The Bible

¹ In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. ² The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the surface of the deep. The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. ³ 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." There was evening, and there was morning — the first day.

⁶ God said, "Let there be an expanse in the middle of the waters to separate water from water." ⁷ So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. ⁸ God called the expanse "Sky." There was evening, and there was morning — the second day. ⁹ 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 There was evening, and there was morning — the third day. ¹⁴ God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons, days, and years. ¹⁵ Let them be lights in the expanse 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 expanse 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 There was evening, and there was morning — the fourth day. ²⁰ God said, "Let the water swarm with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky."

²¹ So God created the great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters swarmed, 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 multiply; fill the waters in the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth." ²³ There was evening, and there was morning — the fifth day. ²⁴ God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and 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, 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 multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish...