The Creation

1 ^(A)In the beginning ^(B)God ^(C)created the heavens and the earth. ² The earth was ^[a](D)formless and void, and ^(E)darkness was over the ^[b]surface of the deep, and ^(F)the Spirit of God ^(G)was ^[c]moving over the ^[d]surface of the waters. ³ Then ^(H)God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. ⁴ God saw that the light was ^(I)good; and God ^(J)separated the light from the darkness. ^5 (K)God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And ^(L)there was evening and there was morning, one day.

⁶ Then God said, “Let there be ^[e]an ^(M)expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” ⁷ God made the ^[f]expanse, and separated ^(N)the waters which were below the ^[g]expanse from the waters ^(O)which were above the ^[h]expanse; and it was so. ⁸ God called the ^[i]expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.

⁹ Then God said, “^(P)Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let ^(Q)the dry land appear”; and it was so. ¹⁰ God called the dry land earth, and the ^(R)gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good. ¹¹ Then God said, “Let the earth sprout ^[j](S)vegetation, ^[k]plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after ^[l]their kind ^[m]with seed in them”; and it was so. ¹² The earth brought forth ^[n]vegetation, ^[o]plants yielding seed after ^[p]their kind, and trees bearing fruit ^[q]with seed in them, after ^[r]their kind; and God saw that it was good. ¹³ There was evening and there was morning, a third day.

¹⁴ Then God said, “Let there be ^[s](T)lights in the ^[t](U)expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for ^(V)signs and for ^(W)seasons and for days and years; ¹⁵ and let them be for ^[u]lights in the ^[v]expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. ¹⁶ God made the two ^[w]great lights, the ^(X)greater ^[x]light ^[y]to govern the day, and the lesser ^[z]light ^[aa]to govern the night; He made ^(Y)the stars also. ^17 (Z)God placed them in the ^[ab]expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, ¹⁸ and ^[ac]to ^(AA)govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. ¹⁹ There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

²⁰ Then God said, “Let the waters ^[ad]teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth ^[ae]in the open ^[af]expanse of the heavens.” ²¹ God created ^(AB)the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and 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 (AC)Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures after ^[ag]their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after ^[ah]their kind”; and it was so. ²⁵ God made the ^(AD)beasts of the earth after ^[ai]their kind, and the cattle after ^[aj]their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good.

²⁶ Then God said, “Let ^(AE)Us make ^(AF)man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them ^(AG)rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the ^[ak]sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” ²⁷ God created man ^(AH)in His own image, in the image of God He created him; ^(AI)male and female He created them. ²⁸ God blessed them; and God said to them, “^(AJ)Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the ^[al]sky and over every living thing that ^[am]moves on the earth.” ²⁹ Then God said, “Behold, ^(AK)I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the ^[an]surface of all the earth, and every tree ^[ao]which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; ³⁰ and ^(AL)to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the ^[ap]sky and to every thing that ^[aq]moves on the earth ^[ar]which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so. ³¹ God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very ^(AM)good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

The Creation of Man and Woman

2 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all ^(AN)their hosts. ² By ^(AO)the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and ^(AP)He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. ³ Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created ^[as]and made.

^4 [at](AQ)This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in ^(AR)the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven. ^5 (AS)Now no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, ^(AT)for the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to ^[au]cultivate the ground. ⁶ But a ^[av]mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole ^[aw]surface of the ground. ⁷ Then the Lord God formed man of ^(AU)dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and ^(AV)man became a living ^[ax]being. ⁸ The Lord God planted a ^(AW)garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. ⁹ Out of the ground the Lord God caused to grow ^(AX)every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; ^(AY)the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

¹⁰ Now a ^(AZ)river ^[ay]flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four ^[az]rivers. ¹¹ The name of the first is Pishon; it ^[ba]flows around the whole land of ^(BA)Havilah, where there is gold. ¹² The gold of that land is good; the bdellium and the onyx stone are there. ¹³ The name of the second river is Gihon; it ^[bb]flows around the whole land of Cush. ¹⁴ The name of the third river is ^[bc](BB)Tigris; it ^[bd]flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the ^[be](BC)Euphrates.

