Genesis 1

1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2The earth was without form and empty. Darkness lay over the surface of the deep, while the Spirit of God hovered above the waters. 3God said, “Let there be light,” and light came into being. 4God saw that the light was good, and God divided the light from the darkness. 5God named the light Day, and the darkness he named Night. Evening came, and then morning: the first day.

6God said, “Let there be a vault in the middle of the waters, to divide water from water.” 7So God made the vault and divided the waters beneath it from the waters above it. And so it happened. 8God named the vault Sky. Evening came, and then morning: the second day.

9Then God said, “Let the waters below the sky come together into one place, and let dry land be seen.” And so it happened. 10God named the dry land Earth, and the gathered waters he named Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11Then God said, “Let the earth put forth green growth: plants that produce seed, and trees on the earth that bear fruit with its seed inside, each according to its kind.” And so it happened. 12The earth brought forth green growth: plants that produce seed, each according to its kind, and trees that bear fruit with its seed inside, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13Evening came, and then morning: the third day.

14Then God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to divide the day from the night. Let them be signs that mark the appointed times, the days and the years, 15and let them shine in the vault of the sky to give light to the earth.” And so it happened. 16God made the two great lights, the larger to rule the day and the smaller to rule the night. And he made the stars. 17God placed them in the vault of the sky to give light to the earth, 18to rule over the day and the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19Evening came, and then morning: the fourth day.

20Then God said, “Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” 21So God created the great sea creatures and every kind of living thing that moves and teems in the waters, and every kind of winged bird. And God saw that it was good. 22God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters of the seas; and let the birds multiply across the earth.” 23Evening came, and then morning: the fifth day.

24Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures, each according to its kind: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind.” And so it happened. 25God made the wild animals, each according to its kind, the livestock according to their kinds, and every creature that moves along the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 26Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. Let them rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the earth, and over every creature that moves along the ground.” 27So God created human beings in his image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and every living creature that moves along the ground.” 29God said, “Here, I am giving you every plant that bears seed on the face of the whole earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. They will be your food, 30and for every wild animal, every bird in the sky and every creature moving on the ground, for all that has life in it, the green plants will be food.” And so it happened. 31God looked at everything he had made, and it was very good indeed. Evening came, and then morning: the sixth day.