The Creation

1 ^(A)In the beginning ^(B)God ^(C)created the heavens and the earth. ² And the earth was a ^[a](D)formless and desolate emptiness, and ^(E)darkness was over the ^[b]surface of the deep, and ^(F)the Spirit of God ^(G)was hovering over the ^[c]surface of the waters. ³ Then ^(H)God said, “^[d]Let there be light”; and there was light. ⁴ God saw that the light was ^(I)good; and God ^(J)separated the light from the darkness. ^5 (K)God called the light “day,” and the darkness He called “night.” And ^(L)there was evening and there was morning, one day.

⁶ Then God said, “Let there be ^[e]an ^(M)expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” ⁷ God made the ^[f]expanse, and separated ^(N)the waters that were below the ^[g]expanse from the waters ^(O)that were above the ^[h]expanse; and it was so. ⁸ God called the ^[i]expanse “heaven.” And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.

⁹ Then God said, “^(P)Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let ^(Q)the dry land appear”; and it was so. ¹⁰ And God called the dry land “earth,” and the ^(R)gathering of the waters He called “seas”; and God saw that it was good. ¹¹ Then God said, “Let the earth sprout ^[j](S)vegetation, ^[k]plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit according to ^[l]their kind ^[m]with seed in them”; and it was so. ¹² The earth produced ^[n]vegetation, ^[o]plants yielding seed according to ^[p]their kind, and trees bearing fruit ^[q]with seed in them, according to ^[r]their kind; and God saw that it was good. ¹³ And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.

¹⁴ Then God said, “Let there be ^[s](T)lights in the ^[t](U)expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and they shall ^[u]serve as ^(V)signs and for ^(W)seasons, and for days and years; ¹⁵ and they ^[v]shall serve as lights in the ^[w]expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. ¹⁶ God made the two great lights, the ^(X)greater light ^[x]to govern the day, and the lesser light ^[y]to govern the night; He made ^(Y)the stars also. ^17 (Z)God placed them in the ^[z]expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, ¹⁸ and ^[aa]to ^(AA)govern the day and 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, a fourth day.

²⁰ Then God said, “Let the waters ^[ab]teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth ^[ac]in the open ^[ad]expanse of the heavens.” ²¹ And God created ^(AB)the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind; and God saw that it was good. ²² God blessed them, saying, “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, a fifth day.

^24 (AC)Then God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures according to ^[ae]their kind: livestock and crawling things and animals of the earth according to ^[af]their kind”; and it was so. ²⁵ God made the ^(AD)animals of the earth according to ^[ag]their kind, and the livestock according to ^[ah]their kind, and everything that crawls on the ground according to its kind; and God saw that it was good.

²⁶ Then God said, “^[ai]Let ^(AE)Us make ^(AF)mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; and ^[aj]let them ^(AG)rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the livestock and over all the earth, and over every crawling thing that crawls on the earth.” ²⁷ So God created man ^(AH)in His own image, in the image of God He created him; ^(AI)male and female He created them. ²⁸ God blessed them; and God said to them, “^(AJ)Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that ^[ak]moves on the earth.” ²⁹ Then God said, “Behold, ^(AK)I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the ^[al]surface of all the earth, and every tree ^[am]which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; ³⁰ and ^(AL)to every animal of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to everything that ^[an]moves on the earth ^[ao]which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so. ³¹ And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very ^(AM)good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

2 And so the heavens and the earth were completed, and all ^(A)their heavenly ^[a]lights. ² By ^(B)the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and ^(C)He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. ³ Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on it He rested from all His work which God had created ^[b]and made.

The Creation of Man and Woman

^4 [c](D)This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in ^(E)the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven. ^5 (F)Now no shrub of the field was yet on the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, ^(G)for the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to ^[d]cultivate the ground. ⁶ But a ^[e]mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole ^[f]surface of the ground. ⁷ Then the Lord God formed the man of ^(H)dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the ^(I)man became a living ^[g]person. ⁸ The Lord God planted a ^(J)garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. ⁹ Out of the ground the Lord God caused ^(K)every tree to grow that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; ^(L)the tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

¹⁰ Now a ^(M)river ^[h]flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four ^[i]rivers. ¹¹ The name of the first is Pishon; it ^[j]flows around the whole land of ^(N)Havilah, where there is gold. ¹² The gold of that land is good; the bdellium and the onyx stone are there as well. ¹³ The name of the second river is Gihon; it ^[k]flows around the whole land of Cush. ¹⁴ The name of the third river is ^[l](O)Tigris; it ^[m]flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the ^[n](P)Euphrates.

