Genesis
1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 {At first after that,} the earth did not have {its present} form, and there was nothing {living} on it. It was {totally} dark, there was deep water {everywhere}, and God's Spirit was moving above the water. 3 Then God said, "I command light to start shining!” And {immediately} light started shining. 4 God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness {so that each had its own time}. 5 He named the light Daytime, and the darkness he named Nighttime. Then evening came and {later} morning came, {and that was} {the end of} the first day.6 Then God said, "I command there to be a large space in the middle of the water, so that it divides the water into two separate places.” 7 That is how God made a large space and used it to separate the water that {was} below the space from the water that {was} above it. Everything happened {exactly} as he commanded, 8 and he named the space Sky. Then evening came and {later} morning came, {and that was} {the end of} the second day.
9 Then God said, "I command the water {that is} below the sky to gather in one place so that there is dry ground.” And that is {exactly} what happened. 10 Then God named the ground that had dried off Land, and he named the water which had gathered together Ocean. He saw that {what he had made was} good.
11 Then God said, "I command the land to produce {green} plants all over the earth, {including} {all kinds of} plants that have seeds {and} {all kinds of} fruit trees that produce their own kind of fruit with seeds inside.” And that is {exactly} what happened: 12 The land started producing {green} plants, {including} {all kinds of} plants that have their own kind of seeds and {all kinds of} trees that have their own kind of fruit with seeds inside. And God saw that {what he had made was} good. 13 Then evening came and {later} morning came, {and that was} {the end of} the third day.
14 Then God said, "I command there to be sources of light in the sky that separate the day{time} from the night{time}. They must show when seasons and days and years {begin and end}, 15 and they must be lights in the sky that shine {light} on the earth.” And that is {exactly} what happened. 16 That is how God made the two bright lights, the brighter light to shine during the day{time}, and the weaker light to shine during the night{time}. {That is} also {when he made} the stars. 17 He put those lights in the sky to shine light on the earth, 18 to shine during the day{time} or during the night{time}, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that {everything was} good. 19 Then evening came and {later} morning came, {and that was} {the end of} the fourth day.
20 Then God said, "I command the water to be full of large groups of living creatures, and I command there to be birds {that fly} in the sky above the earth.'' 21 That is how God created the huge sea animals and all {the other} {kinds of} creatures that live all over the place in the water and have their own kind of young. That is also {how he created} all {the different kinds of} birds that have their own kind of young. God saw that {everything was} good. 22 Then he blessed them {all} by saying {to them}, "You {water animals} are to have many young so that you increase {greatly} {in number} and live all over the place in the water in the ocean. And {you} birds are to {also} increase {greatly} {in number} all over the earth.” 23 Then evening came and {later} morning came, {and that was} {the end of} the fifth day.
24 Then God said, "I command the land to produce {every kind of} living animal that has its own kind of young, {including} domestic animals, animals that crawl and {all the other} living creatures on the earth that have their own kind of young.” And that is {exactly} what happened. 25 That is how God made {every kind of} living animal on the earth that has its own kind of young, including {every kind of} domestic animal that bears its own kind of young, and every {kind of} animal that crawls on the ground that has its own kind of young. And God saw that {everything he had made was} good.
26 Then God said {to himself}, "Let us make human beings to be like us and act like us, and let us give them authority over the fish in the ocean, over the birds in the sky, over the domestic animals, and over the entire earth, including all the animals that live on the earth.” 27 So God created human beings to be like himself, {yes,} he made them to be like himself, {and} he {also} created them to be male or female.
28 Then God blessed them by saying to them, "Have many children so that you {and your descendants} increase {greatly} {in number} and live all over the earth and take control of it. You have authority over the fish in the ocean, over the birds in the sky, and over all the {other} creatures that live on the earth.” 29 Then he {also} said {to them}, "Listen, I am giving to you {as food} every {kind of} plant that produces seeds and grows anywhere on the earth, as well as every {kind of} tree that {produces} fruit with seeds inside it. {All of} them are yours to eat from. 30 In the same way, I give {every kind of} green plant for food to every {kind of} animal that lives on the earth, including every {kind of} bird {that flies} in the sky, and every {other} {kind of} animal that lives on the earth and breathes {air}.” And that is how it was.
31 Then God looked at everything that he had made, and he saw that it was {all} very good. Then evening came and {later} morning came, {and that was} {the end of} the sixth day.