Genesis 1

English Standard Version

The Creation of the World

1 In the ^(A)beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. ²The earth was ^(B)without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

³And God said, ^(C)“Let there be light,” and there was light. ⁴And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. ⁵God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

⁶And God said, ^(D)“Let there be an expanse^[a] in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” ⁷And God made^[b] the expanse and ^(E)separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were ^(F)above the expanse. And it was so. ⁸And God called the expanse Heaven.^[c] And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.

⁹And God said, ^(G)“Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. ¹⁰God called the dry land Earth,^[d] and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.

¹¹And God said, ^(H)“Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants^[e] yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. ¹²The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. ¹³And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.

¹⁴And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for ^(I)signs and for ^(J)seasons,^[f] and for days and years, ¹⁵and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. ¹⁶And God ^(K)made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. ¹⁷And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, ¹⁸to ^(L)rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. ¹⁹And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.

²⁰And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds^[g] fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” ²¹So ^(M)God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. ²²And God blessed them, saying, ^(N)“Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” ²³And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

²⁴And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. ²⁵And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

²⁶Then God said, ^(O)“Let us make man^[h] in our image, ^(P)after our likeness. And ^(Q)let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

²⁷So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
^(R)male and female he created them.

²⁸And God blessed them. And God said to them, ^(S)“Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” ²⁹And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. ^(T)You shall have them for food. ³⁰And ^(U)to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. ³¹^(V)And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Footnotes

Genesis 1:6 Or a canopy; also verses 7, 8, 14, 15, 17, 20
Genesis 1:7 Or fashioned; also verse 16
Genesis 1:8 Or Sky; also verses 9, 14, 15, 17, 20, 26, 28, 30; 2:1
Genesis 1:10 Or Land; also verses 11, 12, 22, 24, 25, 26, 28, 30; 2:1
Genesis 1:11 Or small plants; also verses 12, 29
Genesis 1:14 Or appointed times
Genesis 1:20 Or flying things; see Leviticus 11:19–20
Genesis 1:26 The Hebrew word for man (adam) is the generic term for mankind and becomes the proper name Adam

Psalm 104

English Standard Version

O Lord My God, You Are Very Great

104 ^(A)Bless the Lord, O my soul!
    O Lord my God, you are ^(B)very great!
^(C)You are clothed with splendor and majesty,
²    covering yourself with light as with a garment,
    ^(D)stretching out the heavens ^(E)like a tent.
³He ^(F)lays the beams of his ^(G)chambers on the waters;
he makes ^(H)the clouds his chariot;
    he rides on ^(I)the wings of the wind;
⁴he ^(J)makes his messengers winds,
    his ^(K)ministers ^(L)a flaming fire.

⁵He ^(M)set the earth on its foundations,
    so that it should never be moved.
⁶You ^(N)covered it with the deep as with a garment;
    the waters stood above the mountains.
⁷At ^(O)your rebuke they fled;
    at ^(P)the sound of your thunder they ^(Q)took to flight.
⁸The mountains rose, the valleys sank down
    to the place that you ^(R)appointed for them.
⁹You set ^(S)a boundary that they may not pass,
    so that they ^(T)might not again cover the earth.

¹⁰You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
    they flow between the hills;
¹¹they ^(U)give drink to every beast of the field;
    the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
¹²Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;
    they sing among the branches.
¹³^(V)From your lofty abode you ^(W)water the mountains;
    the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.

¹⁴You cause ^(X)the grass to grow for the livestock
    and ^(Y)plants for man to cultivate,
that he may bring forth ^(Z)food from the earth
¹⁵    and ^(AA)wine to gladden the heart of man,
^(AB)oil to make his face shine
    and bread to ^(AC)strengthen man's heart.

¹⁶The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly,
    ^(AD)the cedars of Lebanon ^(AE)that he planted.
¹⁷In them the birds build their nests;
    the stork has her home in the fir trees.
¹⁸The high mountains are for ^(AF)the wild goats;
    the rocks are a refuge for ^(AG)the rock badgers.

¹⁹He made the moon to mark the ^(AH)seasons;^[a]
    the sun knows its time for setting.
²⁰^(AI)You make darkness, and it is night,
    when all the beasts of the forest creep about.
²¹^(AJ)The young lions roar for their prey,
    seeking their food from God.
²²When the sun rises, they steal away
    and lie down in their ^(AK)dens.
²³^(AL)Man goes out to his work
    and to his labor until the evening.

²⁴O Lord, how manifold are your works!
    In ^(AM)wisdom have you made them all;
    the earth is full of your creatures.
²⁵Here is the sea, great and wide,
    ^(AN)which teems with creatures innumerable,
    living things both small and great.
²⁶There go the ships,
    and ^(AO)Leviathan, which you formed to ^(AP)play in it.^[b]

²⁷These ^(AQ)all look to you,
    to ^(AR)give them their food in due season.
²⁸When you give it to them, they gather it up;
    when you ^(AS)open your hand, they are filled with good things.
²⁹When you ^(AT)hide your face, they are ^(AU)dismayed;
    when you ^(AV)take away their breath, they die
    and ^(AW)return to their dust.
³⁰When you ^(AX)send forth your Spirit,^[c] they are created,
    and you ^(AY)renew the face of the ground.