¹⁵ Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and tend it. ¹⁶ The Lord God ^(Q)commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may freely eat; ¹⁷ but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not ^[o]eat, for on the day that you eat from it ^(R)you will certainly die.”

¹⁸ Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; ^(S)I will make him a helper ^[p]suitable for him.” ^19 (T)And out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the sky, and ^(U)brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. ²⁰ The man gave names to all the livestock, and to the birds of the sky, and to every animal of the field, but for ^[q]Adam there was not found ^(V)a helper ^[r]suitable for him. ²¹ So the Lord God caused a ^(W)deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. ²² And the Lord God ^[s]fashioned into a woman ^(X)the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. ²³ Then the man said,

^24 (Z)For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. ^25 (AA)And the man and his wife were both naked, but they were not ashamed.

Preaching of John the Baptist

1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, ^(A)the Son of God,

^2 (B)just as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:

⁴ John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, ^[c](E)preaching a baptism of repentance for the ^(F)forgiveness of sins. ⁵ And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. ⁶ John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore ^(G)a leather belt around his waist, and ^[d]his diet was locusts and wild honey. ⁷ And he was ^[e]preaching, saying, “After me One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to bend down and untie the straps of His sandals. ⁸ I baptized you ^[f]with water; but He will baptize you ^[g]with the Holy Spirit.”

The Baptism of Jesus

^9 (H)In those days Jesus ^(I)came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰ And immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens ^[h]opening, and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon Him; ¹¹ and a voice came from the heavens: “^(J)You are My beloved Son; in You I ^[i]am well pleased.”

^12 (K)And immediately the Spirit *brought Him out into the wilderness. ¹³ And He was in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by ^(L)Satan; and He was with the wild animals, and the angels were serving Him.

Jesus Preaches in Galilee

^14 (M)Now after John was ^[j]taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, ^[k](N)preaching the gospel of God, ¹⁵ and saying, “^(O)The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; ^(P)repent and ^[l]believe in the gospel.”

^16 (Q)As He was going along the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. ¹⁷ And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will have you become fishers of people.” ¹⁸ Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. ¹⁹ And going on a little farther, He saw ^[m]James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John, ^[n]who were also in the boat mending the nets. ²⁰ Immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and went away ^[o]to follow Him.

^21 (R)They *went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath Jesus ^(S)entered the synagogue and began to teach. ²² And ^(T)they were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. ²³ Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, ²⁴ saying, “^(U)What ^[p]business do You have with us, Jesus ^[q]of ^(V)Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are: ^(W)the Holy One of God!” ²⁵ And Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” ²⁶ After throwing him into convulsions and crying out with a loud voice, the unclean spirit came out of him. ²⁷ And they were all ^(X)amazed, so they debated among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” ²⁸ Immediately the news about Him spread everywhere into all the surrounding region of Galilee.

Crowds Healed

^29 (Y)And immediately after they left ^(Z)the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with ^[r]James and John. ³⁰ Now Simon’s mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever; and they immediately *spoke to ^[s]Jesus about her. ³¹ And He came to her and raised her up, taking her by the hand, and the fever left her, and she served them.

³² Now ^(AA)when evening came, ^(AB)after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all who were ill and those who were ^(AC)demon-possessed. ³³ And the whole ^(AD)city had gathered at the door. ³⁴ And He ^(AE)healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew ^[t]who He was.

^35 (AF)And in the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and ^(AG)prayed there for a time. ³⁶ Simon and his companions eagerly searched for Him; ³⁷ and they found Him and *said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.” ³⁸ He *said to them, “Let’s go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may also ^[u]preach there; for this is why I came.” ^39 (AH)And He went into their synagogues ^[v]preaching throughout Galilee, and casting out the demons.

^40 (AI)And a man with ^[w]leprosy *came to ^[x]Jesus, imploring Him and ^(AJ)kneeling down, and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” ⁴¹ Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out with His hand and touched him, and *said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” ⁴² And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed. ⁴³ And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away, ⁴⁴ and He *said to him, “^(AK)See that you say nothing to anyone; but ^(AL)go, show yourself to the priest and ^(AM)offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” ⁴⁵ But he went out and began to ^(AN)proclaim it ^[y]freely and to ^(AO)spread the news around, to such an extent that ^[z]Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but ^[aa]stayed out in unpopulated areas; and ^(AP)they were coming to Him from everywhere.

The Works and the Word of God.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.