The History of Creation(A)

In the (B)beginning (C)God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was (D)without form, and void; and darkness [a]was on the face of the deep. (E)And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

(F)Then God said, (G)“Let there be (H)light”; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the (I)darkness He called Night. [b]So the evening and the morning were the first day.

Then God said, (J)“Let there be a [c]firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” Thus God made the firmament, (K)and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were (L)above the firmament; and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day.

Then God said, (M)“Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and (N)let the dry land appear”; and it was so. 10 And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good.

11 Then God said, “Let the earth (O)bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the (P)fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 So the evening and the morning were the third day.

14 Then God said, “Let there be (Q)lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and (R)seasons, and for days and years; 15 and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. 16 Then God made two great [d]lights: the (S)greater light to rule the day, and the (T)lesser light to rule the night. He made (U)the stars also. 17 God set them in the firmament of the (V)heavens to give light on the earth, 18 and to (W)rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 So the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

20 Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living [e]creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the [f]firmament of the heavens.” 21 So (X)God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, (Y)“Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

24 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind”; and it was so. 25 And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

26 Then God said, (Z)“Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; (AA)let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over [g]all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man (AB)in His own image; in the image of God He created him; (AC)male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, (AD)“Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and (AE)subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that [h]moves on the earth.”

29 And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; (AF)to you it shall be for food. 30 Also, to (AG)every beast of the earth, to every (AH)bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is [i]life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so. 31 Then (AI)God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 1:2 Words in italic type have been added for clarity. They are not found in the original Hebrew or Aramaic.
  2. Genesis 1:5 Lit. And evening was, and morning was, a day, one.
  3. Genesis 1:6 expanse
  4. Genesis 1:16 luminaries
  5. Genesis 1:20 souls
  6. Genesis 1:20 expanse
  7. Genesis 1:26 Syr. all the wild animals of
  8. Genesis 1:28 moves about on
  9. Genesis 1:30 a living soul

The Creation

In the beginning Elohim created heaven and earth.

The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep water. The Ruach Elohim was hovering over the water.

Then Elohim said, “Let there be light!” So there was light. Elohim saw the light was good. So Elohim separated the light from the darkness. Elohim named the light day, and the darkness he named night. There was evening, then morning—the first day.

Then Elohim said, “Let there be a horizon in the middle of the water in order to separate the water.” So Elohim made the horizon and separated the water above and below the horizon. And so it was. Elohim named what was above the horizon sky. There was evening, then morning—a second day.

Then Elohim said, “Let the water under the sky come together in one area, and let the dry land appear.” And so it was. 10 Elohim named the dry land earth. The water which came together he named sea. Elohim saw that it was good. 11 Then Elohim said, “Let the earth produce vegetation: plants bearing seeds, each according to its own type, and fruit trees bearing fruit with seeds, each according to its own type.” And so it was. 12 The earth produced vegetation: plants bearing seeds, each according to its own type, and trees bearing fruit with seeds, each according to its own type. Elohim saw that they were good. 13 There was evening, then morning—a third day.

14 Then Elohim said, “Let there be lights in the sky to separate the day from the night. They will be signs and will mark religious festivals, days, and years. 15 They will be lights in the sky to shine on the earth.” And so it was. 16 Elohim made the two bright lights: the larger light to rule the day and the smaller light to rule the night. He also made the stars. 17 Elohim put them in the sky to give light to the earth, 18 to dominate the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. Elohim saw that it was good. 19 There was evening, then morning—a fourth day.

20 Then Elohim said, “Let the water swarm with swimming creatures, and let birds fly through the sky over the earth.” 21 So Elohim created the large sea creatures, every type of creature that swims around in the water and every type of flying bird. Elohim saw that they were good. 22 Elohim blessed them and said, “Be fertile, increase in number, fill the sea, and let there be many birds on the earth.” 23 There was evening, then morning—a fifth day.

24 Then Elohim said, “Let the earth produce every type of living creature: every type of domestic animal, crawling animal, and wild animal.” And so it was. 25 Elohim made every type of wild animal, every type of domestic animal, and every type of creature that crawls on the ground. Elohim saw that they were good.

26 Then Elohim said, “Let us make humans in our image, in our likeness. Let them rule the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the domestic animals all over the earth, and all the animals that crawl on the earth.”

27 So Elohim created humans in his image.
    In the image of Elohim he created them.
        He created them male and female.

28 Elohim blessed them and said, “Be fertile, increase in number, fill the earth, and be its master. Rule the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that crawl on the earth.”

29 Elohim said, “I have given you every plant with seeds on the face of the earth and every tree that has fruit with seeds. This will be your food. 30 I have given all green plants as food to every land animal, every bird in the sky, and every animal that crawls on the earth—every living, breathing animal.” And so it was.

31 And Elohim saw everything that he had made and that it was very good. There was evening, then morning—the sixth day.