Genesis 1
Wycliffe Bible
1 In the beginning God made of nought heaven and earth. (In the beginning God made out of nothing the heavens and the earth.)
2 Forsooth the earth was idle and void, and darknesses were on the face of (the) depth; and the Spirit of the Lord was borne on the waters [and the Spirit of God was borne upon the waters].
3 And God said, Light be made, and the light was made.
4 And God saw the light, that it was good, and he parted the light from (the) darknesses;
5 and he called the light, day, and the darknesses, night. And the eventide and the morrowtide was made, one day (the first day).
6 And God said, The firmament be made in the midst of (the) waters, and part (the) waters from (the) waters.
7 And God made the firmament, and parted the waters that were under the firmament, from the waters that were on the firmament [from these that were above the firmament]; and it was done so.
8 And God called the firmament, (the) heaven(s). And the eventide and the morrowtide was made, the second day.
9 Forsooth God said, The waters, that be under (the) heaven(s), be gathered into one place, and a dry place appear; and it was done so.
10 And God called the dry place, earth; and he called the gatherings together of waters, the seas. And God saw that it was good;
11 and said, The earth bring forth green herb, and making seed, and an apple tree making fruit by his kind, whose seed be in itself, on [the] earth; and it was done so. (and said, Let the earth bring forth green herbs, which make seed after their kind, and trees making fruit after their kind, whose seed be in them, all over the earth; and it was done so.)
12 And the earth brought forth green herb and making seed by his kind, and a tree making fruit, and each having seed by his kind. And God saw that it was good. (And the earth brought forth green herbs, which make seed after their kind, and trees making fruit, and each having seed after its kind. And God saw that it was good.)
13 And the eventide and the morrowtide was made, the third day.
14 Forsooth God said, Lights be made in the firmament of (the) heaven(s), and part they the day and (the) night; and be they into signs, and times, and days, and years;
15 and shine those in the firmament of (the) heaven(s), and lighten they the earth; and it was done so.
16 And God made two great lights, the greater light that it should be before to the day, and the less(er) light that it should be before to the night; and God made (the) stars;
17 and setted them in the firmament of (the) heaven(s), (so) that they should shine on [the] earth,
18 and that they should be before to the day and (before) [to the] night, and should part (the) light and (the) darkness. And God saw that it was good.
19 And the eventide and the morrowtide was made, the fourth day.
20 Also God said (And God said), The waters bring forth a reptile, either a creeping beast, of living soul, and a volatile, either a bird flying above [the] earth, under the firmament of (the) heaven(s).
21 And God made of nought great whales, and each living soul and movable, which the waters have brought forth in their kinds; and God made of nought each volatile by his kind. And God saw that it was good; (And God made out of nothing great whales, and each living soul that moveth, which the waters brought forth after their kind; and God made out of nothing each bird after its kind. And God saw that it was good;)
22 and blessed them, and said, Wax ye, and be ye multiplied, and fill ye the waters of the sea, and [the] birds be multiplied on [the] earth.
23 And the eventide and the morrowtide was made, the fifth day.
24 And God said, The earth bring forth a living soul in his kind, work beasts, and reptiles, either creeping beasts, and unreasonable beasts of [the] earth, by their kinds; and it was done so. (And God said, Let the earth bring forth living souls after their kind, yea, work beasts, and reptiles, or creeping beasts, and unreasoning beasts of the earth, all after their kind; and it was done so.)
25 And God made unreasonable beasts of the earth by their kinds, and work beasts, and each creeping beast of the earth in his kind. And God saw that it was good; (And God made the unreasoning beasts of the earth after their kind, and the work beasts, and the reptiles of the earth, each after its kind. And God saw that it was good;)
26 and said, Make we man to our image and likeness, and be he sovereign to the fishes of the sea, and to the volatiles of (the) heaven(s), and to [the] unreasonable beasts of [the] earth, and to each creature, and to each creeping beast/each reptile, which is moved in [the] earth. (and said, Let us make man in our image and likeness, and be he sovereign over the fishes of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the unreasoning beasts of the earth, yea, over each creature, and over each reptile which creepeth on the earth.)
27 And God made of nought a man to his image and likeness; God made of nought a man, to the image of God; God made of nought them, male and female. (And so God made out of nothing a man in his image and likeness; God made out of nothing a man in the image of God; yea, God made them out of nothing, male and female.)
28 And God blessed them, and said, Increase ye, and be ye multiplied, and fill ye the earth, and make ye it subject; and be ye lords to the fishes of the sea, and to [the] volatiles of (the) heaven(s), and to all living beasts that be moved on [the] earth (and be ye lords, or rule ye, over the fishes of the sea, and the birds of the air, and all the living beasts that move on the earth).
29 And God said, Lo! I have given to you each herb bearing seed on [the] earth, and all (the) trees that have in themselves the seed of their kind, that they be into meat to you (so that they can be food for you);
30 and to all living beasts of [the] earth, and to each bird of (the) heaven(s), and to all things that be moved in [the] earth, and in which is a living soul, that they have (them) to eat; and it was done so. (and also for all the living beasts of the earth, and for each bird of the air, and for all the things that creep on the earth, and in which is a living soul, so that they have them to eat; and it was done so.)
