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.

Let Everything Praise the Lord

⁵ Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. ^(A)Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that ^(B)Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! ⁶ I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test. ⁷ But we pray to God that you may not do wrong—not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed. ⁸ For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. ⁹ For we are glad when ^(C)we are weak and you are strong. Your ^(D)restoration is what we pray for. ¹⁰ For this reason I write these things while I am away from you, that when I come ^(E)I may not have to be ^(F)severe in my use of ^(G)the authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down.

Final Greetings

¹¹ Finally, brothers,^[a] rejoice. ^(H)Aim for restoration, comfort one another,^{[b] (I)}agree with one another, ^(J)live in peace; and the God of love and ^(K)peace will be with you. ^12 (L)Greet one another with a holy kiss. ^13 (M)All the saints greet you.

^14 (N)The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and ^(O)the love of God and ^(P)the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

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.”

Retaliation

^38 (A)“You have heard that it was said, ^(B)‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ ³⁹ But I say to you, ^(C)Do not resist the one who is evil. But ^(D)if anyone ^(E)slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. ⁴⁰ And ^(F)if anyone would sue you and take your tunic,^[a] let him have your cloak as well. ⁴¹ And if anyone ^(G)forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. ^42 (H)Give to the one who begs from you, and ^(I)do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.