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Genesis 1
Creation
The first chapter of the Bible tells how the world was created in six days, each marked by the same refrain: “God said… and it was so… there was evening and there was morning.” The text moves like a poem, first bringing order out of chaos, then filling it with life.
Text: World English Bible (public domain). Titles, introduction and illustrations: Imago Biblia.
Day 1 · Light
Day 2 · Sky and waters
Day 3 · Land and plants
Day 4 · Lights
Day 5 · Birds and fish
Day 6 · Animals and humans
- Days 1 to 3: forming the spaces
- Days 4 to 6: filling them
Verses 1–2
Before the light
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
The earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep and God’s Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters.
First day · verses 3–5
Let there be light
God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
God saw the light, and saw that it was good. God divided the light from the darkness.
God called the light “day”, and the darkness he called “night”. There was evening and there was morning, the first day.
Second day · verses 6–8
The expanse between the waters
God said, “Let there be an expanse in the middle of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.”
God made the expanse, and divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so.
God called the expanse “sky”. There was evening and there was morning, a second day.
Waters above the expanse
The expanse: the sky (v. 8)
Earth
Waters below: the seas
Third day · verses 9–13
Land and plants
God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear;” and it was so.
God called the dry land “earth”, and the gathering together of the waters he called “seas”. God saw that it was good.
God said, “Let the earth yield grass, herbs yielding seeds, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with their seeds in it, on the earth;” and it was so.
The earth yielded grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, with their seeds in it, after their kind; and God saw that it was good.
There was evening and there was morning, a third day.
Fourth day · verses 14–19
The lights in the sky
God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs to mark seasons, days, and years;
and let them be for lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth;” and it was so.
God made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He also made the stars.
God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light to the earth,
and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good.
There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.
- Divide day from night · v. 14
- Mark seasons, days and years · v. 14
- Give light to the earth · v. 15
Fifth day · verses 20–23
Fish and birds
God said, “Let the waters abound with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky.”
God created the large sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed, after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind. God saw that it was good.
God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”
There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.
Sixth day · verses 24–31
Animals and humankind
God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures after their kind, livestock, creeping things, and animals of the earth after their kind;” and it was so.
God made the animals of the earth after their kind, and the livestock after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind. God saw that it was good.
God said, “Let’s make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
God created man in his own image. In God’s image he created him; male and female he created them.
God blessed them. God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
God said, “Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree, which bears fruit yielding seed. It will be your food.
To every animal of the earth, and to every bird of the sky, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food;” and it was so.
God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. There was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.
