The Story of 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. 3 Then 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.

6-7 Then 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.

26 Then 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.” 27 So 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.