The Beginning of the World

1 ·In the beginning [or In the beginning when] God created [^Cthis Hebrew verb is used only when God is the one creating] the ·sky [heavens] and the earth. ² ·The [or…the] earth ·had no form and was empty [or was a formless void]. Darkness covered the ·ocean [deep], and ·God’s Spirit [or a mighty wind] was ·moving [hovering] over the water.

³ Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ⁴ God saw that the light was good, so he ·divided [separated] the light from the darkness. ⁵ God ·named [called] the light “day” and the darkness “night.” ·Evening passed, and morning came [^LThere was evening and there was morning; ^Cin the OT a day begins at nightfall]. This was the first day.

⁶ Then God said, “Let there be ·something to divide the water in two [^La firmament/dome/expanse in the midst of the waters to separate/divide the waters from the waters].” ⁷ So God made the ·air [^Lfirmament; dome; expanse; ^Crain clouds] and placed some of the water above the ·air [^Lfirmament; dome; expanse] and some below it [^Creferring to the rain and the oceans, lakes, and rivers]. ⁸ God ·named [called] the ·air [^Lfirmament/dome/expanse] “·sky [heaven].” Evening passed, and morning came [1:5]. This was the second day.

⁹ Then God said, “Let the water under the ·sky [heavens] be gathered together so the dry land will appear.” And it happened. ¹⁰ God ·named [called] the dry land “earth” and [^Lhe called] the water that was gathered together “seas.” God saw that this was good.

¹¹ Then God said, “Let the earth produce ·plants [vegetation]—some to make grain for seeds and ·others to make fruits with seeds in them. Every seed will produce more of its own kind of plant [^Lfruit trees on earth bearing fruit according to its own kind/species that has seed in them].” And it happened. ¹² The earth ·produced [brought forth] plants with grain for seeds and trees that made fruits with seeds in them. ·Each seed grew its own kind of plant [^L…according to its kind/species]. God saw that all this was good. ¹³ Evening passed, and morning came [1:5]. This was the third day.

¹⁴ Then God said, “Let there be lights in the ·sky [^Lfirmament/dome/expanse of the heavens] to ·separate [divide] day from night. ·These lights will be used for [^LThey will be] signs, seasons, days, and years. ¹⁵ They will be in the ·sky [^Lfirmament/dome/expanse] to give light to the earth.” And it happened.

¹⁶ So God made the two ·large [great] lights. He made the ·brighter [^Lgreater] light to rule the day and made the ·smaller [lesser] light to rule the night. ·He also made the stars [^L…and the stars]. ¹⁷ God put all these in the sky to shine on the earth, ¹⁸ to rule over the day and over the night, and to ·separate [divide] the light from the darkness. God saw that all these things were good. ¹⁹ Evening passed, and morning came [1:5]. This was the fourth day.

²⁰ Then God said, “Let the water ·be filled with living things [^Lswarm with living creatures], and let birds fly in the ·air [^Lfirmament/dome/expanse] above the earth.”

²¹ So God created [1:1] the large sea ·animals [or monsters] and every living thing that ·moves [^Lswarms] in the sea. The sea is filled with these living things, with each one ·producing more of its own kind [^Laccording to its kind/species]. He also ·made [or created; 1:1] every bird that flies, and each bird ·produced more of its own kind [^Laccording to its kind/species]. God saw that this was good. ²² God blessed them and said, “·Have many young ones so that you may grow in number [^TBe fruitful and multiply]. ·Fill […and fill] the water of the seas, and let the birds ·grow in number [multiply] on the earth.” ²³ Evening passed, and morning came [1:5]. This was the fifth day.

²⁴ Then God said, “Let the earth be filled with ·animals [living creatures], ·each producing more of its own kind [^Laccording to their kind/species]. Let there be ·tame animals [beasts; livestock] and small crawling animals and wild animals, ·and let each produce more of its kind [^Laccording to their kind/species].” And it happened.

²⁵ So God made the wild animals, the ·tame animals [beasts; livestock], and all the small crawling animals ·to produce more of their own kind [^Laccording to their kind/species]. God saw that this was good.

²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image and likeness. And let them ·rule [^Thave dominion] over the fish in the sea and the birds in the ·sky [heavens], over the ·tame animals [beasts; livestock], over all the earth, and over all the small crawling animals on the earth.”

²⁷ So God created [1:1] ·human beings [^Tman; ^Cthe Hebrew adam can mean human beings, humankind, person, man, or the proper name Adam] in his image [^Creflecting God’s nature/character and representing him in the world]. In the image of God he created them. He created them male and female. ²⁸ God blessed them and said [^Lto them], “·Have many children and grow in number [^TBe fruitful and multiply]. ·Fill […and fill] the earth and ·be its master [subdue it]. ·Rule [^THave dominion] over the fish in the sea and over the birds in the ·sky [heavens] and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

²⁹ God said, “Look, I have given you all the plants that have grain for seeds [^Lon the face of the earth] and all the trees whose fruits have seeds in them. They will be food for you. ³⁰ I have given all the green plants as food for every wild animal, every bird of the ·air [sky; heavens], and every small ·crawling [creeping] animal.” And it happened. ³¹ God looked at everything he had made, and it was ·very [exceedingly] good. Evening passed, and morning came [1:5]. This was the sixth day.