Genesis

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

Note"The heavens and the earth" is a Hebrew way of saying "everything" by naming the two extremes, the sky above and the ground below. The word for heavens is plural in Hebrew and means the visible sky, not a place of afterlife. The verb translated "created" (bara) is used in the Hebrew Bible only with God as its subject.

2The earth had no shape, and it was empty. Darkness lay over the surface of the deep water. And the Spirit of God moved over the surface of the waters.

2And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Note"Without form, and void" translates the Hebrew pair tohu wabohu, a rhyming phrase meaning something like "trackless and empty", a waste with nothing in it and no shape to it. "The deep" (tehom) is the primeval mass of water, the same word used elsewhere for the ocean depths. The word rendered "Spirit" (ruach) equally means "wind" or "breath," and translators have long divided over which sense is meant here; "moved" is a verb used of a bird hovering or fluttering over its nest.

3And God said, "Let there be light." And there was light.

3And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

4And God saw the light, that it was good. And God separated the light from the darkness.

4And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

5God named the light Day, and the darkness he named Night. And there was evening, and there was morning: the first day.

5And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

NoteIn Hebrew reckoning a day runs from sunset to sunset, so "the evening and the morning" is the full cycle, not an odd order. The Hebrew of the last phrase is literally "day one", a count rather than an ordinal, though the following days are numbered second, third, and so on.

6And God said, "Let there be an expanse in the middle of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters."

6And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

Note"Firmament" comes from a Latin word meaning something made firm or solid; the Hebrew raqia refers to something beaten or hammered out thin, like sheet metal. Ancient readers pictured the sky as a vast dome stretched over the earth, holding back an ocean above it, which is why the next verse speaks of waters above and waters below.

7And God made the expanse, and he separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so.

7And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.

8And God named the expanse Sky. And there was evening, and there was morning: the second day.

8And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

NoteThe word translated "Heaven" here is the same one used in verse 1. It means the sky, the open space overhead where birds fly and the sun and stars appear.

9And God said, "Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear." And it was so.

9And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

10And God named the dry land Earth, and the gathered waters he named Seas. And God saw that it was good.

10And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

11And God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, and plants that make seed, and fruit trees that make fruit with their seed in it, each after its own kind, upon the earth." And it was so.

11And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

Note"After his kind" uses "his" in its older English sense of "its"; English had no word "its" in 1611. The Hebrew phrase means each sort of plant produces seed that yields more of the same sort.

12And the earth brought forth grass, and plants that make seed, each after its own kind, and trees that make fruit with their seed in it, each after its own kind. And God saw that it was good.

12And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

13And there was evening, and there was morning: the third day.

13And the evening and the morning were the third day.

14And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years.

14And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:

NoteThe word for "seasons" (mo'adim) means appointed or fixed times, the points on the calendar marked by the sun and moon, including festivals and set occasions, rather than spring, summer, autumn and winter. "Signs" here means markers by which such times are recognized.

15And let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light upon the earth." And it was so.

15And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.

16And God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also.

16And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

NoteThe Hebrew avoids the ordinary words for sun and moon, calling them simply the greater and lesser lights. In the surrounding cultures those words doubled as the names of gods. "Rule" is a term used of a governor or official presiding over a domain.

17And God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light upon the earth,

17And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,

18and to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.

18And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.

19And there was evening, and there was morning: the fourth day.

19And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

20And God said, "Let the waters swarm with great numbers of moving creatures that have life, and let birds fly above the earth across the open expanse of the sky."

20And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

Note"Fowl" in 1611 English meant birds of any kind, not just poultry. The Hebrew verb behind "bring forth abundantly" means to swarm or teem.

21And God created the great sea creatures, and every living creature that moves, which the waters swarmed with in great numbers, each after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind. And God saw that it was good.

21And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

Note"Great whales" translates tanninim, a word for large sea creatures generally, used elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible for serpents, crocodiles and the monstrous creatures of the sea. Modern translations usually render it "great sea creatures."

22And God blessed them, saying, "Have many young and grow in number, and fill the waters in the seas, and let the birds grow in number on the earth."

22And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

23And there was evening, and there was morning: the fifth day.

23And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

24And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures, each after its own kind: livestock, and creatures that crawl on the ground, and animals of the earth, each after its own kind." And it was so.

24And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.

Note"Cattle" in 1611 English meant domesticated animals of all kinds, the Hebrew behemah covers herds and flocks, not cows specifically. "Creeping thing" (remes) covers small animals that move low along the ground: reptiles, insects, rodents and the like.

25And God made the animals of the earth after their kind, and the livestock after their kind, and everything that crawls on the ground after its kind. And God saw that it was good.

25And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

26And God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them rule over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creature that crawls upon the earth."

26And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

Note"Let us make" is plural, and the Hebrew gives no explanation for it. It has been read as a royal or self-deliberative plural, as God addressing a heavenly court of attendants, and in other ways; the text itself leaves it unresolved. "Man" translates adam, a collective word for humankind rather than a male individual, hence "let them have dominion" in the same sentence. "Image" (tselem) is the ordinary word for a statue or carved representation, and in the ancient Near East a king would set up such images to represent his rule where he was not present.

27So God created man in his own image. In the image of God he created him. Male and female he created them.

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

28And God blessed them, and God said to them, "Have many children and grow in number, and fill the earth, and bring it under your control. Rule over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth."

28And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Note"Replenish" in 1611 English meant simply to fill, not to fill again. "Subdue" (kabash) is a forceful word, used elsewhere of bringing land or people under control, and "have dominion" is the language of a ruler over subjects.

29And God said, "Look, I have given you every plant that makes seed, everywhere on the face of the earth, and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be your food.

29And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

Note"Meat" in 1611 English meant food of any kind, not flesh specifically. The distinction the verse draws is between seed-bearing plants and fruit, not between plant and animal food.

30And to every animal of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that crawls upon the earth that has life in it, I have given every green plant for food." And it was so.

30And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

31And God saw everything that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning: the sixth day.

31And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

NoteThe Hebrew word translated "good" (tov) covers what is fitting, sound, and working as intended, as well as what is morally good; here it is the assessment a craftsman makes of finished work. "Behold" is 1611 English for "look" or "see".