Genesis 1

The Creation of the World

1 In the a beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was b without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

3 And God said, c "Let there be light," and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God 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, d "Let there be an expanse 1 in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters." 7 And God made 2 the expanse and e separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were f above the expanse. And it was so. 8 And God called the expanse Heaven. 3 And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.

9 And God said, g "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear." And it was so. 10 God called the dry land Earth, 4 and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.

11 And God said, h "Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants 5 yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth." And it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. 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 expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for i signs and for j seasons, 6 and for days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth." And it was so. 16 And God k made the two great lights - the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night - and the stars. 17 And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 to l rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the 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 waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds 7 fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens." 21 So m God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, n "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." 23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

24 And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds - livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds." And it was so. 25 And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

26 Then God said, o "Let us make man 8 in our image, p after our likeness. And q let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."

27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
r male and female he created them.

28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, s "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth." 29 And God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. t You shall have them for food. 30 And u to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food." And it was so. 31 v And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

  1. Cross References
    Job 38:4 - 7
    Where were you when I laid the foundation of th...
    Psalms 33:6
    By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, ...
    Psalms 136:5
    To him who by understanding made the heavens, f...
    Isaiah 42:5
    Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heaven...
    Isaiah 45:18
    For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens...
    John 1:1 - 3
    In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was...
    Acts 14:15
    Men, why are you doing these things? We also ar...
    Acts 17:24
    The God who made the world and everything in it...
    Colossians 1:16 - 17
    For by him all things were created, in heaven a...
    Hebrews 1:10
    And, "You, Lord, laid the foundation of the ear...
    Hebrews 11:3
    By faith we understand that the universe was cr...
    Revelation 4:11
    "Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive g...
  2. Cross References
    Jeremiah 4:23
    I looked on the earth, and behold, it was without form and void; and to the heavens, and they had no light.
  3. Cross References
    2 Corinthians 4:6
    For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
  4. Cross References
    Job 37:18
    Can you, like him, spread out the skies, hard as a cast metal mirror?
    Psalms 136:5
    To him who by understanding made the heavens, for his steadfast love endures forever.
    Jeremiah 10:12
    It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.
    Jeremiah 51:15
    It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.
  5. Cross References
    Proverbs 8:27 - 29
    When he established the heavens, I was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep.
  6. Cross References
    Psalms 148:4
    Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens!
  7. Cross References
    Job 38:8 - 11
    Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb.
    Psalms 33:7
    He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses.
    Psalms 136:6
    To him who spread out the earth above the waters, for his steadfast love endures forever.
    Jeremiah 5:22
    Do you not fear me? declares the Lord. Do you not tremble before me? I placed the sand as the boundary for the sea, a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass; though the waves toss, they cannot prevail; though they roar, they cannot pass over it.
    2 Peter 3:5
    For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God.
  8. Cross References
    Psalms 104:14
    You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth
  9. Cross References
    Jeremiah 10:2
    Thus says the Lord : "Learn not the way of the ...
    Ezekiel 32:7 - 8
    When I blot you out, I will cover the heavens a...
    Joel 2:30 - 31
    And I will show wonders in the heavens and on t...
    Joel 3:15
    The sun and the moon are darkened, and the star...
    Matthew 24:29
    Immediately after the tribulation of those days...
    Luke 21:25
    And there will be signs in sun and moon and sta...
  10. Cross References
    Psalms 104:19
    He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting.
  11. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 4:19
    And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the Lord your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven.
    Psalms 136:7 - 9
    To him who made the great lights, for his steadfast love endures forever.
  12. Cross References
    Jeremiah 31:35
    Thus says the Lord, who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar - the Lord of hosts is his name:
  13. Cross References
    Psalms 104:25 - 26
    Here is the sea, great and wide, which teems with creatures innumerable, living things both small and great.
  14. Cross References
    Genesis 8:17
    Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh - birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth - that they may swarm on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.
    Genesis 9:1
    And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.
  15. Cross References
    Genesis 3:22
    Then the Lord God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever -
    Genesis 11:7
    Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another's speech.
    Isaiah 6:8
    And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me.
  16. Cross References
    Genesis 5:1
    This is the book of the generations of Adam. Wh...
    Genesis 9:6
    Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall hi...
    1 Corinthians 11:7
    For a man ought not to cover his head, since he...
    Ephesians 4:24
    And to put on the new self, created after the l...
    Colossians 3:10
    And have put on the new self, which is being re...
    James 3:9
    With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with ...
  17. Cross References
    Genesis 9:2
    The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered.
    Psalms 8:6 - 8
    You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet.
    James 3:7
    For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind.
  18. Cross References
    Genesis 2:18
    Then the Lord God said, "It is not good that th...
    Genesis 2:21 - 23
    So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upo...
    Genesis 5:2
    Male and female he created them, and he blessed...
    Malachi 2:15
    Did he not make them one, with a portion of the...
    Matthew 19:4
    He answered, "Have you not read that he who cre...
    Mark 10:6
    But from the beginning of creation, 'God made t...
  19. Cross References
    Genesis 9:1
    And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.
    Genesis 9:7
    And you, be fruitful and multiply, teem on the earth and multiply in it.
  20. Cross References
    Genesis 9:3
    Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.
    Psalms 104:14 - 15
    You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth
    Psalms 145:15 - 16
    The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season.
  21. Cross References
    Psalms 147:9
    He gives to the beasts their food, and to the young ravens that cry.
  22. Cross References
    Ecclesiastes 7:29
    See, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes.
    1 Timothy 4:4
    For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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