Genesis 1
New Catholic Bible
Origin of the World and Humankind[a]
Creation and the Fall
Chapter 1
Origin of the Universe.[b] 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.[c] 2 The earth was formless and barren, and darkness covered the abyss while the Spirit of God hovered over the waters.
3 God said, “Let there be light!” And there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 And he called the light day, and he called the darkness night. This was the evening and the morning of the first day.
6 God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters to separate one set of waters from the other.”[d] 7 God separated the firmament from the waters, those waters that are under the firmament from those that are above the firmament. And it was so. 8 God called the firmament the heavens. This was the evening and the morning of the second day.
9 God said, “Let the waters that are under the heavens be gathered into one place and let a dry place appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry place the land, and the gathered waters he called the sea. And God saw that it was good.
11 God said, “Let the land bring forth plants, those that produce seeds and fruit trees that have seeds inside of the fruit they bear, each according to its own kind. And it was so. 12 The land brought forth plants, each according to its kind, and trees that have fruit with seeds inside of them, each according to its kind.” God saw that they were good. 13 This was the evening and the morning of the third day.
14 God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to separate the day from the night; let them be markers to separate seasons and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light to the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made the two great lights, the greater light to rule over the day and the lesser light to rule over the night, and he also made the stars. 17 God placed them in the firmament of the heavens to light the earth 18 and to rule over the day and the night and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 This was the evening and the morning of the fourth day.
20 God said, “Let the waters be filled with living creatures and let birds fly above the earth in the firmament of the heavens.” 21 God created the great sea creatures and all the other creatures that fill the waters, each according to its kind, and all the birds that fly in the sky, each according to its kind. 22 God blessed them saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters of the sea, and let the birds multiply upon the earth.” 23 And this was the evening and the morning of the fifth day.
24 God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures each according to its kind: cattle and reptiles and wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the savage beasts according to their kind and the cattle according to their kind and all of the reptiles according to their kind. And God saw that it was good.
26 And God said, “Let us[e] make man in our image and likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the wild animals and reptiles that crawl upon the earth.”
27 God created mankind in his image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and told them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth; subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the seas and over the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves upon the earth.”
29 And God said, “Behold, I give you every plant that produces seeds upon the earth and every tree that has fruit with its seed inside of it: these shall be your food. 30 And I give all green plants to every wild animal and to all the birds of the air and to all creatures that move upon the surface of the earth and that have the breath of life in them.” And it was so.
31 God saw all that he had made, and behold, it was very good. This was the evening and the morning of the sixth day.
Footnotes
- Genesis 1:1 The description of the origins of the universe and of humankind is not based on human testimony but is the fruit of reflection that was inspired by God and directed by him over the centuries. The Lord is the supreme master of the universe; he has from eternity formed a plan for the salvation of all the peoples of the earth. Humankind was brought to ruin by its own sin; the sin of Adam disfigured the divine work, but God loves humankind and, in order to lead it to salvation, chooses for himself a special people.
- Genesis 1:1 This majestic song in rhythmical prose was composed, it seems, in the priestly circles of Israel, perhaps after the Exile. It reflects the naive ideas of that time on the physical structure of the world: the heavens, for example, are imagined to be a solid vault in which the stars are set. The biblical text is akin to ancient Babylonian stories, now known to us, but it rises far above them. Here, everything that exists is the work of a single God; it takes only his word to create the universe. The Spirit, that is, the “breath,” of God presides over creation. A day will come when, through the Spirit on Pentecost, God will give rise to the new creation, the new humankind that is reborn in Christ (2 Cor 5:17).
- Genesis 1:1 The story of creation is not intended as a scientific theory about the origins of the universe and human beings; it takes as its starting point ideas current in that part of the world and intends to teach certain fundamental and perennial truths about God as one, transcendent, existing prior to the universe, and about human beings as his creatures.
- Genesis 1:6 The ancient Semites viewed the heavens as a vault made of a solid material—the firmament—which holds back the waters above and separates them from the waters below; from openings in it—the floodgates (see Gen 7:11)—the flood will pour down.
- Genesis 1:26 Let us: the plural “us” here is not a plural of majesty (this does not exist in Hebrew) but rather shows the divine process of deliberation as a consultation of God with himself (or with the angels?). When Isaiah describes the divine majesty (6:8), he too feels the need of using the plural; the same in Gen 3:22.
Genesis 1
International Standard Version
The Creation
1 In the beginning, God created the universe.[a] 2 When the earth[b] was as yet unformed and desolate, with the surface of the ocean depths shrouded[c] in darkness, and while the Spirit of God was hovering[d] over the surface of the waters, 3 God said, “Let there be light!” So there was light.
4 God saw that the light was beautiful.[e] He[f] separated the light from the darkness, 5 calling the light “day,” and the darkness[g] “night.” The twilight and the dawn were day one.
6 Then God said, “Let there be a canopy[h] between bodies of water,[i] separating bodies of water[j] from bodies of water!”[k] 7 So God made a canopy[l] that separated the water beneath the canopy[m] from the water above it.[n] And that is what happened:[o] 8 God called the canopy[p] “sky.”[q] The twilight and the dawn were the second day.
