1 This is how it all began. God started to create the heavens and the earth and everything in between. 2 At that point, the planet Earth was a chaotic shapeless void. Darkness hung over the deep sea. But a wind from God -- his Spirit -- swept over the waters -- covering it like a brooding bird covers its nest. 3 And God said, “Light!” And light appeared. 4 God concluded that the light was good and life-giving. So he separated it out from the darkness. 5 God named the light “Day” and the darkness “Night.”
That is what happened on the first day.
6 God continued setting order to the soupy chaos by saying, “Let there be atmosphere between the waters above and the waters below.” 7 Thus God inserted the atmosphere separating the waters. There was water under the atmosphere and water above the atmosphere.
And it happened according to his spoken command.
8 God named the atmosphere Sky.
That is what happened on the second day.
9 Then God said, “Let the waters under this sky pool together in one place so that the dry ground can appear.”
And it happened according to his spoken command.
10 God named the dry ground Land, and he named the gathered waters Ocean. God concluded that the Land and Ocean configuration was good and life-giving.
11 Then God said, “Let the land produce plants -- seed-bearing plants and fruit-bearing plants -- unique varieties all across the land.”
And it happened according to his spoken command.
12 The land produced the many unique varieties of plants that bear seeds and those that bear fruit. God concluded that the plants were good and life-giving.
13 That is what happened on the third day.
14 Then God said, “Let there be lights above that will distinguish the day sky from the night sky. They will be signs pointing to my power -- as opposed to themselves being the source of power. They will provide markers for events, sacred seasons, days, and years. 15 From their places in the sky, they will give light to the earth.”
And it happened according to his spoken command.
16 God made the stars and two great lights: the sun, which is larger, to oversee the day, and the moon, a smaller light, to oversee the night. 17 God put them in the sky to shine on the earth, 18 to oversee the day and oversee the night -- to separate the light from the darkness. God concluded that they were good and life-giving.
19 That is what happened on the fourth day.
20 Then God said, “Let the waters teem with life and birds fill the sky.” 21 God created all the unique varieties of huge sea creatures and the tiny living things that so actively swarm in the waters. He created all the unique varieties of birds, as well. And God concluded that the creatures of the sea and the creatures of the sky were good and life-giving.
22 At his word, God then blessed them with the ability to reproduce and multiply -- the fish filling the oceans and the birds covering the earth.
23 That is what happened on the fifth day.
24 Then God said, “Let the earth produce all the diverse kinds of animals: the domesticated critters, the reptiles, and the wildlife.”
And it happened according to his spoken command.
25 God made all sorts of animals -- wildlife, domesticated, and the creatures that crawl on the ground. God made them all! And God concluded that the animals were good and life-giving.
26 Once again God spoke, “Let’s make humanity -- the people -- in our image. That way they can be like us and thus be responsible for the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the domesticated animals, all the crawling things on earth -- and even the earth itself.”
27 God created humanity in his own image, in the divine image he created them -- both male and female.
28 At his word, God then blessed them with the ability to reproduce and multiply with such virility that they’d master all the earth. He told them to “take charge of the fish, the birds, and all the other animals crawling around on the ground.”
29 Then God blessed them further saying, “I am giving you all the seed-yielding plants and the fruiting trees for food. 30 To all living animals -- the wildlife, the birds, and to critters crawling on the ground -- I am giving all the green leafy plants for food.”
And once again, it happened according to his spoken command.
31 God surveyed the entire creation -- including the people and animals -- and declared that they were extremely good and life-giving.
That is what happened on the sixth day.
1 So, God completed the creation of the sky, the earth, and all that is living. 2 By the seventh day, with the work done, God rested. 3 And in doing so God blessed the seventh day and made it a holy day.
4 So that is how God created the sky and the earth -- everything up there and everything down here. It all originates with him.
