Good News Translation GNT
World English Bible WEB
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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Now the earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep. God's Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters.
3 Then God commanded, "Let there be light" - and light appeared.
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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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God saw the light, and saw that it was good. God divided 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. There was evening and there was morning, one 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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God said, "Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters."
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God made the expanse, and divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which 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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God called the expanse sky. There was evening and there was morning, a 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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God said, "Let the waters under the sky be gathered together to 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 gathering together of the waters he called Seas. 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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God said, "Let the earth put forth grass, herbs yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with its seed in it, 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 grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, with its seed in it, after their kind: and God saw that it was good.
13 Evening passed and morning came - that was the third day.
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There was evening and there was morning, a 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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God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of sky to divide 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 for lights in the expanse of sky to give light on 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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God made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He also made the stars.
17 He placed the lights in the sky to shine on the earth,
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God set them in the expanse of sky to give light to 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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and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good.
19 Evening passed and morning came - that was the fourth day.
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There was evening and there was morning, a 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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God said, "Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of sky."
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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God created the large sea creatures, and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed, after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind. 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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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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There was evening and there was morning, a 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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God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind, cattle, creeping things, and animals of the earth after their kind," and it was so.
25 So God made them all, and he was pleased with what he saw.
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God made the animals of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind. 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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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 sky, and over the cattle, 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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God created man in his own image. In God's image 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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God blessed them. God said to them, "Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, 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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God said, "Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree, which bears fruit yielding seed. It will be your 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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To every animal of the earth, and to every bird of the sky, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb 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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God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. 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 World English Bible is in the public domain.