In the beginning, when God created the universe, the earth was formless
and desolate. The raging ocean that covered everything was engulfed
in total darkness, and the power of God was moving over the water. Then
God commanded, “Let there be light”—and light appeared. God was pleased
with what he saw. Then he separated the light from the darkness, and
he named the light“Day” and the darkness "Night".Evening passed and
morning came—that was the first day.
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. He named
the dome “Sky.” Evening passed and morning came—that was the second
day.
Then God commanded,“Let the water below the sky come together in one
place, so that the land will appear”—and it was done. He named the land
“Earth,” and the water which had come together he named “Sea.” And God
was pleased with what he saw. Then he commanded, “Let the earth produce
all kinds of plants, those that bear grain and those that bear fruit”—and
it was done. So the earth produced all kinds of plants, and God was
pleased with what he saw. Evening passed and morning came—that was the
third day.
Then God commanded, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate day from
night and to show the time when days, years, and religious festivals
begin; they will shine in the sky to give light to the earth”—and it
was done. So 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. He
placed the lights in the sky to shine on the earth, to rule over the
day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God was
pleased with what he saw. Evening passed and morning came—that was the
fourth day.
Then God commanded,“Let the water be filled with many kinds of living
beings, and let the air be filled with birds.” So 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. He 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. Evening
passed and morning came—that was the fifth day.
Then God commanded, “Let the earth produce all kinds of animal life:
domestic and wild, large and small”—and it was done. So God made them
all, and he was pleased with what he saw.
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, large and small.”So God created human
beings, making them to be like himself. He created them male and female,
blessed 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.
I have provided all kinds of grain and all kinds of fruit for you to
eat; but for all the wild animals and for all the birds I have provided
grass and leafy plants for food”—and it was done. God looked at everything
he had made, and he was very pleased. Evening passed and moring came—that
was the sixth day.
And so the whole universe was completed. By the seventh day God finished
what he had been doing and stopped working. He blessed the seventh day
and set it apart as a special day, because by that day he had completed
his creation and stopped working. And that is how the universe was created.