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.

16 “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. ^2 (A)They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, ^(B)the hour is coming when ^(C)whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. ³ And they will do these things ^(D)because they have not known the Father, nor me. ⁴ But ^(E)I have said these things to you, that when ^(F)their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you.

The Work of the Holy Spirit

“I did not say these things to you from the beginning, ^(G)because I was with you. ⁵ But now ^(H)I am going to him who sent me, and ^(I)none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ ⁶ But because I have said these things to you, ^(J)sorrow has filled your heart. ⁷ Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for ^(K)if I do not go away, ^(L)the Helper will not come to you. But ^(M)if ^(N)I go, ^(O)I will send him to you. ^8 (P)And when he comes, he will ^(Q)convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: ⁹ concerning sin, ^(R)because they do not believe in me; ^10 (S)concerning righteousness, ^(T)because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; ^11 (U)concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world ^(V)is judged.

¹² “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. ¹³ When ^(W)the Spirit of truth comes, ^(X)he will ^(Y)guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but ^(Z)whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. ¹⁴ He will ^(AA)glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. ^15 (AB)All that the Father has is mine; ^(AC)therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

Your Sorrow Will Turn into Joy

^16 (AD)“A little while, and you will see me no longer; and ^(AE)again a little while, and you will see me.” ¹⁷ So ^(AF)some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ^(AG)‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and, ^(AH)‘because I am going to the Father’?” ¹⁸ So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? ^(AI)We do not know what he is talking about.” ^19 (AJ)Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? ²⁰ Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(AK)you will weep and lament, but ^(AL)the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but ^(AM)your sorrow will turn into joy. ^21 (AN)When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. ^22 (AO)So also you have sorrow now, but ^(AP)I will see you again, and ^(AQ)your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. ^23 (AR)In that day you will ^(AS)ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(AT)whatever you ask of the Father in my name, ^(AU)he will give it to you. ²⁴ Until now you have asked nothing in my name. ^(AV)Ask, and you will receive, ^(AW)that your joy may be full.

I Have Overcome the World

²⁵ “I have said these things to you in figures of speech. ^(AX)The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. ²⁶ In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; ^27 (AY)for the Father himself loves you, because ^(AZ)you have loved me and ^(BA)have believed that I came from God.^{[a] 28 (BB)}I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now ^(BC)I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”

²⁹ His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not ^(BD)using figurative speech! ³⁰ Now we know that ^(BE)you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that ^(BF)you came from God.” ³¹ Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? ³² Behold, ^(BG)the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when ^(BH)you will be scattered, each to his own home, and ^(BI)will leave me alone. ^(BJ)Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. ³³ I have said these things to you, that ^(BK)in me you may have peace. ^(BL)In the world you will have ^(BM)tribulation. But ^(BN)take heart; ^(BO)I have overcome the world.”