1 In the beginning God (prepared, formed, fashioned, and) created the heavens and the earth.^(A)

² The earth was without form and an empty waste, and darkness was upon the face of the very great deep. The Spirit of God was moving (hovering, brooding) over the face of the waters.

³ And God said, Let there be light; and there was light.

⁴ And God saw that the light was good (suitable, pleasant) and He approved it; and God separated the light from the darkness.^(B)

⁵ And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

⁶ And God said, Let there be a firmament [the expanse of the sky] in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters [below] from the waters [above].

⁷ And God made the firmament [the expanse] and separated the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse. And it was so.

⁸ And God called the firmament Heavens. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.

⁹ And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be collected into one place [of standing], and let the dry land appear. And it was so.

¹⁰ God called the dry land Earth, and the accumulated waters He called Seas. And God saw that this was good (fitting, admirable) and He approved it.

¹¹ And God said, Let the earth put forth [tender] vegetation: plants yielding seed and fruit trees yielding fruit whose seed is in itself, each according to its kind, upon 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 was their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good (suitable, admirable) and He approved it.

¹³ And there was evening and there was morning, a 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 signs and tokens [of God’s provident care], and [to mark] seasons, days, and years,^(C)

¹⁵ And let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light upon the earth. And it was so.

¹⁶ And God made the two great lights—the greater light (the sun) to rule the day and the lesser light (the moon) to rule the night. He also made the stars.

¹⁷ And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth,

¹⁸ To rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good (fitting, pleasant) and He approved it.

¹⁹ And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

²⁰ And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly and swarm with living creatures, and let birds fly over the earth in the open expanse of the heavens.

²¹ God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, which the waters brought forth abundantly, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good (suitable, admirable) and He approved it.

²² And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let the fowl multiply in the earth.

²³ And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

²⁴ And God said, Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creeping things, and [wild] beasts of the earth according to their kinds. And it was so.

²⁵ And God made the [wild] beasts of the earth according to their kinds, and domestic animals according to their kinds, and everything that creeps upon the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good (fitting, pleasant) and He approved it.

²⁶ God said, Let Us [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] make mankind in Our image, after Our likeness, and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the [tame] beasts, and over all of the earth, and over everything that creeps upon the earth.^(D)

²⁷ So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them.^(E)

²⁸ And God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it [using all its vast resources in the service of God and man]; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and over every living creature that moves upon the earth.

²⁹ And God said, See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the land and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food.

³⁰ And to all the animals on the earth and to every bird of the air and to everything that creeps on the ground—to everything in which there is the breath of life—I have given every green plant for food. And it was so.

³¹ And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good (suitable, pleasant) and He approved it completely. And there was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.

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1 In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (^[a]Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God ^[b]Himself.^(A)

² He was present originally with God.

³ All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being.

⁴ In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men.

⁵ And the Light shines on in the darkness, for the darkness has never overpowered it [put it out or absorbed it or appropriated it, and is unreceptive to it].

⁶ There came a man sent from God, whose name was John.^(B)

⁷ This man came to witness, that he might testify of the Light, that all men might believe in it [adhere to it, trust it, and rely upon it] through him.

⁸ He was not the Light himself, but came that he might bear witness regarding the Light.

⁹ There it was—the true Light [was then] coming into the world [the genuine, perfect, steadfast Light] that illumines every person.^(C)

¹⁰ He came into the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him [did not know Him].

¹¹ He came to that which belonged to Him [to His own—His domain, creation, things, world], and they who were His own did not receive Him and did not welcome Him.

¹² But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the authority (power, privilege, right) to become the children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name—^(D)

¹³ Who owe their birth neither to ^[c]bloods nor to the will of the flesh [that of physical impulse] nor to the will of man [that of a natural father], but to God. [They are born of God!]

¹⁴ And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us; and we [actually] saw His glory (His honor, His majesty), such glory as an only begotten son receives from his father, full of grace (favor, loving-kindness) and truth.^(E)

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