1Genesis 1

The Story of Creation

1In the beginning, when God created the universe,Select Genesis 1:1

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.Select Genesis 1:2

3Then God commanded, “Let there be light”—and light appeared.Select Genesis 1:3

4God was pleased with what he saw. Then he separated the light from the darkness,Select Genesis 1:4

5and he named the light “Day” and the darkness “Night.” Evening passed and morning came—that was the first day.Select Genesis 1:5

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.Select Genesis 1:7

8He named the dome “Sky.” Evening passed and morning came—that was the second day.Select Genesis 1:8

9Then God commanded, “Let the water below the sky come together in one place, so that the land will appear”—and it was done.Select Genesis 1:9

10He named the land “Earth,” and the water which had come together he named “Sea.” And God was pleased with what he saw.Select Genesis 1:10

11Then he commanded, “Let the earth produce all kinds of plants, those that bear grain and those that bear fruit”—and it was done.Select Genesis 1:11

12So the earth produced all kinds of plants, and God was pleased with what he saw.Select Genesis 1:12

13Evening passed and morning came—that was the third day.Select Genesis 1:13

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;Select Genesis 1:14

15they will shine in the sky to give light to the earth”—and it was done.Select Genesis 1:15

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.Select Genesis 1:16

17He placed the lights in the sky to shine on the earth,Select Genesis 1:17

18to rule over the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God was pleased with what he saw.Select Genesis 1:18

19Evening passed and morning came—that was the fourth day.Select Genesis 1:19

20Then God commanded, “Let the water be filled with many kinds of living beings, and let the air be filled with birds.”Select Genesis 1:20

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.Select Genesis 1:21

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.Select Genesis 1:22

23Evening passed and morning came—that was the fifth day.Select Genesis 1:23

24Then God commanded, “Let the earth produce all kinds of animal life: domestic and wild, large and small”—and it was done.Select Genesis 1:24

25So God made them all, and he was pleased with what he saw.Select Genesis 1:25

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.”Select Genesis 1:26

27So God created human beings, making them to be like himself. He created them male and female,Select Genesis 1:27

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.Select Genesis 1:28

29I have provided all kinds of grain and all kinds of fruit for you to eat;Select Genesis 1:29

30but for all the wild animals and for all the birds I have provided grass and leafy plants for food”—and it was done.Select Genesis 1:30

31God looked at everything he had made, and he was very pleased. Evening passed and morning came—that was the sixth day.Select Genesis 1:31