31 And God saw all (the) things which he (had) made, and they were full good (and they were very good). And the eventide and the morrowtide was made, the sixth day.
Genesis 1
Easy-to-Read Version
The Beginning of the World
1 God created the sky and the earth. At first, 2 the earth was completely empty. There was nothing on the earth. Darkness covered the ocean, and God’s Spirit moved over[a] the water.
The First Day—Light
3 Then God said, “Let there be light!” And light began to shine.[b] 4 He saw the light, and he knew that it was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God named the light “day,” and he named the darkness “night.”
There was evening, and then there was morning. This was the first day.
The Second Day—Sky
6 Then God said, “Let there be a space[c] to separate the water into two parts!” 7 So God made the space and separated the water. Some of the water was above it, and some of the water was below it. 8 God named that space “sky.” There was evening, and then there was morning. This was the second day.
The Third Day—Dry Land and Plants
9 Then God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered together so that the dry land will appear.” And it happened. 10 God named the dry land “earth,” and he named the water that was gathered together “seas.” And God saw that this was good.
11 Then God said, “Let the earth grow grass, plants that make grain, and fruit trees. The fruit trees will make fruit with seeds in it. And each plant will make its own kind of seed. Let these plants grow on the earth.” And it happened. 12 The earth grew grass and plants that made grain. And it grew trees that made fruit with seeds in it. Every plant made its own kind of seeds. And God saw that this was good.
13 There was evening, and then there was morning. This was the third day.
The Fourth Day—Sun, Moon, and Stars
14 Then God said, “Let there be lights in the sky. These lights will separate the days from the nights. They will be used for signs to show when special meetings[d] begin and to show the days and years. 15 They will be in the sky to shine light on the earth.” And it happened.
16 So God made the two large lights. He made the larger light to rule during the day and the smaller light to rule during the night. He also made the stars. 17 God put these lights in the sky to shine on the earth. 18 He put them in the sky to rule over the day and over the night. They separated the light from the darkness. And God saw that this was good.
19 There was evening, and then there was morning. This was the fourth day.
The Fifth Day—Fish and Birds
20 Then God said, “Let the water be filled with many living things, and let there be birds to fly in the air over the earth.” 21 So God created the large sea animals.[e] He created all the many living things in the sea and every kind of bird that flies in the air. And God saw that this was good.
22 God blessed all the living things in the sea and told them to have many babies and fill the seas. And he blessed the birds on land and told them to have many more babies.
23 There was evening, and then there was morning. This was the fifth day.
The Sixth Day—Land Animals and People
24 Then God said, “Let the earth produce many kinds of living things. Let there be many different kinds of animals. Let there be large animals and small crawling animals of every kind. And let all these animals produce more animals.” And all these things happened.
25 So God made every kind of animal. He made the wild animals, the tame animals, and all the small crawling things. And God saw that this was good.
26 Then God said, “Now let’s make humans[f] who will be like us.[g] They will rule over all the fish in the sea and the birds in the air. They will rule over all the large animals and all the little things that crawl on the earth.”
27 So God created humans in his own image. He created them to be like himself.[h] He created them male and female. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Have many children. Fill the earth and take control of it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the air. Rule over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
29 God said, “I am giving you all the grain bearing plants and all the fruit trees. These trees make fruit with seeds in it. This grain and fruit will be your food. 30 And I am giving all the green plants to the animals. These green plants will be their food. Every animal on earth, every bird in the air, and all the little things that crawl on the earth will eat that food.” And all these things happened.
31 God looked at everything he had made. And he saw that everything was very good.
There was evening, and then there was morning. This was the sixth day.
Footnotes
- Genesis 1:2 moved over The Hebrew word means “to fly over” or “to swoop down,” like a bird flying over its nest to protect its babies.
- Genesis 1:3 Or “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. While 2 the earth had no special shape, and darkness covered the ocean, and God’s Spirit hovered over the water, 3 God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” Or “When God began to create the sky and the earth, 2 while the earth was completely empty, and darkness covered the ocean, and a powerful wind blew over the water, 3 God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.”
- Genesis 1:6 space Or “firmament.” The Hebrew word can refer to a piece of metal that has been hammered into the shape of a bowl.
- Genesis 1:14 special meetings The Israelites used the sun and moon to decide when the months and years began. Many Israelite festivals and special meetings began at the time of the new moon or full moon.
- Genesis 1:21 large sea animals Or “sea monsters.”
- Genesis 1:26 humans The Hebrew word means “man,” “people,” or the name “Adam.” It is like the word meaning “earth” or “red clay.”
- Genesis 1:26 Now let’s make … like us Or “Now let’s make humans in our image and in our likeness.”
- Genesis 1:27 So God created humans … himself Or “So God created them in his image. In the image of God he created them.” Compare Gen. 5:1, 3.
2001 by Terence P. Noble
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International