¹⁵ Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. ¹⁶ The Lord God ^(BD)commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; ¹⁷ but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not ^[bf]eat, for in the day that you eat from it ^(BE)you will surely die.”

¹⁸ Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; ^(BF)I will make him a helper ^[bg]suitable for him.” ^19 (BG)Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the ^[bh]sky, and ^(BH)brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. ²⁰ The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the ^[bi]sky, and to every beast of the field, but for ^[bj]Adam there was not found ^(BI)a helper ^[bk]suitable for him. ²¹ So the Lord God caused a ^(BJ)deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. ²² The Lord God ^[bl]fashioned into a woman ^(BK)the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. ²³ The man said,

^24 (BM)For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. ^25 (BN)And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

The Works and the Word of God.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

Preaching of John the Baptist

1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, ^(A)the Son of God.

^2 (B)As it is written in Isaiah the prophet:

⁴ John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness ^[b](E)preaching a baptism of repentance for the ^(F)forgiveness of sins. ⁵ And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. ⁶ John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore ^(G)a leather belt around his waist, and ^[c]his diet was locusts and wild honey. ⁷ And he was ^[d]preaching, and saying, “After me One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to stoop down and untie the thong of His sandals. ⁸ I baptized you ^[e]with water; but He will baptize you ^[f]with the Holy Spirit.”

The Baptism of Jesus

^9 (H)In those days Jesus ^(I)came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰ Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens ^[g]opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him; ¹¹ and a voice came out of the heavens: “^(J)You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”

^12 (K)Immediately the Spirit *impelled Him to go out into the wilderness. ¹³ And He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by ^(L)Satan; and He was with the wild beasts, and the angels were ministering to Him.

Jesus Preaches in Galilee

^14 (M)Now after John had been ^[h]taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, ^[i](N)preaching the gospel of God, ¹⁵ and saying, “^(O)The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God ^[j]is at hand; ^(P)repent and ^[k]believe in the gospel.”

^16 (Q)As He was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. ¹⁷ And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” ¹⁸ Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. ¹⁹ Going on a little farther, He saw ^[l]James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets. ²⁰ Immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went away ^[m]to follow Him.

^21 (R)They *went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath ^(S)He entered the synagogue and began to teach. ^22 (T)They were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. ²³ Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, ²⁴ saying, “^(U)What ^[n]business do we have with each other, Jesus ^[o]of ^(V)Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—^(W)the Holy One of God!” ²⁵ And Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” ²⁶ Throwing him into convulsions, the unclean spirit cried out with a loud voice and came out of him. ²⁷ They were all ^(X)amazed, so that they debated among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” ²⁸ Immediately the news about Him spread everywhere into all the surrounding district of Galilee.

Crowds Healed

^29 (Y)And immediately after they came ^(Z)out of the synagogue, they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with ^[p]James and John. ³⁰ Now Simon’s mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever; and immediately they *spoke to ^[q]Jesus about her. ³¹ And He came to her and raised her up, taking her by the hand, and the fever left her, and she ^[r]waited on them.

^32 (AA)When evening came, ^(AB)after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all who were ill and those who were ^(AC)demon-possessed. ³³ And the whole ^(AD)city had gathered at the door. ³⁴ And He ^(AE)healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He was not permitting the demons to speak, because they knew who He was.

^35 (AF)In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and ^(AG)was praying there. ³⁶ Simon and his companions searched for Him; ³⁷ they found Him, and *said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.” ³⁸ He *said to them, “Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may ^[s]preach there also; for that is what I came for.” ^39 (AH)And He went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee, ^[t]preaching and casting out the demons.

^40 (AI)And a leper *came to Jesus, beseeching Him and ^(AJ)falling on his knees before Him, and saying, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” ⁴¹ Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and *said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” ⁴² Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed. ⁴³ And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away, ⁴⁴ and He *said to him, “^(AK)See that you say nothing to anyone; but ^(AL)go, show yourself to the priest and ^(AM)offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” ⁴⁵ But he went out and began to ^(AN)proclaim it freely and to ^(AO)spread the news around, to such an extent that ^[u]Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but ^[v]stayed out in unpopulated areas; and ^(AP)they were coming to Him from everywhere.