The Story of Creation

1 In the beginning, when God created the universe,^{[a] 2} the earth was formless and desolate. The raging ocean that covered everything was engulfed in total darkness, and the Spirit of God^[b] was moving over the water. ^3 (A)Then God commanded, “Let there be light”—and light appeared. ⁴ God was pleased with what he saw. Then he separated the light from the darkness, ⁵ and he named the light “Day” and the darkness “Night.” Evening passed and morning came—that was the first day.

^6-7 (B)Then God commanded, “Let there be a dome to divide the water and to keep it in two separate places”—and it was done. So God made a dome, and it separated the water under it from the water above it. ⁸ He named the dome “Sky.” Evening passed and morning came—that was the second day.

⁹ Then God commanded, “Let the water below the sky come together in one place, so that the land will appear”—and it was done. ¹⁰ He named the land “Earth,” and the water which had come together he named “Sea.” And God was pleased with what he saw. ¹¹ Then he commanded, “Let the earth produce all kinds of plants, those that bear grain and those that bear fruit”—and it was done. ¹² So the earth produced all kinds of plants, and God was pleased with what he saw. ¹³ Evening passed and morning came—that was the third day.

¹⁴ Then God commanded, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate day from night and to show the time when days, years, and religious festivals^[c] begin; ¹⁵ they will shine in the sky to give light to the earth”—and it was done. ¹⁶ So God made the two larger lights, the sun to rule over the day and the moon to rule over the night; he also made the stars. ¹⁷ He placed the lights in the sky to shine on the earth, ¹⁸ to rule over the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God was pleased with what he saw. ¹⁹ Evening passed and morning came—that was the fourth day.

²⁰ Then God commanded, “Let the water be filled with many kinds of living beings, and let the air be filled with birds.” ²¹ So God created the great sea monsters, all kinds of creatures that live in the water, and all kinds of birds. And God was pleased with what he saw. ²² He blessed them all and told the creatures that live in the water to reproduce and to fill the sea, and he told the birds to increase in number. ²³ Evening passed and morning came—that was the fifth day.

²⁴ Then God commanded, “Let the earth produce all kinds of animal life: domestic and wild, large and small”—and it was done. ²⁵ So God made them all, and he was pleased with what he saw.

^26 (C)Then God said, “And now we will make human beings; they will be like us and resemble us. They will have power over the fish, the birds, and all animals, domestic and wild,^[d] large and small.” ^27 (D)So God created human beings, making them to be like himself. He created them male and female, ²⁸ blessed them, and said, “Have many children, so that your descendants will live all over the earth and bring it under their control. I am putting you in charge of the fish, the birds, and all the wild animals. ²⁹ I have provided all kinds of grain and all kinds of fruit for you to eat; ³⁰ but for all the wild animals and for all the birds I have provided grass and leafy plants for food”—and it was done. ³¹ God looked at everything he had made, and he was very pleased. Evening passed and morning came—that was the sixth day.

^8 (A)“Observe the Sabbath and keep it holy. ^9 (B)You have six days in which to do your work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is a day of rest dedicated to me. On that day no one is to work—neither you, your children, your slaves, your animals, nor the foreigners who live in your country. ^11 (C)In six days I, the Lord, made the earth, the sky, the seas, and everything in them, but on the seventh day I rested. That is why I, the Lord, blessed the Sabbath and made it holy.

¹⁴ When the dew evaporated, there was something thin and flaky on the surface of the desert. It was as delicate as frost. ^15 (A)When the Israelites saw it, they didn't know what it was and asked each other, “What is it?”

Moses said to them, “This is the food that the Lord has given you to eat. ¹⁶ The Lord has commanded that each of you is to gather as much of it as he needs, two quarts for each member of his household.”

¹⁷ The Israelites did this, some gathering more, others less. ^18 (B)When they measured it, those who gathered much did not have too much, and those who gathered less did not have too little. Each had gathered just what he needed. ¹⁹ Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it for tomorrow.” ²⁰ But some of them did not listen to Moses and saved part of it. The next morning it was full of worms and smelled rotten, and Moses was angry with them. ²¹ Every morning each one gathered as much as he needed; and when the sun grew hot, what was left on the ground melted.

²² On the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, four quarts for each person. All the leaders of the community came and told Moses about it, ^23 (C)and he said to them, “The Lord has commanded that tomorrow is a holy day of rest, dedicated to him. Bake today what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Whatever is left should be put aside and kept for tomorrow.” ²⁴ As Moses had commanded, they kept what was left until the next day; it did not spoil or get worms in it. ²⁵ Moses said, “Eat this today, because today is the Sabbath, a day of rest dedicated to the Lord, and you will not find any food outside the camp. ²⁶ You must gather food for six days, but on the seventh day, the day of rest, there will be none.”

²⁷ On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather food, but they did not find any. ²⁸ Then the Lord said to Moses, “How much longer will you people refuse to obey my commands? ²⁹ Remember that I, the Lord, have given you a day of rest, and that is why on the sixth day I will always give you enough food for two days. Everyone is to stay where he is on the seventh day and not leave his home.” ³⁰ So the people did no work on the seventh day.

^31 (D)The people of Israel called the food manna.^[a] It was like a small white seed, and tasted like thin cakes made with honey.

^12 (A)“‘Observe the Sabbath and keep it holy, as I, the Lord your God, have commanded you. ^13 (B)You have six days in which to do your work, ¹⁴ but the seventh day is a day of rest dedicated to me. On that day no one is to work—neither you, your children, your slaves, your animals, nor the foreigners who live in your country. Your slaves must rest just as you do. ¹⁵ Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and that I, the Lord your God, rescued you by my great power and strength. That is why I command you to observe the Sabbath.

A Song of Praise^[a]

The Reward for Keeping the Sabbath

¹³ The Lord says, “If you treat the Sabbath as sacred and do not pursue your own interests on that day; if you value my holy day and honor it by not traveling, working, or talking idly on that day,