1 In the very beginning, long, long ago, God made the earth below and the heavens above. At the time when God first started creating the world, 2 it was all watery. Water covered everything and that was all. There was no dry land yet, only water, and it was dark. It was dark just like a cave is dark inside at night. But the spirit of God was moving over the water.

3 Then God spoke. “Let there be light,” he said. And then the light came out. 4 God looked and saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. 5 He called the light “Day” and the darkness “Night.” Then night came. That was the first night.

Then a new day dawned and it was morning. 6 Then God spoke again. “Let the water separate, half above and half below.” 7 Then God separated the water below from the water above so that there was a wide space in the middle. 8 God called the wide space “Sky.” Then night came. That was the second night.

Then a new day dawned and it was morning. 9 And God spoke again. “Let the water come together in one place,” he said, “so that the earth can appear.” Then the water came together in one place and the earth appeared. 10 God called the earth “Dry land.” And the water that came together he called “Sea.” And God looked and saw that the dry land and the sea were both good.

11 Then God spoke again. “Let different kinds of trees and other plants grow on the land. The plants will give seeds and the different kinds of trees will give fruit.” 12 Then trees and other plants grew on the land. God looked and saw that the trees and plants were all good. 13 Then night came. That was the third night.

Then a new day dawned and it was morning. 14-15 Then God spoke again. “Let lights come out in the sky. Let them light up the world, so that the day is separate from the night, and so that all the days are separate. Day and night will follow one after the other. And let them light up the world, so that the dry season will be separate from the wet season. The dry season and the wet season will also follow one after the other.”

16-18 Then God made two big lights. He made the sun and put it in the sky, so that it would light up the world and rule over the day. Then he made the moon and put it in the sky to rule over the night. And then he made all the stars. He made the two big lights so that the light and the darkness would be separate. Then God looked and saw that the sun and the moon and the stars were all good. 19 Then night came. That was the fourth night.

And then a new day dawned and it was morning. 20 Then God spoke again. “Let many different kinds of fish fill the sea, and let birds fly in the sky.” 21 So God made creatures like big whales and dugongs and groper and other kinds of fish that filled the sea. And he made birds. Then God looked and saw that they were all good. 22 Then God blessed the sea creatures and the birds. He said to the fish, “Increase and fill the sea,” and to the birds, “Increase!” 23 Then night came. That was the fifth night.

And then a new day dawned and it was morning. 24 Then God spoke again. “Let there be different kinds of animals and snakes, big ones and little ones, on the earth.” 25 So he made the different animals and snakes, big ones and little ones. Then God looked and saw that they were all good.

26 Then God spoke again. “Now we will make people and they will be like us. And they will rule over the fish and the birds and the animals and the snakes.” 27 So God created people, making them like himself. He created them male and female.

28 And then he blessed them and said to them, “Have children, and let them have children too, so that they can live in the world and rule over it. You will rule over the fish and the birds and the animals.

29 “I have made all kinds of food for you, seeds that the grasses provide and fruit that the trees provide, for you to eat. 30 And I have given plants to the animals and to the birds for their food.”

31 And God looked and saw that all the things he had made were good. Then night came. That was the sixth night. And then a new day dawned and it was morning.