Day 1 – Creation

₁In the beginning, when God created the universe, ₂the earth was formless and desolate. The raging ocean that covered everything was engulfed in total darkness, and the Spirit of God was moving over the water. ₃Then God commanded, “Let there be light” — and light appeared. ₄God was pleased with what he saw. Then he separated the light from the darkness, ₅and he named the light “Day” and the darkness “Night”. Evening passed and morning came — that was the first day.

_6-7Then God commanded, “Let there be a dome to divide the water and to keep it in two separate places” — and it was done. So God made a dome, and it separated the water under it from the water above it. ₈He named the dome “Sky”. Evening passed and morning came — that was the second day.

₉Then God commanded, “Let the water below the sky come together in one place, so that the land will appear” — and it was done. ₁₀He named the land “Earth”, and the water which had come together he named “Sea”. And God was pleased with what he saw. ₁₁Then he commanded, “Let the earth produce all kinds of plants, those that bear grain and those that bear fruit” — and it was done. ₁₂So the earth produced all kinds of plants, and God was pleased with what he saw. ₁₃Evening passed and morning came — that was the third day.

₁₄Then God commanded, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate day from night and to show the time when days, years, and religious festivals begin; ₁₅they will shine in the sky to give light to the earth” — and it was done. ₁₆So God made the two larger lights, the sun to rule over the day and the moon to rule over the night; he also made the stars. ₁₇He placed the lights in the sky to shine on the earth, ₁₈to rule over the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God was pleased with what he saw. ₁₉Evening passed and morning came — that was the fourth day.

₂₀Then God commanded, “Let the water be filled with many kinds of living beings, and let the air be filled with birds.” ₂₁So God created the great sea monsters, all kinds of creatures that live in the water, and all kinds of birds. And God was pleased with what he saw. ₂₂He blessed them all and told the creatures that live in the water to reproduce, and to fill the sea, and he told the birds to increase in number. ₂₃Evening passed and morning came — that was the fifth day.

₂₄Then God commanded, “Let the earth produce all kinds of animal life: domestic and wild, large and small” — and it was done. ₂₅So God made them all, and he was pleased with what he saw.

₂₆Then God said, “And now we will make human beings; they will be like us and resemble us. They will have power over the fish, the birds, and all animals, domestic and wild, large and small.” ₂₇So God created human beings, making them to be like himself. He created them male and female, ₂₈blessed them, and said, “Have many children, so that your descendants will live all over the earth and bring it under their control. I am putting you in charge of the fish, the birds, and all the wild animals. ₂₉I have provided all kinds of grain and all kinds of fruit for you to eat; ₃₀but for all the wild animals and for all the birds I have provided grass and leafy plants for food” — and it was done. ₃₁God looked at everything he had made, and he was very pleased. Evening passed and morning came — that was the sixth day.

₁And so the whole universe was completed. ₂By the seventh day God finished what he had been doing and stopped working. ₃He blessed the seventh day and set it apart as a special day, because by that day he had completed his creation and stopped working. ₄And that is how the universe was created.

When the LORD God made the universe, ₅there were no plants on the earth and no seeds had sprouted, because he had not sent any rain, and there was no one to cultivate the land; ₆but water would come up from beneath the surface and water the ground.

₇Then the LORD God took some soil from the ground and formed a man out of it; he breathed life-giving breath into his nostrils and the man began to live.

₈Then the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the East, and there he put the man he had formed. ₉He made all kinds of beautiful trees grow there and produce good fruit. In the middle of the garden stood the tree that gives life and the tree that gives knowledge of what is good and what is bad.

₁₀A stream flowed in Eden and watered the garden; beyond Eden it divided into four rivers. ₁₁The first river is the Pishon; it flows round the country of Havilah. ₁₂(Pure gold is found there and also rare perfume and precious stones.) ₁₃The second river is the Gihon; it flows round the country of Cush. ₁₄The third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria, and the fourth river is the Euphrates.

₁₅Then the LORD God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and guard it. ₁₆He said to him, “You may eat the fruit of any tree in the garden, ₁₇except the tree that gives knowledge of what is good and what is bad. You must not eat the fruit of that tree; if you do, you will die the same day.”

₁₈Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to live alone. I will make a suitable companion to help him.” ₁₉So he took some soil from the ground and formed all the animals and all the birds. Then he brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and that is how they all got their names. ₂₀So the man named all the birds and all the animals; but not one of them was a suitable companion to help him.

₂₁Then the LORD God made the man fall into a deep sleep, and while he was sleeping, he took out one of the man's ribs and closed up the flesh. ₂₂He formed a woman out of the rib and brought her to him. ₂₃Then the man said,

₂₅The man and the woman were both naked, but they were not embarrassed.