Six Days of
Creation and the Sabbath
Genesis 1
1In the beginning when God created the
heavens and the earth, 2the earth was a formless void and darkness
covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept
over the face of the waters. 3Then God said, “Let there be
light”; and there was light. 4And God saw that the light was
good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the
light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there
was morning, the first day.
6And God said, “Let there be a dome in the midst of the
waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7So
God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the
waters that were above the dome. And it was so. 8God called the dome
Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
9And God said, “Let the waters
under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land
appear.” And it was so. 10God called the dry land Earth, and
the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was
good. 11Then God said, “Let the earth put forth vegetation:
plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit
with the seed in it.” And it was so. 12The earth brought forth
vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing
fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good. 13And there
was evening and there was morning, the third day.
14And God said, “Let there
be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let
them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, 15and let
them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth.” And
it was so. 16God made the two great lights—the greater light
to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. 17God
set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth, 18to
rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the
darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19And there was evening and
there was morning, the fourth day.
20And God said, “Let the
waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the
earth across the dome of the sky.” 21So God created the great
sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which
the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was
good. 22God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply
and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23And
there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
24And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living
creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the
earth of every kind.” And it was so. 25God made the wild
animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and
everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was
good.
26Then God said, “Let us make humankind
in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the
fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over
all the wild animals of the earth,
and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”
27 So God created humankind in
his image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
28God blessed them, and God said to them, “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 air and over every living thing
that moves upon the earth.” 29God said, “See, I have
given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and
every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. 30And
to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the
air, 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. 31God
saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was
evening and there was morning, the sixth day.