Genesis  ◦   Chapter 1

1In the beginning God created the universe, including the planet Earth.2The Earth at that time was a formless abyss – a deep void covered by darkness – and the Spirit of God hovered over the deep waters.

3And God said, “Let light shine forth,” and light appeared. 4God delighted in how good the light was, and the light dispelled the darkness and was separate from it.

5God named the light Day, and the darkness he named Night. And the nighttime and the daytime were the first day of terraforming planet Earth. 6And God said, “Let the waters separate, with an atmosphere in between.” 7So God created an atmosphere and separated the water beneath the atmosphere from the water above it. And this was how God originally built the earth. 8God named the atmosphere Sky. And the nighttime and the daytime were the second day of terraforming planet Earth.

9And God said, “Let the water beneath the sky be gathered to one place, and have dry ground appear.” And it was so. 10God named the dry ground Land, and the gathered waters he named Seas. And God delighted in how good it was.

11Then God said, “Let all varieties of vegetation grow forth from the land: plants that reproduce their kind with seed, and trees that produce fruit with seed in it and reproduce more of their kind.” And it was so. 12Instantly the earth was covered in a rich variety of plants growing from the land: plants producing seed to reproduce more of their kind, and trees producing fruit with seed in it to reproduce more of their kind. And God delighted in how good it was. 13And the nighttime and the daytime were the third day of terraforming planet Earth.

14And God said, “Let there be lights seen in the sky to separate the day from the night, and to be the standard to mark the days and years and seasons; 15and let these lights, seen in the sky, shine light upon the earth.” And it was so. 16God created two great lights – the larger and brighter light to rule the day, and the smaller and lesser light to rule the night. He also created the stars of this solar system – Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn. (He created the other stars in the universe prior to terraforming planet Earth.) 17God set them in the heavens above, to be seen in the sky and to give light on the Earth, 18to rule the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God delighted in how good it was.19And the nighttime and the daytime were the fourth day of terraforming planet Earth.

20And God said, “Let the waters swarm with many different swarms of living creatures, and let the birds fly above the earth throughout the atmosphere.” 21So God created the many varieties of sea creatures, the great and the small, every living creature that teems in the waters – all capable of producing more of their kind; and every winged bird – all capable of producing more of their kind. And God delighted in how good it was. 22God gave them the blessing of reproductive ability and said, “Have offspring and increase in number and populate the waters, and let the birds increase throughout the earth.” 23And the nighttime and the daytime were the fifth day of terraforming planet Earth.

24And God said, “From the elements of the earth, living creatures will come forth in a rich variety of kinds: those that thrive in loving service to humans, those that serve by roaming free, and those that creep along the ground – each reproducing more of their kind.” And it was so.

25So God created all the animals: some to roam free, some to live in loving partnership with humans, and others to creep along the ground – all capable of reproducing more of their kind. And God delighted in how good it was.26Then God said, “Now it is time for the crowning creation – human beings: we will make them in our image, with godlike abilities, so they can govern the earth in love, like we govern the universe. Let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, and over all the animals of the land.”

27So God created human beings in his own image, with godlike abilities; he designed them to be like him – one in love – therefore he created humankind: male and female.

28God blessed them with procreative ability and said to them, “Have offspring and increase in number: fill the earth and develop its full potential. In love, govern over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every living creature that moves on the earth – just like we govern the universe.”

29Then God said, “Behold, all the seed-bearing plants and trees with fruit with seed in it, throughout the entire earth, I give you to be your food. 30And the animals that move on the earth and the birds of the air – every creature that has the breath of life – I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.

31God delighted in all that he had made, for it was very good. And the nighttime and the daytime were the sixth day of terraforming planet Earth.