³¹May the glory of the Lord ^(AZ)endure forever;
    may the Lord ^(BA)rejoice in his works,
³²who looks on the earth and it ^(BB)trembles,
    who ^(BC)touches the mountains and they smoke!
³³I will sing to the Lord ^(BD)as long as I live;
    I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
³⁴May my ^(BE)meditation be pleasing to him,
    for I rejoice in the Lord.
³⁵Let ^(BF)sinners be consumed from the earth,
    and let the wicked be no more!
^(BG)Bless the Lord, O my soul!
^(BH)Praise the Lord!

Footnotes

Psalm 104:19 Or the appointed times (compare Genesis 1:14)
Psalm 104:26 Or you formed to play with
Psalm 104:30 Or breath

Isaiah 65

English Standard Version

Judgment and Salvation

65 ^(A)I was ready to be sought by ^(B)those who did not ask for me;
    I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me.
I said, “Here I am, here I am,”
    to a nation that was not called by^[a] my name.
²^(C)I spread out my hands all the day
    to a rebellious people,
who walk in a way that is not good,
    following their own devices;
³a people who provoke me
    to my face continually,
^(D)sacrificing in gardens
    and making offerings on bricks;
⁴who sit in tombs,
    and spend the night in secret places;
^(E)who eat pig's flesh,
    and broth of tainted meat is in their vessels;
⁵who say, “Keep to yourself,
    do not come near me, for I am too holy for you.”
^(F)These are a smoke in my nostrils,
    a fire that burns all the day.
⁶Behold, ^(G)it is written before me:
    ^(H)“I will not keep silent, but I will repay;
^(I)I will indeed repay into their lap
⁷    both your iniquities ^(J)and your fathers' iniquities together,
says the Lord;
^(K)because they made offerings on the mountains
    ^(L)and insulted me on the hills,
I will measure into their lap
    payment for their former deeds.”^[b]

⁸Thus says the Lord:
^(M)“As the new wine is found in the cluster,
    and they say, ‘Do not destroy it,
    for there is a blessing in it,’
so I will do for my servants' sake,
    ^(N)and not destroy them all.
⁹^(O)I will bring forth offspring from Jacob,
    and from Judah possessors of my mountains;
my chosen shall possess it,
    and my servants shall dwell there.
¹⁰^(P)Sharon shall become a pasture for flocks,
    and ^(Q)the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down,
    for my people ^(R)who have sought me.
¹¹But ^(S)you who forsake the Lord,
    who forget ^(T)my holy mountain,
who ^(U)set a table for Fortune
    and ^(V)fill cups of mixed wine for Destiny,
¹²I will destine you to the sword,
    and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter,
^(W)because, when I called, you did not answer;
    when I spoke, you did not listen,
^(X)but you did what was evil in my eyes
    and chose what I did not delight in.”

¹³Therefore thus says the Lord God:
“Behold, ^(Y)my servants shall eat,
    but you shall be hungry;
behold, my servants shall drink,
    but you shall be thirsty;
behold, my servants shall rejoice,
    but you shall be put to shame;
¹⁴behold, ^(Z)my servants shall sing for gladness of heart,
    but you shall cry out for pain of heart
    and shall wail for breaking of spirit.
¹⁵You shall leave your name to ^(AA)my chosen ^(AB)for a curse,
    and the Lord God will put you to death,
    but his servants ^(AC)he will call by another name,
¹⁶so that he who ^(AD)blesses himself in the land
    shall bless himself by ^(AE)the God of truth,
and he who takes an oath in the land
    shall swear by ^(AF)the God of truth;
^(AG)because the former troubles are forgotten
    and are hidden from my eyes.

New Heavens and a New Earth

¹⁷“For behold, ^(AH)I create new heavens
    and a new earth,
and the former things shall not be remembered
    or come into mind.
¹⁸But be glad and rejoice forever
    in that which I create;
for behold, ^(AI)I create Jerusalem to be a joy,
    and her people to be a gladness.
¹⁹^(AJ)I will rejoice in Jerusalem
    and be glad in my people;
^(AK)no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping
    and the cry of distress.
²⁰No more shall there be in it
    an infant who lives but a few days,
    or an old man who does not fill out his days,
for ^(AL)the young man shall die a hundred years old,
    and ^(AM)the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.
²¹^(AN)They shall build houses and inhabit them;
    they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
²²^(AO)They shall not build and another inhabit;
    they shall not plant and another eat;
^(AP)for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,
    and my chosen shall long enjoy^[c] the work of their hands.
²³^(AQ)They shall not labor in vain
    ^(AR)or bear children for calamity,^[d]
for ^(AS)they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the Lord,
    and their descendants with them.
²⁴^(AT)Before they call I will answer;
    ^(AU)while they are yet speaking I will hear.
²⁵^(AV)The wolf and the lamb shall graze together;
    the lion shall eat straw like the ox,
    and ^(AW)dust shall be the serpent's food.
^(AX)They shall not hurt or destroy
    in all my holy mountain,”
says the Lord.