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Genesis 1:1-19
The Story of Creation
1In the beginning God
created the heavens
and the earth.
2The earth was barren,
with no form of life;
it was under a roaring ocean
covered with darkness.
But the Spirit of God
was moving over the water.
The First Day
3 God said, “I command light to shine!” And light started shining. 4God looked at the light and saw that it was good. He separated light from darkness 5and named the light “Day” and the darkness “Night.” Evening came, then morning—that was the first day.
The Second Day
6 God said, “I command a dome to separate the water above it from the water below it.” 7And that's what happened. God made the dome 8and named it “Sky.” Evening came, then morning—that was the second day.
The Third Day
9God said, “I command the water under the sky to come together in one place, so there will be dry ground.” And that's what happened. 10God named the dry ground “Land,” and he named the water “Ocean.” God looked at what he had done and saw that it was good.
11God said, “I command the earth to produce all kinds of plants, including fruit trees and grain.” And that's what happened. 12The earth produced all kinds of vegetation. God looked at what he had done, and it was good. 13Evening came, then morning—that was the third day.
The Fourth Day
14God said, “I command lights to appear in the sky and to separate day from night and to show the time for seasons, special days, and years. 15I command them to shine on the earth.” And that's what happened. 16God made two powerful lights, the brighter one to rule the day and the other to rule the night. He also made the stars. 17Then God put these lights in the sky to shine on the earth, 18to rule day and night, and to separate light from darkness. God looked at what he had done, and it was good. 19Evening came, then morning—that was the fourth day.
Genesis 1:1-19
The beginning
1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. 4God saw that the light was good, and he 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 vault between the waters to separate water from water.’ 7So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8God called the vault ‘sky’. And there was evening, and there was morning – the second day.
9And God said, ‘Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.’ And it was so. 10God called the dry ground ‘land’, and the gathered waters he called ‘seas’. And God saw that it was good.
11Then God said, ‘Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.’ And it was so. 12The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. 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 vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.’ And it was so. 16God made two great lights – the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19And there was evening, and there was morning – the fourth day.
