Genesis 1

The Beginning

 1 In the beginning ^*  God created ^*  the heavens ^*  and the earth. ^*  2 Now the earth was formless ^*  and empty, ^*  darkness was over the surface of the deep, ^*  and the Spirit of God ^*  was hovering ^*  over the waters.

 3 And God said, ^*  “Let there be light,” and there was light. ^*  4 God saw that the light was good, ^*  and he separated the light from the darkness. ^*  5 God called ^*  the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” ^*  And there was evening, and there was morning ^* —the first day.

 6 And God said, ^*  “Let there be a vault ^*  between the waters ^*  to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. ^*  And it was so. ^*  8 God called ^*  the vault “sky.” ^*  And there was evening, and there was morning ^* —the second day.

 9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, ^*  and let dry ground ^*  appear.” And it was so. ^*  10 God called ^*  the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters ^*  he called “seas.” ^*  And God saw that it was good. ^*

 11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: ^*  seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds. ^* ” And it was so. ^*  12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds ^*  and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. ^*  13 And there was evening, and there was morning ^* —the third day.

 14 And God said, “Let there be lights ^*  in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, ^*  and let them serve as signs ^*  to mark sacred times, ^*  and days and years, ^*  15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. ^*  16 God made two great lights—the greater light ^*  to govern ^*  the day and the lesser light to govern ^*  the night. ^*  He also made the stars. ^*  17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, ^*  and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. ^*  19 And there was evening, and there was morning ^* —the fourth day.

 20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, ^*  and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” ^*  21 So God created ^*  the great creatures of the sea ^*  and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, ^*  according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. ^*  And God saw that it was good. ^*  22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” ^*  23 And there was evening, and there was morning ^* —the fifth day.

 24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures ^*  according to their kinds: ^*  the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. ^*  25 God made the wild animals ^*  according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. ^*  And God saw that it was good. ^*

 26 Then God said, “Let us ^*  make mankind ^*  in our image, ^*  in our likeness, ^*  so that they may rule ^*  over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, ^*  over the livestock and all the wild animals,¹  and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

 27 So God created ^*  mankind ^*  in his own image, ^*

in the image of God ^*  he created them;

male and female ^*  he created them. ^*

 28 God blessed them and said to them, ^*  “Be fruitful and increase in number; ^*  fill the earth ^*  and subdue it. Rule over ^*  the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground. ^* ”

 29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. ^*  30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life ^*  in it—I give every green plant for food. ^* ” And it was so.

 31 God saw all that he had made, ^*  and it was very good. ^*  And there was evening, and there was morning ^* —the sixth day.