The Creation

1 In the beginning God created heaven and earth.

² The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep water. The Spirit of God was hovering over the water.

³ Then God said, “Let there be light!” So there was light. ⁴ God saw the light was good. So God separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God named the light day, and the darkness he named night. There was evening, then morning—the first day.

⁶ Then God said, “Let there be a horizon in the middle of the water in order to separate the water.” ⁷ So God made the horizon and separated the water above and below the horizon. And so it was. ⁸ God named ⌞what was above⌟ the horizon sky. There was evening, then morning—a second day.

⁹ Then God said, “Let the water under the sky come together in one area, and let the dry land appear.” And so it was. ¹⁰ God named the dry land earth. The water which came together he named sea. God saw that it was good. ¹¹ Then God 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. God saw that they were good. ¹³ There was evening, then morning—a third day.

¹⁴ Then God 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 God 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 God 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. God saw that it was good. ¹⁹ There was evening, then morning—a fourth day.

John Prepares the Way^(A)

1 This is the beginning of the Good News about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

² The prophet Isaiah wrote,

⁴ John the Baptizer was in the desert telling people about a baptism of repentance ^[a] for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵ All Judea and all the people of Jerusalem went to him. As they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River.

⁶ John was dressed in clothes made from camel’s hair. He wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey.

⁷ He announced, “The one who comes after me is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to bend down and untie his sandal straps. ⁸ I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

John Baptizes Jesus^(B)

⁹ At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan River. ¹⁰ As Jesus came out of the water, he saw heaven split open and the Spirit coming down to him as a dove. ¹¹ A voice from heaven said, “You are my Son, whom I love. I am pleased with you.”

Satan Tempts Jesus^(C)

¹² At once the Spirit brought him into the desert, ¹³ where he was tempted by Satan for 40 days. He was there with the wild animals, and the angels took care of him.