earth, and mark the days and years.” And so it was. 16 For God had made two huge lights, the sun and moon, to shine down upon the earth—the larger one, the sun, to preside over the day and the smaller one, the moon, to preside through the night; he had also made the stars. 17 And God set them in the sky to light the earth, 18 and to preside over the day and night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God was pleased. 19 This all happened on the fourth day.[g]

20 Then God said, “Let the waters teem with fish and other life, and let the skies be filled with birds of every kind.” 21-22 So God created great sea animals, and every sort of fish and every kind of bird. And God looked at them with pleasure, and blessed them all. “Multiply and stock the oceans,” he told them, and to the birds he said, “Let your numbers increase. Fill the earth!” 23 That ended the fifth day.[h]

24 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth every kind of animal—cattle and reptiles and wildlife of every kind.” And so it was. 25 God made all sorts of wild animals and cattle and reptiles. And God was pleased with what he had done.

26 Then God said, “Let us make a man[i]—someone like ourselves, to be the master of all life upon the earth and in the skies and in the seas.”

27 So God made man like his Maker.

Like God did God make man;

Man and maid did he make them.

28 And God blessed them and told them, “Multiply and fill the earth and subdue it; you are masters of the fish and birds and all the animals. 29 And look! I have given you the seed-bearing plants throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food. 30 And I’ve given all the grass and plants to the animals and birds for their food.” 31 Then God looked over all that he had made, and it was excellent in every way. This ended the sixth day.[j]

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 1:1 When God began creating, or “In the beginning God created.”
  2. Genesis 1:2 the earth was, or “the earth became.” a shapeless, chaotic mass, or “shapeless and void.” over the dark vapors, or “over the cloud of darkness,” or “over the darkness and waters,” or “over the dark gaseous mass.” There is not one correct way to translate these words.
  3. Genesis 1:4 Together they formed the first day, literally, “And there was evening and there was morning, one day (or ‘period of time’).”
  4. Genesis 1:6 Let the vapors separate, literally, “Let there be a dome to divide the waters.”
  5. Genesis 1:7 This all happened on the second day, literally, “There was evening and there was morning, a second day (or ‘period of time’).”
  6. Genesis 1:13 This all occurred on the third day, literally, “And there was evening and there was morning, a third day (or ‘period of time’).”
  7. Genesis 1:19 This all happened on the fourth day, literally, “And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day (or ‘period of time’).”
  8. Genesis 1:23 That ended the fifth day, literally, “And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day (or ‘period of time’).”
  9. Genesis 1:26 a man, literally, “men.” someone like ourselves, literally, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness.”
  10. Genesis 1:31 This ended the sixth day, literally, “And there was evening and there was morning, a sixth day (or ‘period of time’).”