Genesis
Chapter 1
Heaven and Earth
1First this: God created the Heavens and Earth-all you see, all you don't see. 2Earth was a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness. God's Spirit brooded like a bird above the watery abyss.
3God spoke: “Light!”
And light appeared.
4God saw that light was good
and separated light from dark.
5God named the light Day,
he named the dark Night.
It was evening, it was morning-
Day One.
6God spoke: “Sky! In the middle of the waters;
separate water from water!”
7God made sky.
He separated the water under sky
from the water above sky.
And there it was:
8he named sky the Heavens;
It was evening, it was morning-
Day Two.
9God spoke: “Separate!
Water-beneath-Heaven, gather into one place;
Land, appear!”
And there it was.
10God named the land Earth.
He named the pooled water Ocean.
God saw that it was good.
11God spoke: “Earth, green up! Grow all varieties
of seed-bearing plants,
Every sort of fruit-bearing tree.”
And there it was.
12Earth produced green seed-bearing plants,
all varieties,
And fruit-bearing trees of all sorts.
God saw that it was good.
13It was evening, it was morning-
Day Three.
14God spoke: “Lights! Come out!
Shine in Heaven's sky!
Separate Day from Night.
Mark seasons and days and years,
15Lights in Heaven's sky to give light to Earth.”
And there it was.
16God made two big lights, the larger
to take charge of Day,
The smaller to be in charge of Night;
and he made the stars.
17God placed them in the heavenly sky
to light up Earth
18And oversee Day and Night,
to separate light and dark.
God saw that it was good.
19It was evening, it was morning-
Day Four.
20God spoke: “Swarm, Ocean, with fish and all sea life!
Birds, fly through the sky over Earth!”
21God created the huge whales,
all the swarm of life in the waters,
And every kind and species of flying birds.
God saw that it was good.
22God blessed them: “Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Ocean!
Birds, reproduce on Earth!”
23It was evening, it was morning-
Day Five.
24God spoke: “Earth, generate life! Every sort and kind:
cattle and reptiles and wild animals-all kinds.”
And there it was:
25wild animals of every kind,
Cattle of all kinds, every sort of reptile and bug.
God saw that it was good.
26God spoke: “Let us make human beings in our image, make them
reflecting our nature
So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea,
the birds in the air, the cattle,
And, yes, Earth itself,
and every animal that moves on the face of Earth.”
27God created human beings;
he created them godlike,
Reflecting God's nature.
He created them male and female.
28God blessed them:
“Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge!
Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air,
for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth.”
29Then God said, “I've given you
every sort of seed-bearing plant on Earth
And every kind of fruit-bearing tree,
given them to you for food.
30To all animals and all birds,
everything that moves and breathes,
I give whatever grows out of the ground for food.”
And there it was.
31God looked over everything he had made;
it was so good, so very good!
It was evening, it was morning-
Day Six.
Chapter 2
1Heaven and Earth were finished,
down to the last detail.
2By the seventh day
God had finished his work.
On the seventh day
he rested from all his work.
3God blessed the seventh day.
He made it a Holy Day
Because on that day he rested from his work,
all the creating God had done.
4This is the story of how it all started,
of Heaven and Earth when they were created.
Adam and Eve
5At the time GOD made Earth and Heaven, before any grasses or shrubs had sprouted from the ground-GOD hadn't yet sent rain on Earth, nor was there anyone around to work the ground 6(the whole Earth was watered by underground springs)- 7GOD formed Man out of dirt from the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life. The Man came alive-a living soul!
8Then GOD planted a garden in Eden, in the east. He put the Man he had just made in it.
9GOD made all kinds of trees grow from the ground, trees beautiful to look at and good to eat. The Tree-of-Life was in the middle of the garden, also the Tree-of-Knowledge-of-Good-and-Evil.
10A river flows out of Eden to water the garden and from there divides into four rivers.
11The first is named Pishon; it flows through Havilah where there is gold. 12The gold of this land is good. The land is also known for a sweet-scented resin and the onyx stone. 13The second river is named Gihon; it flows through the land of Cush. 14The third river is named Hiddekel and flows east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.
15GOD took the Man and set him down in the Garden of Eden to work the ground and keep it in order.
16GOD commanded the Man, “You can eat from any tree in the garden,
17except from the Tree-of-Knowledge-of-Good-and-Evil. Don't eat from it. The moment you eat from that tree, you're dead.”
18GOD said, “It's not good for the Man to be alone; I'll make him a helper, a companion.”
19So GOD formed from the dirt of the ground all the animals of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the Man to see what he would name them. Whatever the Man called each living creature, that was its name. 20The Man named the cattle, named the birds of the air, named the wild animals; but he didn't find a suitable companion.
21GOD put the Man into a deep sleep. As he slept he removed one of his ribs and replaced it with flesh.
22GOD then used the rib that he had taken from the Man to make Woman and presented her to the Man.
23The Man said,
“Finally! Bone of my bone,
flesh of my flesh!
Name her Woman
for she was made from Man.”
24Therefore a man leaves his father and mother and embraces his wife. They become one flesh.
25The two of them, the Man and his Wife, were naked, but they felt no shame.
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