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Genesis 1
English Standard Version
Genesis 1
English Standard Version
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.”
27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
(R)male and female he created them.
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.
Footnotes
- Genesis 1:6 Or a canopy; also verses 7, 8, 14, 15, 17, 20
- Genesis 1:7 Or fashioned; also verse 16
- Genesis 1:8 Or Sky; also verses 9, 14, 15, 17, 20, 26, 28, 30; 2:1
- Genesis 1:10 Or Land; also verses 11, 12, 22, 24, 25, 26, 28, 30; 2:1
- Genesis 1:11 Or small plants; also verses 12, 29
- Genesis 1:14 Or appointed times
- Genesis 1:20 Or flying things; see Leviticus 11:19–20
- Genesis 1:26 The Hebrew word for man (adam) is the generic term for mankind and becomes the proper name Adam
Genesis 1
The Message
Genesis 1
The Message
Heaven and Earth
1 1-2 First this: God created the Heavens and Earth—all you see, all you don’t see. Earth was a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness. God’s Spirit brooded like a bird above the watery abyss.
3-5 God spoke: “Light!”
And light appeared.
God saw that light was good
and separated light from dark.
God named the light Day,
he named the dark Night.
It was evening, it was morning—
Day One.
6-8 God spoke: “Sky! In the middle of the waters;
separate water from water!”
God made sky.
He separated the water under sky
from the water above sky.
And there it was:
he named sky the Heavens;
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Two.
9-10 God spoke: “Separate!
Water-beneath-Heaven, gather into one place;
Land, appear!”
And there it was.
God named the land Earth.
He named the pooled water Ocean.
God saw that it was good.
11-13 God spoke: “Earth, green up! Grow all varieties
of seed-bearing plants,
Every sort of fruit-bearing tree.”
And there it was.
Earth produced green seed-bearing plants,
all varieties,
And fruit-bearing trees of all sorts.
God saw that it was good.
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Three.
14-15 God spoke: “Lights! Come out!
Shine in Heaven’s sky!
Separate Day from Night.
Mark seasons and days and years,
Lights in Heaven’s sky to give light to Earth.”
And there it was.
16-19 God made two big lights, the larger
to take charge of Day,
The smaller to be in charge of Night;
and he made the stars.
God placed them in the heavenly sky
to light up Earth
And oversee Day and Night,
to separate light and dark.
God saw that it was good.
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Four.
20-23 God spoke: “Swarm, Ocean, with fish and all sea life!
Birds, fly through the sky over Earth!”
God created the huge whales,
all the swarm of life in the waters,
And every kind and species of flying birds.
God saw that it was good.
God blessed them: “Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Ocean!
Birds, reproduce on Earth!”
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Five.
24-25 God spoke: “Earth, generate life! Every sort and kind:
cattle and reptiles and wild animals—all kinds.”
And there it was:
wild animals of every kind,
Cattle of all kinds, every sort of reptile and bug.
God saw that it was good.
26-28 God spoke: “Let us make human beings in our image, make them
reflecting our nature
So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea,
the birds in the air, the cattle,
And, yes, Earth itself,
and every animal that moves on the face of Earth.”
God created human beings;
he created them godlike,
Reflecting God’s nature.
He created them male and female.
God blessed them:
“Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge!
Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air,
for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth.”
29-30 Then God said, “I’ve given you
every sort of seed-bearing plant on Earth
And every kind of fruit-bearing tree,
given them to you for food.
To all animals and all birds,
everything that moves and breathes,
I give whatever grows out of the ground for food.”
And there it was.
31 God looked over everything he had made;
it was so good, so very good!
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Six.
Genesis 1
World English Bible
Genesis 1
World English Bible
1 In the beginning, God[a] created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep and God’s Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters.
3 God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw the light, and saw that it was good. God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day”, and the darkness he called “night”. There was evening and there was morning, the first day.
