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Genesis 1

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:1 WEB

The earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep and God’s Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters.

Genesis 1:2 WEB

God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

Genesis 1:3 WEB

God saw the light, and saw that it was good. God divided the light from the darkness.

Genesis 1:4 WEB

God called the light “day”, and the darkness he called “night”. There was evening and there was morning, the first day.

Genesis 1:5 WEB

God said, “Let there be an expanse in the middle of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.”

Genesis 1:6 WEB

God made the expanse, and divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so.

Genesis 1:7 WEB

God called the expanse “sky”. There was evening and there was morning, a second day.

Genesis 1:8 WEB

God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear;” and it was so.

Genesis 1:9 WEB

God called the dry land “earth”, and the gathering together of the waters he called “seas”. God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:10 WEB

God said, “Let the earth yield grass, herbs yielding seeds, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with their seeds in it, on the earth;” and it was so.

Genesis 1:11 WEB

The earth yielded grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, with their seeds in it, after their kind; and God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:12 WEB

There was evening and there was morning, a third day.

Genesis 1:13 WEB

God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs to mark seasons, days, and years;

Genesis 1:14 WEB

and let them be for lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth;” and it was so.

Genesis 1:15 WEB

God made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He also made the stars.

Genesis 1:16 WEB

God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light to the earth,

Genesis 1:17 WEB

and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:18 WEB

There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

Genesis 1:19 WEB

God said, “Let the waters abound with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky.”

Genesis 1:20 WEB

God created the large sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed, after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind. God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:21 WEB

God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”

Genesis 1:22 WEB

There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

Genesis 1:23 WEB

God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures after their kind, livestock, creeping things, and animals of the earth after their kind;” and it was so.

Genesis 1:24 WEB

God made the animals of the earth after their kind, and the livestock after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind. God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:25 WEB

God said, “Let’s make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

Genesis 1:26 WEB

God created man in his own image. In God’s image he created him; male and female he created them.

Genesis 1:27 WEB

God blessed them. God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Genesis 1:28 WEB

God said, “Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree, which bears fruit yielding seed. It will be your food.

Genesis 1:29 WEB

To every animal of the earth, and to every bird of the sky, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food;” and it was so.

Genesis 1:30 WEB

God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. There was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.

Genesis 1:31 WEB

End of Genesis 1

Continue reading Genesis 2

What is Genesis 1 about?

Genesis 1 is the Bible's opening account of creation: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." Over six days, God speaks and brings order out of formless darkness. He makes light, the sky, dry land and plants, then the sun, moon and stars, creatures of sea and air, and land animals. Again and again "God saw that it was good." On the sixth day God creates humankind "in his own image," male and female, blesses them, and gives them care of the earth (verse 27). At the end, "God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good" (verse 31). Genesis 2 continues with the seventh day of rest.

What does Genesis 1 mean?

Genesis 1:1

The first sentence of the Bible tells us who made everything: God. It does not try to prove that he exists; it simply begins with him. "In the beginning" means time itself had a starting point, and God was already there. "Created" translates a Hebrew word used in the Bible only of God's activity, bringing something new into being. "The heaven and the earth" is a way of saying everything, the whole universe. The verse teaches that the world is not an accident and that God is distinct from what he made. Everything that follows in the Bible rests on this foundation: the Creator has a claim on his creation.

Genesis 1:27

On the sixth day of creation, God makes human beings, and this verse repeats the word "created" three times for emphasis. People are made "in his own image," which sets them apart from the rest of creation. Being made in God's image means humans reflect something of God's nature: they can think, love, create, choose, and relate to him, and they are given responsibility to care for the earth on his behalf. The verse also says "male and female created he them," so men and women equally bear God's image. This is why the Bible treats every human life, of every background, as precious and worthy of dignity.

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