Genesis 1

The Beginning

1In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2The earth didn’t have any shape. And it was empty. There was darkness over the surface of the waves. At that time, the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

3God said, “Let there be light.” And there was light. 4God saw that the light was good. He separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light “day.” He called the darkness “night.” There was evening, and there was morning. It was day one.

6God said, “Let there be a huge space between the waters. Let it separate water from water.” 7And that’s exactly what happened. God made the huge space between the waters. He separated the water under the space from the water above it. 8God called the huge space “sky.” There was evening, and there was morning. It was day two.

9God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered into one place. Let dry ground appear.” And that’s exactly what happened. 10God called the dry ground “land.” He called all the water that was gathered together “seas.” And God saw that it was good.

11Then God said, “Let the land produce plants. Let them produce their own seeds. And let there be trees on the land that grow fruit with seeds in it. Let each kind of plant or tree have its own kind of seeds.” And that’s exactly what happened. 12So the land produced plants. Each kind of plant had its own kind of seeds. And the land produced trees that grew fruit with seeds in it. Each kind of tree had its own kind of seeds. God saw that it was good. 13There was evening, and there was morning. It was day three.

14God said, “Let there be lights in the huge space of the sky. Let them separate the day from the night. Let the lights set the times for the holy celebrations and the days and the years. 15Let them be lights in the huge space of the sky to give light on the earth.” And that’s exactly what happened. 16God made two great lights. He made the larger light to rule over the day and the smaller light to rule over the night. He also made the stars. 17God put the lights in the huge space of the sky to give light on the earth. 18He put them there to rule over the day and the night. He put them there to separate light from darkness. God saw that it was good. 19There was evening, and there was morning. It was day four.

20God said, “Let the seas be filled with living things. Let birds fly above the earth across the huge space of the sky.” 21So God created the great sea creatures. He created every kind of living thing that fills the seas and moves about in them. He created every kind of bird that flies. And God saw that it was good. 22God blessed them. He said, “Have little ones so that there will be many of you. Fill the water in the seas. Let there be more and more birds on the earth.” 23There was evening, and there was morning. It was day five.

24God said, “Let the land produce every kind of living creature. Let there be livestock, and creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals.” And that’s exactly what happened. 25God made every kind of wild animal. He made every kind of livestock. He made every kind of creature that moves along the ground. And God saw that it was good.

26Then God said, “Let us make human beings so that they are like us. Let them rule over the fish in the seas and the birds in the sky. Let them rule over the livestock and all the wild animals. And let them rule over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

27So God created human beings in his own likeness.

He created them to be like himself.

He created them as male and female.

28God blessed them. He said to them, “Have children so that there will be many of you. Fill the earth and bring it under your control. Rule over the fish in the seas and the birds in the sky. Rule over every living creature that moves along the ground.”

29Then God said, “I am giving you every plant on the face of the whole earth that produces its own seeds. I am giving you every tree that has fruit with seeds in it. All of them will be given to you for food. 30I am giving every green plant as food for all the land animals and for all the birds in the sky. I am also giving the plants to all the creatures that move along the ground. I am giving them to every living thing that breathes.” And that’s exactly what happened.

31God saw everything he had made. And it was very good. There was evening, and there was morning. It was day six.

Genesis 1

The Beginning of the World

1In the beginning God created the sky and the earth. 2The earth was empty and had no form. Darkness covered the ocean, and God’s Spirit was moving over the water.

3Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4God saw that the light was good, so he divided the light from the darkness. 5God named the light “day” and the darkness “night.” Evening passed, and morning came. This was the first day.

6Then God said, “Let there be something to divide the water in two.” 7So God made the air and placed some of the water above the air and some below it. 8God named the air “sky.” Evening passed, and morning came. This was the second day.

9Then God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered together so the dry land will appear.” And it happened. 10God named the dry land “earth” and the water that was gathered together “seas.” God saw that this was good.

11Then God said, “Let the earth produce plants—some to make grain for seeds and others to make fruits with seeds in them. Every seed will produce more of its own kind of plant.” And it happened. 12The earth produced plants with grain for seeds and trees that made fruits with seeds in them. Each seed grew its own kind of plant. God saw that all this was good. 13Evening passed, and morning came. This was the third day.

14Then 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. 15They will be in the sky to give light to the earth.” And it happened.

16So God made the two large lights. He made the brighter light to rule the day and made the smaller light to rule the night. He also made the stars. 17God put all these in the sky to shine on the earth, 18to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. God saw that all these things were good. 19Evening passed, and morning came. This was the fourth day.

20Then God said, “Let the water be filled with living things, and let birds fly in the air above the earth.”

21So God created the large sea animals and every living thing that moves in the sea. The sea is filled with these living things, with each one producing more of its own kind. He also made every bird that flies, and each bird produced more of its own kind. God saw that this was good. 22God blessed them and said, “Have many young ones so that you may grow in number. Fill the water of the seas, and let the birds grow in number on the earth.” 23Evening passed, and morning came. This was the fifth day.

24Then God said, “Let the earth be filled with animals, each producing 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.

25So 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.

26Then 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, over the tame animals, over all the earth, and over all the small crawling animals on the earth.”

27So God created human beings in his image. In the image of God he created them. He created them male and female. 28God 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 and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

29God said, “Look, I have given you all the plants that have grain for seeds and all the trees whose fruits have seeds in them. They will be food for you. 30I have given all the green plants as food for every wild animal, every bird of the air, and every small crawling animal.” And it happened. 31God looked at everything he had made, and it was very good. Evening passed, and morning came. This was the sixth day.

Choose your language

Genesis 1

Genesis 1