6 God said, “Let there be an expanse in the middle of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” 7 God made the expanse, and divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so. 8 God called the expanse “sky”. There was evening and there was morning, a second day.
9 God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear;” and it was so. 10 God called the dry land “earth”, and the gathering together of the waters he called “seas”. God saw that it was good. 11 God said, “Let the earth yield grass, herbs yielding seeds, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with their seeds in it, on the earth;” and it was so. 12 The earth yielded grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, with their seeds in it, after their kind; and God saw that it was good. 13 There was evening and there was morning, a third day.
14 God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs to mark seasons, days, and years; 15 and let them be for lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth;” and it was so. 16 God made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light to the earth, 18 and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good. 19 There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.
20 God said, “Let the waters abound with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky.” 21 God created the large sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed, after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind. God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.
24 God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures after their kind, livestock, creeping things, and animals of the earth after their kind;” and it was so. 25 God made the animals of the earth after their kind, and the livestock after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind. God saw that it was good.
26 God said, “Let’s make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 God created man in his own image. In God’s image he created him; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them. God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 God said, “Behold,[b] I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree, which bears fruit yielding seed. It will be your food. 30 To every animal of the earth, and to every bird of the sky, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food;” and it was so.
31 God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. There was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.
Genesis 1
New International Version
Genesis 1
New International Version
The Beginning
1 In the beginning(A) God created(B) the heavens(C) and the earth.(D) 2 Now the earth was formless(E) and empty,(F) darkness was over the surface of the deep,(G) and the Spirit of God(H) was hovering(I) over the waters.
3 And God said,(J) “Let there be light,” and there was light.(K) 4 God saw that the light was good,(L) and he separated the light from the darkness.(M) 5 God called(N) the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.”(O) And there was evening, and there was morning(P)—the first day.
6 And God said,(Q) “Let there be a vault(R) between the waters(S) to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it.(T) And it was so.(U) 8 God called(V) the vault “sky.”(W) And there was evening, and there was morning(X)—the second day.
9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place,(Y) and let dry ground(Z) appear.” And it was so.(AA) 10 God called(AB) the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters(AC) he called “seas.”(AD) And God saw that it was good.(AE)
11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation:(AF) seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.(AG)” And it was so.(AH) 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds(AI) and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.(AJ) 13 And there was evening, and there was morning(AK)—the third day.
14 And God said, “Let there be lights(AL) in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night,(AM) and let them serve as signs(AN) to mark sacred times,(AO) and days and years,(AP) 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so.(AQ) 16 God made two great lights—the greater light(AR) to govern(AS) the day and the lesser light to govern(AT) the night.(AU) He also made the stars.(AV) 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night,(AW) and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good.(AX) 19 And there was evening, and there was morning(AY)—the fourth day.
20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures,(AZ) and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.”(BA) 21 So God created(BB) the great creatures of the sea(BC) and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it,(BD) according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind.(BE) And God saw that it was good.(BF) 22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.”(BG) 23 And there was evening, and there was morning(BH)—the fifth day.
24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures(BI) according to their kinds:(BJ) the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so.(BK) 25 God made the wild animals(BL) according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds.(BM) And God saw that it was good.(BN)
26 Then God said, “Let us(BO) make mankind(BP) in our image,(BQ) in our likeness,(BR) so that they may rule(BS) over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky,(BT) over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
27 So God created(BU) mankind(BV) in his own image,(BW)
in the image of God(BX) he created them;
male and female(BY) he created them.(BZ)
28 God blessed them and said to them,(CA) “Be fruitful and increase in number;(CB) fill the earth(CC) and subdue it. Rule over(CD) the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.(CE)”
29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.(CF) 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life(CG) in it—I give every green plant for food.(CH)” And it was so.
31 God saw all that he had made,(CI) and it was very good.(CJ) And there was evening, and there was morning(CK)—the sixth day.
Footnotes
- Genesis 1:26 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text (see Syriac); Masoretic Text the earth
English Standard Version (ESV) 
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