New Revised Standard NRS
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth,
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At the first God made the heaven and the earth.
2 the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.
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And the earth was waste and without form; and it was dark on the face of the deep: and the Spirit of God was moving on the face of the waters.
3 Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light.
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And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
4 And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.
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And God, looking on the light, saw that it was good: and God made a division between the light and the dark,
5 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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Naming the light, Day, and the dark, Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
6 And God said, "Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters."
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And God said, Let there be a solid arch stretching over the waters, parting the waters from the waters.
7 So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so.
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And God made the arch for a division between the waters which were under the arch and those which were over it: and it was so.
8 God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
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And God gave the arch the name of Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
9 And God said, "Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear." And it was so.
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And God said, Let the waters under the heaven come together in one place, and let the dry land be seen: and it was so.
10 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
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And God gave the dry land the name of Earth; and the waters together in their place were named Seas: and God saw that it was good.
11 Then God said, "Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it." And it was so.
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And God said, Let grass come up on the earth, and plants producing seed, and fruit-trees giving fruit, in which is their seed, after their sort: and it was so.
12 The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good.
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And grass came up on the earth, and every plant producing seed of its sort, and every tree producing fruit, in which is its seed, of its sort: and God saw that it was good.
13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
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And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
14 And God said, "Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years,
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And God said, Let there be lights in the arch of heaven, for a division between the day and the night, and let them be for signs, and for marking the changes of the year, and for days and for years:
15 and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth." And it was so.
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And let them be for lights in the arch of heaven to give light on the earth: and it was so.
16 God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars.
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And God made the two great lights: the greater light to be the ruler of the day, and the smaller light to be the ruler of the night: and he made the stars.
17 God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth,
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And God put them in the arch of heaven, to give light on the earth;
18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.
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To have rule over the day and the night, and for a division between the light and the dark: and God saw that it was good.
19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
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And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
20 And God said, "Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky."
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And God said, Let the waters be full of living things, and let birds be in flight over the earth under the arch of heaven.
21 So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good.
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And God made great sea-beasts, and every sort of living and moving thing with which the waters were full, and every sort of winged bird: and God saw that it was good.
22 God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth."
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And God gave them his blessing, saying, Be fertile and have increase, making all the waters of the seas full, and let the birds be increased in the earth.
23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
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And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
24 And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind." And it was so.
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And God said, Let the earth give birth to all sorts of living things, cattle and all things moving on the earth, and beasts of the earth after their sort: and it was so.
25 God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good.
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And God made the beast of the earth after its sort, and the cattle after their sort, and everything moving on the face of the earth after its sort: and God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, "Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth."
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And God said, Let us make man in our image, like us: and let him have rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every living thing which goes flat on the earth.
27 So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
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And God made man in his image, in the image of God he made him: male and female he made them.
28 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 air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth."
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And God gave them his blessing and said to them, Be fertile and have increase, and make the earth full and be masters of it; be rulers over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing moving on the earth.
29 God said, "See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food.
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And God said, See, I have given you every plant producing seed, on the face of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit producing seed: they will be for your food:
30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, 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.
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And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the air and every living thing moving on the face of the earth I have given every green plant for food: and it was so.
31 God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
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And God saw everything which he had made and it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.