1 In the beginning, God#1:1 The Hebrew word rendered “God” is “אֱלֹהִ֑ים” (Elohim). created the heavens and the earth. 2The 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. 4God saw the light, and saw that it was good. God divided the light from the darkness. 5God 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.” 7God made the expanse, and divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so. 8God 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. 10God called the dry land “earth”, and the gathering together of the waters he called “seas”. God saw that it was good. 11God 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. 12The 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. 13There 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; 15and let them be for lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth;” and it was so. 16God 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. 17God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light to the earth, 18and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good. 19There 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.” 21God 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. 22God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23There 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. 25God 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.” 27God created man in his own image. In God’s image he created him; male and female he created them. 28God 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.” 29God said, “Behold,#1:29 “Behold”, from “הִנֵּה”, means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is often used as an interjection. 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. 30To 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.

PUBLIC DOMAIN

Learn More

Genesis 1

1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the surface of the deep. The Spirit of God moved over the surface of the waters.

3God said, “Let there be light!” and there was light. 4God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light “day,” and he called the darkness “night.” So there was evening, and then the morning, making day one.#1:5. It is significant that the “day” is measured from darkness to light, which is still the Jewish method of calculating days.

6God said, “Let there be an expanse#1:6. “Expanse.” Older translations have often rendered this word as “firmament,” borrowing from the Latin “firmamentum.” That this referred to some ancient belief that the sky was like a dome of hammered metal, and therefore a tangible physical object, has now been shown to be mistaken. In fact, Latin translations from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries usually use the word “expansionem.” in the middle of the waters to divide the waters.” 7So God made an expanse to divide the waters that were above from the waters that were below. And that's what happened. 8God called the expanse, “sky.” So there was evening, and then the morning, making day two.

9God said, “Let the waters below the sky collect together in one place so that the land may appear.” And so it was. 10God called the land “earth” and the waters “seas.” God saw that it was good.

11God said, “Let the earth produce vegetation—plants that produce seeds and trees that produce seeded fruit—each one according to its own kind.” And that's what happened. 12The earth produced vegetation—plants that produce seeds and trees that produce seeded fruit—each one according to its own kind. God saw that it was good. 13So there was evening, and then the morning, making day three.

14God said, “Let there be lights in the sky to separate day from night, and to provide a way to mark seasons, days, and years. 15They shall be lights in the sky to shine on the earth.” And that's what happened. 16God created two great lights:#1:16. Hebrew has words for sun and moon, but they are not used here, perhaps to avoid any temptation to worship the sun and the moon. the larger one in charge of the day, and the smaller one in charge of the night. He created the stars too. 17God placed these lights in the sky to shine upon the earth, 18to be in charge of the day and in charge of the night, and to separate light from darkness. God saw that it was good. 19So there was evening, and then the morning, making day four.

20God said, “Let the waters be full of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the sky.” 21So God created huge sea creatures and all the living things that swim and fill the waters, each one according to its own kind; and every bird that flies, each one according to its own kind. God saw that it was good. 22God blessed them and said, “Reproduce and increase, and fill the waters of the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” 23So there was evening, and then the morning, making day five.

24God said, “Let the land produce living creatures, each one according to its own kind—the livestock, the creatures that run along the ground, and the wild animals, each one according to its own kind.” And that's what happened. 25God made the wild animals, the livestock, and the creatures that run along the ground, all according to their own kind. God saw that it was good.

26God said, “Let us make human beings in our image who are like us.#1:26. This aspect of being “like” God conveys the idea of being “patterned” after God. The word is also translated “similitude,” “figure” or “form.” The most essential aspect of this resemblance is surely that of character. They will have authority over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, and over the whole of the earth and every creature that moves on it.” 27So God created human beings in his own image. He created them in the image of God. He created them male and female.#1:27. The repetition of “created” in this verse is surely significant, which is why this is placed first in each sentence. 28God blessed them and told them, “Reproduce, increase, and spread throughout the earth and control it; exercise authority over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that moves on the earth.”

29God said, “Look, I'm giving you as your food every seed-bearing plant anywhere on earth, and every tree that produces fruit with seeds. 30I'm giving all the green plants to all the land animals, to the birds, and to every creature that moves on the earth—to every living thing.” And that's what happened.

31God saw everything that he had created, and yes, it was very good. So there was evening, and then the morning, making day six.

Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com

Learn More

Choose your language

Genesis 1

Genesis 1