Genesis 1:1-2:3
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.
2 The heavens, the earth, and all their vast array were finished. 2 On the seventh day God finished his work which he had done; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done. 3 God blessed the seventh day, and made it holy, because he rested in it from all his work of creation which he had done.
Genesis 1:1-2:3
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.
The Seventh Day
2 With this, the universe[at] was[au] completed, including all of its vast array.[av] 2 By the seventh day, God had completed the work he had been doing, so on the seventh day he stopped working on[aw] everything that he had done. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God stopped working on[ax] everything that he had been creating.
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
- Genesis 2:1 Lit. the heavens and the earth; i.e. space and matter
- Genesis 2:1 Lit. were
- Genesis 2:1 Lit. of their hosts; i.e. armies of sentient beings (or stars, if referring to the night sky)
- Genesis 2:2 Or he rested from
- Genesis 2:3 Or God rested from
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