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.

One in Christ

¹¹ Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called ^(A)the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— ¹² remember ^(B)that you were at that time separated from Christ, ^(C)alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to ^(D)the covenants of promise, ^(E)having no hope and without God in the world. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were ^(F)far off have been brought near ^(G)by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴ For ^(H)he himself is our peace, ^(I)who has made us both one and has broken down ^(J)in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility ¹⁵ by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ^(K)ordinances, that he might create in himself one ^(L)new man in place of the two, so making peace, ¹⁶ and might ^(M)reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. ¹⁷ And he came and ^(N)preached peace to you who were ^(O)far off and peace to those who were ^(P)near. ¹⁸ For ^(Q)through him we both have ^(R)access in ^(S)one Spirit to the Father. ¹⁹ So then you are no longer ^(T)strangers and aliens,^[a] but you are ^(U)fellow citizens with the saints and ^(V)members of the household of God, ^20 (W)built on the foundation of the ^(X)apostles and prophets, ^(Y)Christ Jesus himself being ^(Z)the cornerstone, ^21 (AA)in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into ^(AB)a holy temple in the Lord. ²² In him ^(AC)you also are being built together ^(AD)into a dwelling place for God by^[b] the Spirit.

The Great Commission

¹⁶ Now the eleven disciples ^(A)went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. ¹⁷ And when they saw him they ^(B)worshiped him, but some doubted. ¹⁸ And Jesus came and said to them, ^(C)“All authority ^(D)in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ^19 (E)Go therefore and ^(F)make disciples of ^(G)all nations, ^(H)baptizing them ^(I)in^{[a] (J)}the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them ^(K)to observe all that ^(L)I have commanded you. And behold, ^(M)I am with you always, to ^(N)the end of the age.”