Genesis 1

The Creation

(John 1:1–5; Hebrews 11:1–3)

1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

2Now the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.

The First Day

3And God said, “Let there be light,” #1:3 Cited in 2 Corinthians 4:6 and there was light. 4And God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light “day,” and the darkness He called “night.”

And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.#1:5 Literally day one

The Second Day

6And God said, “Let there be an expanse #1:6 Or a canopy or a firmament or a vault; also in verses 7, 8, 14, 15, 17, and 20 between the waters, to separate the waters from the waters.” 7So God made the expanse and separated the waters beneath it from the waters above. And it was so. 8God called the expanse “sky.”

And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.

The Third Day

9And God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered into one place, so that the dry land may appear.” And it was so. 10God called the dry land “earth,” and the gathering of waters He called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.

11Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth vegetation: seed-bearing plants and fruit trees, each bearing fruit with seed according to its kind.” And it was so. 12The earth produced vegetation: seed-bearing plants according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

13And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.

The Fourth Day

14And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to distinguish between the day and the night, and let them be signs to mark the seasons and days and years. 15And let them serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to shine upon the earth.” And it was so.

16God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night. And He made the stars as well.

17God set these lights in the expanse of the sky to shine upon the earth, 18to preside over the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.

19And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.

The Fifth Day

20And God said, “Let the waters teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky.” 21So God created the great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters teemed according to their kinds, and every bird of flight after its kind. And God saw that it was good.

22Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters of the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”

23And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.

The Sixth Day

24And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, land crawlers, and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. 25God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that crawls upon the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

26Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness, to rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, and over all the earth itself #1:26 MT; Syriac and over all the beasts of the earth and every creature that crawls upon it.”

27So God created man in His own image;

in the image of God He created him;

male and female He created them.#1:27 Cited in Matthew 19:4 and Mark 10:6

28God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth.”

29Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit contains seed. They will be yours for food. 30And to every beast of the earth and every bird of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth—everything that has the breath of life in it—I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.

31And God looked upon all that He had made, and indeed, it was very good.

And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

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.

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Genesis 1

Genesis 1