1In the beginning, God created the sky and the earth.
2The earth was shapeless and empty. Darkness covered the surface of the deep waters, and God’s Spirit was moving over the surface of the waters.
3God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
4God saw the light, and saw that it was good. God separated the light from the darkness.
5God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.” So evening passed and morning came, marking the first day.
6God said, “Let there be a space in the middle of the waters to separate the water from the water.”
7God made the space, and it separated the water below the space from the water above the space. And that’s what happened.
8God called the space “sky.” So evening passed and morning came, marking the second day.
9God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered into one place, and let dry ground appear.” And that’s what happened.
10God called the dry ground “earth,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” God saw that it was good.
11God said, “Let the earth produce grass, plants that yield seeds, and fruit trees that bear fruit with seeds in it, each according to its kind, all over the earth.” And that’s what happened.
12The earth produced grass, plants yielding seeds according to their kinds, and trees bearing fruit with seeds in it, each according to its kind. God saw that it was good.
13So evening passed and morning came, marking the third day.
14God said, “Let there be lights in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them serve as signs to mark seasons, days, and years;
15and let them be lights in the sky to give light on the earth.” And that’s what happened.
16God made two great lights: the larger light to govern the day and the smaller light to govern the night. He also made the stars.
17God placed them in the sky to give light to the earth,
18to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. God saw that it was good.
19So evening passed and morning came, marking the fourth day.
20God said, “Let the waters teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the open expanse of the sky.”
21God created the large creatures of the sea and every living thing that moves in the water, each according to its kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. God saw that this was good.
22God blessed them, saying, "Have many offspring, increase in number, and fill the waters in the seas. And let the birds increase in number on the earth."
23So there was evening and there was morning, marking the fifth day.
24God said, "Let the earth produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that crawl on the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And that is what happened.
25God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that crawl on the ground according to their kinds. God saw that this was good.
26Then God said, "Let us make humans in our image, to be like us. Let them rule over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and every creature that crawls on the ground."
27So God created humans in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
28God blessed them and said to them, "Have many offspring, increase in number, fill the earth, and take control of it. Rule over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and every living thing that moves on the earth."
29God said, "Look, I have given you every plant that produces seeds on the entire earth, and every tree that has fruit with seeds in it. These will be your food.
30And to every animal on the earth, every bird in the sky, and every creature that crawls on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I have given every green plant for food." And that is what happened.
31God looked at everything he had made, and he saw that it was very good. So there was evening and there was morning, marking the sixth day.