The Story of Creation
11In the beginning, when God created the universe,1.1 In the beginning… the universe; or In the beginning God created the universe; or When God began to create the universe. 2the earth was formless and desolate. The raging ocean that covered everything was engulfed in total darkness, and the Spirit of God1.2 the Spirit of God; or the power of God; or a wind from God; or an awesome wind. was moving over the water. 3
Then God commanded, “Let there be light” — and light appeared. 4God was pleased with what he saw. Then he separated the light from the darkness, 5and he named the light “Day” and the darkness “Night”. Evening passed and morning came — that was the first day.
6-7
Then God commanded, “Let there be a dome to divide the water and to keep it in two separate places” — and it was done. So God made a dome, and it separated the water under it from the water above it. 8He named the dome “Sky”. Evening passed and morning came — that was the second day.
9Then God commanded, “Let the water below the sky come together in one place, so that the land will appear” — and it was done. 10He named the land “Earth”, and the water which had come together he named “Sea”. And God was pleased with what he saw. 11Then he commanded, “Let the earth produce all kinds of plants, those that bear grain and those that bear fruit” — and it was done. 12So the earth produced all kinds of plants, and God was pleased with what he saw. 13Evening passed and morning came — that was the third day.
14Then God commanded, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate day from night and to show the time when days, years, and religious festivals1.14 religious festivals; or seasons. begin; 15they will shine in the sky to give light to the earth” — and it was done. 16So God made the two larger lights, the sun to rule over the day and the moon to rule over the night; he also made the stars. 17He placed the lights in the sky to shine on the earth, 18to rule over the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God was pleased with what he saw. 19Evening passed and morning came — that was the fourth day.
20Then God commanded, “Let the water be filled with many kinds of living beings, and let the air be filled with birds.” 21So God created the great sea monsters, all kinds of creatures that live in the water, and all kinds of birds. And God was pleased with what he saw. 22He blessed them all and told the creatures that live in the water to reproduce, and to fill the sea, and he told the birds to increase in number. 23Evening passed and morning came — that was the fifth day.
24Then God commanded, “Let the earth produce all kinds of animal life: domestic and wild, large and small” — and it was done. 25So God made them all, and he was pleased with what he saw.
26
Then God said, “And now we will make human beings; they will be like us and resemble us. They will have power over the fish, the birds, and all animals, domestic and wild,1.26 One ancient translation animals, domestic and wild; Hebrew domestic animals and all the earth. large and small.” 27
Mk 10.6
So God created human beings, making them to be like himself. He created them male and female, 28blessed them, and said, “Have many children, so that your descendants will live all over the earth and bring it under their control. I am putting you in charge of the fish, the birds, and all the wild animals. 29I have provided all kinds of grain and all kinds of fruit for you to eat; 30but for all the wild animals and for all the birds I have provided grass and leafy plants for food” — and it was done. 31God looked at everything he had made, and he was very pleased. Evening passed and morning came — that was the sixth day.
21And so the whole universe was completed. 2
By the seventh day God finished what he had been doing and stopped working. 3He blessed the seventh day and set it apart as a special day, because by that day he had completed his creation2.3 by that day he had completed his creation; or on that day he completed his creation. and stopped working. 4And that is how the universe was created.
The Garden of Eden
When the LORD2.4 the LORD: See LORD in Word List. God made the universe, 5there were no plants on the earth and no seeds had sprouted, because he had not sent any rain, and there was no one to cultivate the land; 6but water would come up from beneath the surface and water the ground.
7
Then the LORD God took some soil from the ground and formed a man2.7 ground… man: The Hebrew words for “man” and “ground” have similar sounds. out of it; he breathed life-giving breath into his nostrils and the man began to live.
8Then the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the East, and there he put the man he had formed. 9
22.2,14
He made all kinds of beautiful trees grow there and produce good fruit. In the middle of the garden stood the tree that gives life and the tree that gives knowledge of what is good and what is bad.2.9; 2.17 knowledge of what is good and what is bad; or knowledge of everything.
10A stream flowed in Eden and watered the garden; beyond Eden it divided into four rivers. 11The first river is the Pishon; it flows round the country of Havilah. 12(Pure gold is found there and also rare perfume and precious stones.) 13The second river is the Gihon; it flows round the country of Cush.2.13 Cush (of Mesopotamia); or Ethiopia. 14The third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria, and the fourth river is the Euphrates.
15Then the LORD God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and guard it. 16He said to him, “You may eat the fruit of any tree in the garden, 17except the tree that gives knowledge of what is good and what is bad.2.17; 2.9 knowledge of what is good and what is bad; or knowledge of everything. You must not eat the fruit of that tree; if you do, you will die the same day.”
18Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to live alone. I will make a suitable companion to help him.” 19So he took some soil from the ground and formed all the animals and all the birds. Then he brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and that is how they all got their names. 20So the man named all the birds and all the animals; but not one of them was a suitable companion to help him.
21Then the LORD God made the man fall into a deep sleep, and while he was sleeping, he took out one of the man's ribs and closed up the flesh. 22He formed a woman out of the rib and brought her to him. 23Then the man said,
“At last, here is one of my own kind —
Bone taken from my bone, and flesh from my flesh.
‘Woman’ is her name because she was taken out of man.”2.23 woman… man: The Hebrew words for “woman” and “man” have similar sounds.
24Mk 10.7–8
1 Cor 6.16
Eph 5.31
That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united with his wife, and they become one.
25The man and the woman were both naked, but they were not embarrassed.
