In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth had not yet taken shape and was empty, darkness covered the deep waters, and God’s Spirit moved over the water. God spoke light into being, saw that it was good, and separated it from the darkness. He named the light day and the darkness night. Evening passed, morning came, and the first day was complete.
On the second day God made an expanse between the waters and called it sky. On the third day he gathered the waters below the sky so that dry ground appeared. He named the dry ground land and the gathered waters seas. Then he caused grass, seed-bearing plants, and fruit trees to grow from the land, each producing according to its kind.
On the fourth day God placed lights in the sky. The greater light governed the day, the lesser light governed the night, and the stars shone with them. They marked days, seasons, and years and gave light to the earth. On the fifth day God filled the waters with living creatures and the sky with birds. He blessed them and told them to multiply.
On the sixth day God made livestock, wild animals, and creatures that move along the ground. Then God made human beings in his image, male and female, and blessed them. He told them to fill the earth and entrusted its creatures to their care. He gave seed-bearing plants and fruit for human food and green plants for the animals.
God looked at everything he had made and saw that it was very good. The heavens, the earth, and all that filled them were complete. On the seventh day God finished his work and rested. He blessed the seventh day and set it apart as holy.