The Beginning
1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
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Now th earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the suface of the deep,
and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
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And God said, "Let there be light" and there was light.
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God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.
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God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night."
And there was evening, and there was morning - the first day.
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And God said, "Let there be an expanse (a vault) between the waters
to separate water from water."
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So God made the expanse (the vault) and separated the water
under the expanse (the vault) for the water above it. And it was so.
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God called the expanse (the vault) "sky."
And there was evening, and there was morning - the second day.
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And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place,
and let dry ground appear." And it was so.
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God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas."
God saw that it was good.
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Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation;
seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it,
according to their various kinds." And it was so.
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The land produced vegetaion: plants bearing seed
according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it
according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
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And there was evening, and there was morning - the third day.
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And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse (the vault) of the sky
to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark
seasons and days and years,
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and let them be lights in the expanse (the vault) of the sky
to give light on the earth." And it was so.
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God made two great lights - the greater light to govern the day
and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.
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God set them in the expanse (the vault) of the sky to give light on the earth,
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to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness.
And God saw that it was good.
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And there was evening, and there was morning - the fourth day.
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And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures,
and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse (the vault) of the sky."
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So God created the great creatures of the sea and
every living and moving thing with which the water teems,
according to their kinds, and every winged bird
according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
22
God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number
and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth."
23
And there was evening, and there was morning - the fifth day.
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And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures
according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground,
and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so.
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God made the wild animals according to their kinds,
the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along
the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
26
Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness,
and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air,
over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures
that move along the ground."
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So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
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God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number;
fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and
the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."
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Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of
the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it.
They will be yours for food.
30
And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and
all the creatures that move on the ground - everything that has
the breath of life in it - I give every green plant for food." And it was so.
31
God saw all that he had made, and it ws very good.
And there was evening, and there was morning - the sixth day.
