Gen 1 | EE | STEP | In the beginning, God began to make the earth and the heavens and everything in them.

Genesis 1

God makes the earth

1 In the beginning, God began to make the earth and the heavens and everything in them. 2 The 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.}

3 God said ‘I want light to appear.’

And there was light.

4 God looked at the light.

And he saw that it was good.

He separated the light from the dark.

5 God 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.}

6 Then God said ‘A wide space will appear between the waters. So the waters will separate. Some of the water will stay above the space. The rest of the water will stay below the space.’

7 So God made a wide space. He separated the water under the space from the water above it.

And what God said happened.

8 God called the wide space ‘sky’.

Evening passed and then it was morning.

This was the second (2nd) day.

9 God said ‘The water under the sky will gather in one place. And dry ground will appear.’

And what God said happened.

10 God called the dry ground ‘land’. He called the water (that he put in one place) ‘sea’.

God looked at what he had made.

And he saw that it was good.

11 God said ‘Plants will grow in the land. They will make seeds. And fruit trees will grow, with seeds inside the fruit. Then they can make more plants and trees. These plants and trees will be the same as the plants and trees that they have come from.’

And it was like that.

12 So 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.

God looked at what he had made.

And he saw that it was good.

13 Evening passed, and then it was morning.

This was the third (3rd) day.

14 God said ‘There will be lights in the sky. They will separate the day from the night. They will show the seasons, days and years.

15 The lights in the sky will give light to the earth.’

And this happened.

16 God made two great lights. The brightest light ruled over the day. The less bright light ruled over the night. God also made the stars.

17 God put the lights and stars in the sky to give light on the earth.

18 They were to rule over the day and night. And they separated the light from dark.

God looked at what he had made.

And he saw that it was good.

19 Evening passed, and then it was morning.

This was the fourth (4th) day. ^{▼▼1:19 ‘Lights’ mean something bright that shines. (That is not the same as the light in verse 3.)}

20 God said ‘The waters will fill with fish and other living things. And birds will appear and fly in the sky, above the earth.’

21 So 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.

And he saw that it was good.

22 God blessed them. He said ‘Have many young ones, and grow in number. Fill the water in the seas. The birds also should have many young ones so that they will grow in number on the earth.’

23 Evening 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.}

24 God said ‘I will make different animals come up from the ground. I will make livestock and wild animals. There will be other small animals to move along the ground. I will make many different animals to live on the earth.’

And what God said happened.

25 So God made the different wild animals and the different livestock. He made all the different animals that move along the ground.

God looked at what he had made.

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.}

26 God 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.}

27 So God made man. He made man to be like God. God made them. He made some males, and some females.

28 God 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.}

29 Then 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.

30 And they will be food for all the animals on the earth. They will be food for all the birds in the sky and for all the animals that move along the ground. Everything that has life can eat every green plant.’

And what God said happened.

31 God looked at everything that he had made.

And he saw that it was very good.

Evening passed. And then it was morning.

This was the sixth (6th) day.