Genesis 1
EasyEnglish Bible
God makes the earth
1 In the beginning, God made the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without shape and it was empty. Deep water covered the earth and everywhere was dark. The Spirit of God moved above the water.[a]
3 God said, ‘There will be light!’
And there was light.
4 God saw that the light was good.
He caused the light and the dark to be separate.
5 God called the light ‘day’. He called the dark ‘night’.
Evening passed and then it was morning.
That was the first day.[b]
6 Then God said, ‘A wide space will appear between the waters. So the waters will be in two separate places.’
7 So God made this wide space. He made the water under the space separate from the water that was above it. What God said happened.
8 God called the wide space ‘sky’.
Evening passed and then it was morning.
That was the second day.
9 God said, ‘The water that is under the sky will come together in one place. Then dry ground will appear.’
And what God said happened.
10 God called the dry ground ‘land’. He called the water that had come together ‘sea’.
God looked at what he had made. He saw that it was good.
11 Then God said, ‘The land will cause plants to grow. There will be plants with their seeds and trees with their fruits. Each kind of plant and tree will have its own seeds and fruits.’
And what God said happened.
12 All kinds of plants and trees began to grow in the ground. The plants made seeds. The trees made fruits with seeds in them. Each plant made its own kind of seeds.
God looked at what he had made. He saw that it was good.
13 Evening passed and then it was morning.
That was the third day.
14 God said, ‘There will be lights all across the sky.[c] They will make the day different from the night. They will show the seasons, days and years. 15 The lights in the sky will give light to the earth.’
And what God said happened.
16 God made two great lights. The brighter light ruled over the day. The less bright light ruled over the night. God also made the stars.
17 God put all these lights in the sky to shine their light on the earth.
18 They were to rule over the day and night. They were to make the time of light separate from the time of dark.
God looked at what he had made. He saw that it was good.
19 Evening passed and then it was morning.
That was the fourth day.
20 God said, ‘The waters will become full with many living things. Birds will appear and fly above the earth, all across the sky.’
21 God made big animals to live in the sea. He made every different kind of living thing that filled the sea. He made every different kind of bird to fly in the sky.
God looked at what he had made. He saw that it was good.
22 God blessed the animals and the birds. He said to them, ‘Give birth to many young ones, so that you grow in number. Fill all the water in the seas. The birds also should become very many, all across the earth.’[d]
23 Evening passed and then it was morning.
That was the fifth day.
24 God said, ‘Different kinds of animals will now appear on the land. There will be farm animals and wild animals. There will also be other small animals that move along the ground. There will be many kinds of animals and each kind will be different.’[e]
And what God said happened.
25 God made the different kinds of wild animals and the different kinds of farm animals. He made all the different kinds of animals that move along the ground.
God looked at what he had made. He saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, ‘We will make humans so that they are very much like us.[f] They will rule over the fish in the sea and over the birds in the sky. They will rule over the farm animals. They will rule over the whole earth and all the animals that move along the ground.’
27 God made humans.
He made them to be like himself.
He made some of them males and some of them females.
28 God blessed them. He said to them, ‘Give birth to children. Grow in number. Fill the earth and rule over it. Rule over the fish in the sea. Rule over the birds in the sky. Rule over every different kind of living animal that moves along the ground.’[g]
29 Then God said, ‘Listen! I now give to you every plant on the earth as your food. I give you every plant that has seeds in it. I give you every tree that has fruit with a seed in it. I give them to you for your food.
30 I give to the animals green plants for their food. It will be food for all the animals on the earth, all the birds in the sky and all the animals that move along the ground. Everything that has life may eat every kind of green plant.’
And what God said happened.
31 God looked at everything that he had made. He saw that it was very good.
Evening passed. And then it was morning.
That was the sixth day.
Footnotes
- 1:2 God was present before he made the universe. He made everything.
- 1:5 Light appeared when it was morning. It was dark at night. One day is a time of light and a time of dark.
- 1:14 ‘Lights’ means bright things that shine.
- 1:22 ‘Birds’ here may include any living thing that can fly, for example bats and insects.
- 1:24 Farm animals are animals that usually live in a village or on a farm. People take care of them and they may use their milk or their meat as food.
- 1:26 When God speaks about himself as ‘us’, he is speaking as the three persons of God. They are God the Father, God the Son (Jesus) and God the Holy Spirit. God was there as all three persons when he made the universe.
- 1:28 God told the man and the woman to rule over the earth. This means that they have authority over the earth and everything in it. It also means that they must take care of everything.
Genesis 1
International Children’s Bible
The Beginning of the World
1 In the beginning God created the sky and the earth. 2 The earth was empty and had no form. Darkness covered the ocean, and God’s Spirit was moving over the water.
3 Then God said, “Let there be light!” And there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good. So he divided the light from the darkness. 5 God named the light “day” and the darkness “night.” Evening passed, and morning came. This was the first day.
6 Then God said, “Let there be something to divide the water in two!” 7 So God made the air to divide the water in two. Some of the water was above the air, and some of the water was below it. 8 God named the air “sky.” Evening passed, and morning came. This was the second day.
9 Then God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered together so the dry land will appear.” And it happened. 10 God named the dry land “earth.” He named the water that was gathered together “seas.” God saw that this was good.
11 Then God said, “Let the earth produce plants. Some plants will make grain for seeds. Others will make fruit with seeds in it. Every seed will produce more of its own kind of plant.” And it happened. 12 The earth produced plants. Some plants had grain for seeds. The trees made fruit with seeds in it. Each seed grew its own kind of plant. God saw that all this was good. 13 Evening passed, and morning came. This was the third day.
14 Then God said, “Let there be lights in the sky to separate day from night. These lights will be used for signs, seasons, days and years. 15 They will be in the sky to give light to the earth.” And it happened.
16 So God made the two large lights. He made the brighter light to rule the day. He made the smaller light to rule the night. He also made the stars. 17 God put all these in the sky to shine on the earth. 18 They are to rule over the day and over the night. He put them there to separate the light from the darkness. God saw that all these things were good. 19 Evening passed, and morning came. This was the fourth day.
20 Then God said, “Let the water be filled with living things. And let birds fly in the air above the earth.”
21 So God created the large sea animals. He created every living thing that moves in the sea. The sea is filled with these living things. Each one produces more of its own kind. God also made every bird that flies. And each bird produces more of its own kind. God saw that this was good. 22 God blessed them and said, “Have many young ones and grow in number. Fill the water of the seas, and let the birds grow in number on the earth.” 23 Evening passed, and morning came. This was the fifth day.
24 Then God said, “Let the earth be filled with animals. And let each produce more of its own kind. Let there be tame animals and small crawling animals and wild animals. And let each produce more of its kind.” And it happened.
25 So God made the wild animals, the tame animals and all the small crawling animals to produce more of their own kind. God saw that this was good.
26 Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image and likeness. And let them rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky. Let them rule over the tame animals, over all the earth and over all the small crawling animals on the earth.”
27 So God created human beings in his image. In the image of God he created them. He created them male and female. 28 God blessed them and said, “Have many children and grow in number. Fill the earth and be its master. Rule over the fish in the sea and over the birds in the sky. Rule over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
29 God said, “Look, I have given you all the plants that have grain for seeds. And I have given you all the trees whose fruits have seeds in them. They will be food for you. 30 I have given all the green plants to all the animals to eat. They will be food for every wild animal, every bird of the air and every small crawling animal.” And it happened. 31 God looked at everything he had made, and it was very good. Evening passed, and morning came. This was the sixth day.
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