The Creation of the World

1 In the ^(A)beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. ² The earth was ^(B)without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

³ And God said, ^(C)“Let there be light,” and there was light. ⁴ And God saw that the light was good. And God 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, ^(D)“Let there be an expanse^[a] in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” ⁷ And God made^[b] the expanse and ^(E)separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were ^(F)above the expanse. And it was so. ⁸ And God called the expanse Heaven.^[c] And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.

⁹ And God said, ^(G)“Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. ¹⁰ God called the dry land Earth,^[d] and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.

¹¹ And God said, ^(H)“Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants^[e] yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on 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 is their seed, each according to its kind. 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 heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for ^(I)signs and for ^(J)seasons,^[f] and for days and years, ¹⁵ and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. ¹⁶ And God ^(K)made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. ¹⁷ And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, ¹⁸ to ^(L)rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the 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 waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds^[g] fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” ²¹ So ^(M)God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. ²² And God blessed them, saying, ^(N)“Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” ²³ And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

²⁴ And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. ²⁵ And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

²⁶ Then God said, ^(O)“Let us make man^[h] in our image, ^(P)after our likeness. And ^(Q)let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

²⁸ And God blessed them. And God said to them, ^(S)“Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” ²⁹ And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. ^(T)You shall have them for food. ³⁰ And ^(U)to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. ^31 (V)And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

The Seventh Day, God Rests

2 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and ^(W)all the host of them. ² And ^(X)on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. ³ So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

Book Two

Why Are You Cast Down, O My Soul?

To the choirmaster. A Maskil^[a] of ^(A)the Sons of Korah.

The Supremacy of God's Son

1 Long ago, at many times and ^(A)in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, ² but ^(B)in these last days ^(C)he has spoken to us by ^(D)his Son, whom he appointed ^(E)the heir of all things, ^(F)through whom also he created ^(G)the world. ³ He is the radiance of the glory of God and ^(H)the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. ^(I)After making purification for sins, ^(J)he sat down ^(K)at the right hand of the Majesty on high, ⁴ having become as much superior to angels as the name ^(L)he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

⁵ For to which of the angels did God ever say,

Or again,

⁶ And again, when he brings ^(O)the firstborn into the world, he says,

⁷ Of the angels he says,

⁸ But of the Son he says,

¹⁰ And,

¹³ And to which of the angels has he ever said,

¹⁴ Are they not all ministering spirits ^(Y)sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to ^(Z)inherit salvation?

Warning Against Neglecting Salvation

2 Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. ² For since ^(AA)the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and ^(AB)every transgression or disobedience received a just ^(AC)retribution, ^3 (AD)how shall we escape if we ^(AE)neglect such a great salvation? It was ^(AF)declared at first by the Lord, and it was ^(AG)attested to us ^(AH)by those who heard, ^4 (AI)while God also bore witness ^(AJ)by signs and wonders and various miracles and by ^(AK)gifts of the Holy Spirit ^(AL)distributed according to his will.

The Founder of Salvation

⁵ For it was not to angels that God subjected the world ^(AM)to come, of which we are speaking. ⁶ It has been testified somewhere,

Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, ^(AO)we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. ⁹ But we see him ^(AP)who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, ^(AQ)crowned with glory and honor ^(AR)because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might ^(AS)taste death ^(AT)for everyone.

¹⁰ For it ^(AU)was fitting that he, ^(AV)for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons ^(AW)to glory, should make the ^(AX)founder of their salvation ^(AY)perfect through suffering. ¹¹ For ^(AZ)he who sanctifies and ^(BA)those who are sanctified ^(BB)all have one source.^[c] That is why he is not ashamed to call them ^(BC)brothers,^{[d] 12} saying,

¹³ And again,

And again,

¹⁴ Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise ^(BI)partook of the same things, that ^(BJ)through death he might ^(BK)destroy ^(BL)the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵ and deliver all those who ^(BM)through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. ¹⁶ For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he ^(BN)helps the offspring of Abraham. ¹⁷ Therefore he had ^(BO)to be made like his brothers in every respect, ^(BP)so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest ^(BQ)in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. ¹⁸ For because he himself has suffered ^(BR)when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Jesus Greater Than Moses

3 Therefore, holy brothers,^[e] you who share in ^(BS)a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, ^(BT)the apostle and high priest of our confession, ² who was faithful to him who appointed him, ^(BU)just as Moses also was faithful in all God's^[f] house. ³ For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. ⁴ (For every house is built by someone, but ^(BV)the builder of all things is God.) ^5 (BW)Now Moses was faithful in all God's house ^(BX)as a servant, ^(BY)to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, ⁶ but Christ is faithful over God's house as ^(BZ)a son. And ^(CA)we are his house, if indeed we ^(CB)hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.^[g]

A Rest for the People of God

⁷ Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,

¹² Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from ^(CF)the living God. ¹³ But ^(CG)exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by ^(CH)the deceitfulness of sin. ¹⁴ For we have come to share in Christ, ^(CI)if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. ¹⁵ As it is said,

¹⁶ For ^(CK)who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not ^(CL)all those who left Egypt led by Moses? ¹⁷ And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, ^(CM)whose bodies fell in the wilderness? ¹⁸ And to whom did he swear that ^(CN)they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? ¹⁹ So we see that ^(CO)they were unable to enter because of unbelief.