The Creation

1 In the beginning^(A) God created the heavens and the earth.^[a](B)

² Now the earth was formless and empty,^(C) darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.^{(D) 3} Then God said, “Let there be light,”^(E) and there was light. ⁴ 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.” There was an evening, and there was a morning: one day.

²⁶ Then God said, “Let us^(A) make man^[a] in^[b] our image, according to our likeness.^(B) They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl^[c] on the earth.”^(C)

²⁸ God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth,^(E) and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.” ²⁹ God also said, “Look, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the surface of the entire earth and every tree whose fruit contains seed. This will be food for you,^{(F) 30} for all the wildlife of the earth, for every bird of the sky, and for every creature that crawls on the earth—everything having the breath of life in it—I have given^[d] every green plant for food.”^(G) And it was so. ³¹ God saw all that he had made, and it was very good indeed.^(H) Evening came and then morning: the sixth day.