Origin of the World and Humankind

Creation and the Fall

Chapter 1

Origin of the Universe. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

The earth was formless and barren, and darkness covered the abyss while the Spirit of God hovered over the waters.

God said, “Let there be light!” And there was light.

God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.

God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters to separate one set of waters from the other.”

God separated the firmament from the waters, those waters that are under the firmament from those that are above the firmament. And it was so.

God called the firmament the heavens. This was the evening and the morning of the second day.

God said, “Let the waters that are under the heavens be gathered into one place and let a dry place appear.” And it was so.

God called the dry place the land, and the gathered waters he called the sea. And God saw that it was good.

God said, “Let the land bring forth plants, those that produce seeds and fruit trees that have seeds inside of the fruit they bear, each according to its own kind. And it was so.

The land brought forth plants, each according to its kind, and trees that have fruit with seeds inside of them, each according to its kind.” God saw that they were good.

God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to separate the day from the night; let them be markers to separate seasons and days and years,

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

God placed them in the firmament of the heavens to light the earth

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

God said, “Let the waters be filled with living creatures and let birds fly above the earth in the firmament of the heavens.”

God created the great sea creatures and all the other creatures that fill the waters, each according to its kind, and all the birds that fly in the sky, each according to its kind.

God blessed them saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters of the sea, and let the birds multiply upon the earth.”

God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures each according to its kind: cattle and reptiles and wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so.

God made the savage beasts according to their kind and the cattle according to their kind and all of the reptiles according to their kind. And God saw that it was good.

And God said, “Let us make man in our image and likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the wild animals and reptiles that crawl upon the earth.”

God created mankind in his image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them.

God blessed them and told them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth; subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the seas and over the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves upon the earth.”

And God said, “Behold, I give you every plant that produces seeds upon the earth and every tree that has fruit with its seed inside of it: these shall be your food.

God saw all that he had made, and behold, it was very good. This was the evening and the morning of the sixth day.