1In the beginning, God began to make the earth and the heavens and everything in them. 2The earth was without shape. Nothing was alive on it. Deep water covered the earth. There was no light. Everywhere was dark. The Spirit of God moved above the water. #1:2 God was present before he made the earth. He made everything.
4God looked at the light.
He separated the light from the dark.
5God called the light ‘day’. And he called the dark ‘night’.
Evening passed and morning came.
This was the first (1st) day. #1:5 Verse 3 God spoke and told the light to appear. #1:5 Verse 5 Light appeared when it was morning. It was dark at night. One day is a time of light and a time of dark.
7So God made a wide space. He separated the water under the space from the water above it.
And what God said happened.
8God called the wide space ‘sky’.
Evening passed and then it was morning.
This was the second (2nd) day.
10God called the dry ground ‘land’. He called the water (that he put in one place) ‘sea’.
God looked at what he had made.
And it was like that.
12So plants and trees began to grow in the ground. The plants and trees made seeds, so that more of the same plants and trees could grow.
13Evening passed, and then it was morning.
This was the third (3rd) day.
14God said ‘There will be lights in the sky. They will separate the day from the night. They will show the seasons, days and years.
16God made two great lights. The brightest light ruled over the day. The less bright light ruled over the night. God also made the stars.
17God put the lights and stars in the sky to give light on the earth.
18They were to rule over the day and night. And they separated the light from dark.
19Evening passed, and then it was morning.
21So God made big animals to live in the sea. He made every different living thing that filled the sea. God made every different bird and flying thing in the sky.
God looked at what he made.
23Evening passed and then it was morning.
This was the fifth (5th) day. #1:23 ‘Birds’ means any living thing that can fly (for example insects). #1:23 Everything that God made would have young ones. These would be the same as the parents.
25So God made the different wild animals and the different livestock. He made all the different animals that move along the ground.
And he saw that it was good. #1:25 Livestock in verse 24 are animals that are not wild. For example, cows kept for milk. Livestock usually live in a village or farm. They live near people, and people feed them. #1:25 Wild animals do not live near people. They sometimes kill other animals to eat. Some of them eat plants and fruit.
26God said ‘We will make man. Men and women will be like us. They will rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky. They will rule over the livestock. And they will rule over the earth. They will rule over the animals that move along the ground.’ #1:26 ‘Man’ means people. In verse 26 ‘man’ does not mean one person. It means the first people that God made to live on the earth. #1:26 When God uses ‘us’, he is speaking as the Trinity. That is, the three persons of God. They are God the Father, God the Son (Jesus) and God the Holy Spirit. All were present when God made the earth.
27So God made man. He made man to be like God. God made them. He made some males, and some females.
28God blessed them. He said, ‘Grow in number. Fill the earth and rule over it. Rule over the fish of the seas and over the birds of the sky. Rule over every different living animal that moves on the ground.’ #1:28 God made men and women to be ‘like’ him. This means that people could think. And they could understand what God wanted them to do. God blesses men and women. #1:28 God tells the man and woman to grow in number. He means that they are to have many children. He tells the man and woman to rule over the earth. This means that they have authority over all the earth and everything in it. But they are to care for everything.
29Then God said, ‘Look! I give you every plant on the earth that has seeds in it. I give you every tree that has fruit with a seed in it. They are yours. The seeds and fruits will be food for you.
31God looked at everything that he had made.
Evening passed. And then it was morning.
This was the sixth (6th) day.