In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was empty and without form; darkness covered the deep, and the Spirit of God moved over the waters. Then, in the middle of that silent darkness, God spoke.

And there was light. God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. There was evening and there was morning: the first day.

On the next day, God said:

"Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters."

And so it was. God made the firmament and separated the waters below from the waters above. God called the firmament sky. There was evening and there was morning: the second day.

God said:

"Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear."

And so it was. God called the dry land earth, and the gathered waters He called sea. And God saw that it was good.

God spoke again:

"Let the earth bring forth green grass that bears seed, and fruit trees that give fruit, each one according to its kind."

Then the earth was covered with green grass and with trees heavy with fruit, and each plant carried its own seed inside itself, to spread across the earth. And God saw that it was good. There was evening and there was morning: the third day.

God said:

"Let there be lights in the firmament of the sky, to separate the day from the night, to serve as signs and to mark the seasons, the days, and the years."

And so it was. God made the two great lights: the greater one to rule the day, and the lesser one to rule the night; and He made the stars as well. He set them all in the sky to give light to the earth and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. There was evening and there was morning: the fourth day.

God said:

"Let the waters be filled with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth, under the sky."

God created the great fish and every creature that lives in the water, and every bird, each one according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them, saying:

"Be fruitful and multiply; fill the waters of the sea, and let the birds multiply on the earth."

There was evening and there was morning: the fifth day.

God said:

"Let the earth bring forth animals of every kind: tame animals, creeping things, and wild animals."

And so it was. God made the wild animals, the tame animals, and everything that creeps along the ground, each one according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. Then God spoke once more, and this time His word was preparing the most beloved of all His creatures.

God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created them, man and woman. God blessed them and said:

"Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and take care of it. Rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every animal that moves upon the earth."

God also said:

"See: I give you every plant that bears seed and every tree that gives fruit, to be your food. And to the animals of the earth, to the birds of the sky, and to everything that has the breath of life, I give the green plants for food."

And so it was. God looked upon all His work, and saw that it was very good. There was evening and there was morning: the sixth day.

So the heavens and the earth were finished, with everything in them. On the seventh day, having completed all the work He had done, God rested. God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on that day He rested from all the work of creation.

Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there He placed the man He had formed. The Lord God made every kind of tree grow from the ground, trees lovely to look at, with fruit good to eat. In the middle of the garden stood the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

The Lord God brought the man into the garden of Eden, to tend it and to keep it. And He gave him one command:

The Lord God said:

"It is not good for the man to be alone. I will give him a helper who is right for him."

So the Lord God brought to the man all the animals of the fields and all the birds of the sky, to see what name he would give each one; and whatever name the man gave each creature, that became its name. The man named all the animals and all the birds, but among them there was no companion found for him.

Then the Lord God made a deep sleep fall upon the man. While he slept, God took one of his ribs and closed up the place with flesh. From the rib He had taken from the man, the Lord God formed a woman, and brought her to him. When he saw her, the man said:

"This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man."

That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two become one flesh. The man and his wife were naked, and they felt no shame.