Good News Translation GNT
English Standard Version ESV
1 In the beginning, when God created the universe,
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In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
2 the earth was formless and desolate. The raging ocean that covered everything was engulfed in total darkness, and the Spirit of God was moving over the water.
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The earth was 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.
3 Then God commanded, "Let there be light" - and light appeared.
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And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.
4 God was pleased with what he saw. Then he separated the light from the darkness,
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And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness.
5 and he named the light "Day" and the darkness "Night." Evening passed and morning came - that was the first day.
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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.
6 Then God commanded, "Let there be a dome to divide the water and to keep it in two separate places" - and it was done. So God made a dome, and it separated the water under it from the water above it.
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And God said, "Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters."
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And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so.
8 He named the dome "Sky." Evening passed and morning came - that was the second day.
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And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
9 Then God commanded, "Let the water below the sky come together in one place, so that the land will appear" - and it was done.
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And God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear." And it was so.
10 He named the land "Earth," and the water which had come together he named "Sea." And God was pleased with what he saw.
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God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
11 Then he commanded, "Let the earth produce all kinds of plants, those that bear grain and those that bear fruit" - and it was done.
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And God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth." And it was so.
12 So the earth produced all kinds of plants, and God was pleased with what he saw.
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The 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.
13 Evening passed and morning came - that was the third day.
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And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
14 Then God commanded, "Let lights appear in the sky to separate day from night and to show the time when days, years, and religious festivals begin;
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And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years,
15 they will shine in the sky to give light to the earth" - and it was done.
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and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth." And it was so.
16 So God made the two larger lights, the sun to rule over the day and the moon to rule over the night; he also made the stars.
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And God made the two great lights--the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night--and the stars.
17 He placed the lights in the sky to shine on the earth,
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And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth,
18 to rule over the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God was pleased with what he saw.
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to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.
19 Evening passed and morning came - that was the fourth day.
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And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
20 Then God commanded, "Let the water be filled with many kinds of living beings, and let the air be filled with birds."
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And God said, "Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens."
21 So God created the great sea monsters, all kinds of creatures that live in the water, and all kinds of birds. And God was pleased with what he saw.
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So 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.
22 He blessed them all and told the creatures that live in the water to reproduce and to fill the sea, and he told the birds to increase in number.
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And God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth."
23 Evening passed and morning came - that was the fifth day.
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And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
24 Then God commanded, "Let the earth produce all kinds of animal life: domestic and wild, large and small" - and it was done.
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And 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.
25 So God made them all, and he was pleased with what he saw.
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And 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.
26 Then God said, "And now we will make human beings; they will be like us and resemble us. They will have power over the fish, the birds, and all animals, domestic and wild, large and small."
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Then 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 birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
27 So God created human beings, making them to be like himself. He created them male and female,
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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.
28 blessed them, and said, "Have many children, so that your descendants will live all over the earth and bring it under their control. I am putting you in charge of the fish, the birds, and all the wild animals.
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And God blessed them. And God said to them, "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."
29 I have provided all kinds of grain and all kinds of fruit for you to eat;
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And 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. You shall have them for food.
30 but for all the wild animals and for all the birds I have provided grass and leafy plants for food" - and it was done.
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And 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 God looked at everything he had made, and he was very pleased. Evening passed and morning came - that was the sixth day.
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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.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.