9 Then God said, “Let the water beneath the sky come together into one area, and let dry ground appear!” And that is what happened:[r] 10 God called the dry ground “land,”[s] and he called the water that had come together “oceans.” And God saw how good it was.
11 Then God said, “Let vegetation sprout all over the earth, including[t] seed-bearing plants and fruit trees, each kind containing its own seed!” And that is what happened:[u] 12 Vegetation sprouted all over the earth, including seed-bearing plants and fruit trees, each kind containing its own seed. And God saw that it was good. 13 The twilight and the dawn were the third day.
14 Then God said, “Let there be lights across[v] the sky to distinguish day from night, to act as signs for seasons,[w] days, and years, 15 to serve as lights in[x] the sky, and to shine on the earth!” And that is what happened:[y] 16 God fashioned two great lights—the larger light to shine during[z] the day and the smaller light to shine during[aa] the night—as well as stars. 17 God placed them in space[ab] to shine on the earth, 18 to differentiate between[ac] day and night, and to distinguish[ad] light from darkness. And God saw how good it was. 19 The twilight and the dawn were the fourth day.
20 Then God said, “Let the oceans swarm[ae] with living creatures, and let flying creatures soar above the earth throughout[af] the sky!” 21 So God created every kind of magnificent marine creature, every kind of living marine crawler[ag] with which the waters swarmed, and every kind of flying creature.[ah] And God saw how good it was. 22 God blessed them by saying, “Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the oceans. Let the birds multiply throughout the earth!” 23 The twilight and the dawn were the fifth day.
24 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth each kind of living creature, each kind of livestock and crawling thing, and each kind of earth’s animals!”[ai] And that is what happened:[aj] 25 God made each kind of the earth’s animals, along with every kind of livestock and crawling thing.[ak] And God saw how good it was.
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, to be like us.[al] Let them be masters over the fish in the ocean, the birds that fly,[am] the livestock, everything that crawls on the earth, and over the earth itself!”
27 So God created mankind in his own image;
in his own image God created them;[an]
he created them male and female.
28 God blessed the humans by saying to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it! Be masters over the fish in the ocean, the birds that fly, and every living thing that crawls on the earth!”
29 God also told them,[ao] “Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant that grows throughout[ap] the earth, along with every tree that grows seed-bearing fruit. They will produce your food. 30 I have given all green plants as food for every wild animal[aq] of the earth, every bird that flies, and to every living thing[ar] that crawls on the earth.” And that is what happened.[as]
31 Now God saw all that he had made, and indeed, it was very good! The twilight and the dawn were the sixth day.
Footnotes
- Genesis 1:1 Lit. the heavens and the earth; i.e. space and matter
- Genesis 1:2 Or 1 When God began to create the universe, 2 the earth
- Genesis 1:2 The Heb. lacks shrouded
- Genesis 1:2 Or brooding
- Genesis 1:4 Or good
- Genesis 1:4 Lit. God
- Genesis 1:5 Lit. darkness he called
- Genesis 1:6 Or an expanse
- Genesis 1:6 Lit. between waters
- Genesis 1:6 Lit. separating waters
- Genesis 1:6 Lit. from waters
- Genesis 1:7 Or made an expanse
- Genesis 1:7 Or expanse
- Genesis 1:7 Lit. above the canopy
- Genesis 1:7 Lit. And so it was
- Genesis 1:8 Or expanse
- Genesis 1:8 Or Heaven
- Genesis 1:9 Lit. And so it was
- Genesis 1:10 Or Earth
- Genesis 1:11 The Heb. lacks including
- Genesis 1:11 Lit. And so it was
- Genesis 1:14 Lit. lights in the expanse of
- Genesis 1:14 I.e. sacred seasons set by the lunar calendar later utilized for Israel’s festivals and gatherings
- Genesis 1:15 Lit. lights in the expanse of
- Genesis 1:15 Lit. And so it was
- Genesis 1:16 Lit. to govern
- Genesis 1:16 Lit. to govern
- Genesis 1:17 Lit. the expanse of the sky
- Genesis 1:18 Lit. to govern
- Genesis 1:18 Or separate
- Genesis 1:20 Lit. swarm with a swarm
- Genesis 1:20 Lit. earth in the expanse of
- Genesis 1:21 Lit. living thing that crawls
- Genesis 1:21 Lit. winged bird
- Genesis 1:24 I.e., non-domesticated animals, as opposed to domesticated livestock; and so through 2:25
- Genesis 1:24 Lit. And so it was
- Genesis 1:25 Lit. thing of the earth
- Genesis 1:26 Lit. image, according to our likeness
- Genesis 1:26 Lit. birds of the sky; and so through 2:25
- Genesis 1:27 Lit. him
- Genesis 1:29 The Heb. lacks them
- Genesis 1:29 Lit. plant that is on the surface of
- Genesis 1:30 I.e., non-domesticated animals, as opposed to domesticated livestock
- Genesis 1:30 Lit. soul
- Genesis 1:30 Lit. And so it was
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