The dark heavens over a formless sea; a ribbon of light hovers over the waters.

In the beginningGod created the heavens and the earth.

NOW THE EARTH WAS FORMLESS AND VOID, AND DARKNESS WAS OVER THE SURFACE OF THE DEEP.
Light skims the dark water; spray lifts toward it.
AND THE SPIRIT OF GOD WAS HOVERING OVER THE SURFACE OF THE WATERS.
The radiant one rises over the dark sea, one hand raised; light gathers in his palm.
LET THERE BE LIGHT!

And there was light.

The first light floods across the sea from horizon to horizon.
AND GOD SAW THAT THE LIGHT WAS GOOD.
Light and darkness divided across the sky by one glowing curve.
DAY.
NIGHT.
Night on the left becomes the first morning on the right, over the sea.
AND THERE WAS EVENING, AND THERE WAS MORNING ⁠—⁠ THE FIRST DAY.
LET THERE BE AN EXPANSE BETWEEN THE WATERS!
The radiant one, arms spread, lifts the waters apart: sea below, clouds above.
Clouds lifted high above a clear blue expanse; the sea below.
SKY.
The evening and morning horizon, now under an open sky.
AND THERE WAS EVENING, AND THERE WAS MORNING ⁠—⁠ THE SECOND DAY.
LET THE WATERS GATHER INTO ONE PLACE, AND LET DRY LAND APPEAR!
Sheets of seawater pour off newly risen rock as the waters gather.
EARTH.
SEAS.
LET THE EARTH BRING FORTH PLANTS AND FRUIT TREES!
A hand of light held over the ground as the first green shoots spring up.
A fig branch unfurls new leaves and a first small fig.
An almond branch bursts into blossom.
Hills of fruit trees, grain and flowers running down to the sea.
AND GOD SAW THAT IT WAS GOOD.
The evening and morning horizon; green land now rises on the right.
AND THERE WAS EVENING, AND THERE WAS MORNING ⁠—⁠ THE THIRD DAY.
LET THERE BE LIGHTS IN THE SKY, TO MARK THE SEASONS AND DAYS AND YEARS!
A great hand of light raised toward the empty sky above the sea.
The sun high in the day sky; the sky deepening to night with the moon and the stars.
THE GREATER LIGHT TO RULE THE DAY…
…AND THE LESSER LIGHT TO RULE THE NIGHT, AND THE STARS AS WELL.
AND GOD SAW THAT IT WAS GOOD.
The horizon at evening and morning; the moon and stars on one side, the rising sun on the other.
AND THERE WAS EVENING, AND THERE WAS MORNING ⁠—⁠ THE FOURTH DAY.
LET THE WATERS TEEM WITH LIVING CREATURES, AND LET BIRDS FLY IN THE OPEN SKY!
A hand of light releases a rush of gulls; dolphins leap from the sea below.
Birds over the sea; below the surface a great whale and her calf among fish.
SO GOD CREATED THE GREAT SEA CREATURES AND EVERY WINGED BIRD.
The gentle eye of a great whale.
A hoopoe in flight with storks and swallows.
AND GOD SAW THAT IT WAS GOOD.
BE FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY, AND FILL THE WATERS OF THE SEAS!
A great whale bursts out of the sea in a shower of spray.
The horizon at evening and morning; birds cross the sky and a whale spouts.
AND THERE WAS EVENING, AND THERE WAS MORNING ⁠—⁠ THE FIFTH DAY.
LET THE EARTH BRING FORTH LIVING CREATURES ACCORDING TO THEIR KINDS!
A hand of light over a plain as herds of animals burst into a run.
Ibex on the crags, a lion resting near grazing gazelles, cattle and sheep by a stream.
A lion's calm golden eye through tall grass.
A lion resting in a flowering meadow while gazelles graze.
A tortoise, a lizard and a beetle among wildflowers.
AND GOD SAW THAT IT WAS GOOD.
LET US MAKE MAN IN OUR IMAGE, AFTER OUR LIKENESS.
The new world at morning seen from an empty grassy knoll; light pours down from above.

So God created man in His own image;

The man opens his eyes in wonder.
The woman opens her eyes, smiling.

male and female He created them.

BE FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY, AND FILL THE EARTH!
The radiant one blesses the man and the woman on a flowering hillside above the sea.
I HAVE GIVEN YOU EVERY SEED-BEARING PLANT AND FRUIT TREE FOR FOOD.
The man's and the woman's hands holding figs, a pomegranate, dates and ears of grain.
Ibex, gazelles and a deer eating green leaves.
AND EVERY GREEN PLANT FOR EVERYTHING THAT HAS THE BREATH OF LIFE.
The whole finished world in warm afternoon light, from mountains to the shining sea.
GOD LOOKED UPON ALL THAT HE HAD MADE…

and indeed, it was very good.

The horizon at evening and morning; animals stand on the headland.
AND THERE WAS EVENING, AND THERE WAS MORNING ⁠—⁠ THE SIXTH DAY.
The heavens and the earth at dawn, from the last stars down to the quiet sea.
THUS THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH WERE COMPLETED IN ALL THEIR VAST ARRAY.
BY THE SEVENTH DAY, GOD HAD FINISHED THE WORK HE HAD BEEN DOING…
The radiant one sits at rest on a hilltop above the finished world; gazelles and a deer rest beside him.
…SO ON THAT DAY HE RESTED FROM ALL HIS WORK.
A soft glow of light resting over a calm golden sea.

Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it.

GENESIS 1:1–2:3

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