New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Genesis 1
1
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
Reference
Creation
Hebrews 11:3
Isaiah 45:18
Revelation 4:11
Isaiah 42:5
Exodus 20:11
Acts 17:24
Nehemiah 9:6
Parallel theme
Hebrews 1:10
Job 38:4
References God
2 Peter 3:5
2
The earth didn't have any shape. And it was empty. Darkness was over the surface of the ocean. At that time, the ocean covered the earth. The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
Reference
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 4:23
Psalm 33:6
Job 26:7
Job 26:14
References God
Isaiah 45:18
Spirit
Psalm 104:30
3
God said, "Let there be light." And there was light.
Reference
Light
2 Corinthians 4:6
John 1:5
Isaiah 45:7
Isaiah 60:19
1 John 1:5
Ephesians 5:8
John 1:9
John 3:19
Parallel theme
Psalm 33:6
Psalm 148:5
5
God called the light "day." He called the darkness "night." There was evening, and there was morning. It was day one.
Reference
Darkness
Psalm 104:20
Light
Psalm 74:16
Isaiah 45:7
1 Thessalonians 5:5
Parallel theme
Genesis 8:22
Psalm 19:2
Jeremiah 33:20
6
God said, "Let there be a huge space between the waters. Let it separate water from water."
Reference
Parallel theme
Psalm 33:6
Job 37:18
Jeremiah 51:15
Psalm 104:2
Psalm 33:9
Psalm 148:4
Zechariah 12:1
Job 26:13
References God
Psalm 19:1
Genesis 1:20
7
And that's exactly what happened. God made the huge space between the waters. He separated the water that was under the space from the water that was above it.
Reference
8
God called the huge space "sky." There was evening, and there was morning. It was day two.
9
God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered into one place. Let dry ground appear." And that's exactly what happened.
Reference
Parallel theme
Psalm 95:5
Jeremiah 5:22
Psalm 33:7
Ecclesiastes 1:7
Job 26:10
Revelation 10:6
References God
2 Peter 3:5
Jonah 1:9
10
God called the dry ground "land." He called the waters that were gathered together "oceans." And God saw that it was good.
11
Then God said, "Let the land produce plants. Let them bear their own seeds. And let there be trees on the land that bear fruit with seeds in it. Let each kind of plant or tree have its own kind of seeds." And that's exactly what happened.
Reference
Parallel theme
Psalm 147:8
Job 28:5
Mark 4:28
Psalm 1:3
Jeremiah 17:8
References God
Hebrews 6:7
Genesis 1:29
Matthew 6:30
Genesis 2:9
Genesis 2:5
12
The land produced plants. Each kind of plant had its own kind of seeds. The land produced trees that bore fruit with seeds in it. Each kind of tree had its own kind of seeds. God saw that it was good.
Reference
13
And there was evening, and there was morning. It was day three.
14
God said, "Let there be lights in the huge space of the sky. Let them separate the day from the night. Let them serve as signs to mark off the seasons and the days and the years.
Reference
Light
Jeremiah 31:35
Psalm 148:3
Parallel theme
Psalm 148:6
Amos 5:8
Psalm 81:3
Jeremiah 10:2
Genesis 8:22
Joel 3:15
Isaiah 40:26
References God
Deuteronomy 4:19
15
Let them serve as lights in the huge space of the sky to give light on the earth." And that's exactly what happened.
16
God made two great lights. He made the larger light to rule over the day. He made the smaller light to rule over the night. He also made the stars.
Reference
Creation
Isaiah 40:26
Psalm 148:5
Isaiah 45:7
Light
Psalm 74:16
Psalm 148:3
Isaiah 13:10
Parallel theme
Psalm 8:3
Psalm 19:6
References God
Deuteronomy 4:19
Job 38:7
18
He put them there to rule over the day and the night. He put them there to separate light from darkness. God saw that it was good.
Reference
Light
Jeremiah 31:35
19
And there was evening, and there was morning. It was day four.
20
God said, "Let the waters be filled with living things. Let birds fly above the earth across the huge space of the sky."
Reference
21
So God created the great creatures of the ocean. He created every living and moving thing that fills the waters. He created all kinds of them. He created every kind of bird that flies. And God saw that it was good.
Reference
22
God blessed them. He said, "Have little ones and increase your numbers. Fill the water in the oceans. Let there be more and more birds on the earth."
Reference
Blessing
Psalm 107:38
Genesis 1:28
Job 42:12
Genesis 9:1
Proverbs 10:22
Parallel theme
Genesis 8:17
Job 40:15
Psalm 107:31
Psalm 128:3
References God
Genesis 35:11
23
There was evening, and there was morning. It was day five.
24
God said, "Let the land produce all kinds of living creatures. Let there be livestock, and creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals. Let there be all kinds of them." And that's exactly what happened.
Reference
25
God made all kinds of wild animals. He made all kinds of livestock. He made all kinds of creatures that move along the ground. And God saw that it was good.
Reference
Creation
Jeremiah 27:5
26
Then God said, "Let us make man in our likeness. Let them rule over the fish in the waters and the birds of the air. Let them rule over the livestock and over the whole earth. Let them rule over all of the creatures that move along the ground."
Reference
Parallel theme
Colossians 3:10
2 Corinthians 3:18
Isaiah 64:8
References God
Ephesians 4:24
Genesis 3:22
Psalm 100:3
Genesis 5:1
James 3:9
Colossians 1:15
1 Corinthians 11:7
27
So God created man in his own likeness. He created him in the likeness of God. He created them as male and female.
Reference
Creation
Matthew 19:4
Ephesians 2:10
Mark 10:6
Ephesians 4:24
Isaiah 43:7
Psalm 139:14
Colossians 1:26
References God
Colossians 1:15
Genesis 2:18
Malachi 2:15
28
God blessed them. He said to them, "Have children and increase your numbers. Fill the earth and bring it under your control. Rule over the fish in the waters and the birds of the air. Rule over every living creature that moves on the ground."
Reference
Blessing
Genesis 9:1
Genesis 1:22
Genesis 17:20
Psalm 107:38
1 Chronicles 4:10
Genesis 17:16
Parallel theme
Genesis 9:7
Leviticus 26:9
Genesis 8:17
References God
Isaiah 45:18
29
Then God said, "I am giving you every plant on the face of the whole earth that bears its own seeds. I am giving you every tree that has fruit with seeds in it. All of them will be given to you for food.
Reference
30
"I am giving every green plant to all of the land animals and the birds of the air for food. I am also giving the plants to all of the creatures that move on the ground. I am giving them to every living thing that breathes." And that's exactly what happened.
Reference
31
God saw everything he had made. And it was very good. There was evening, and there was morning. It was day six.
Reference
Creation
Psalm 104:24
Exodus 20:11
Genesis 2:2
Good
1 Timothy 4:4
Lamentations 3:38
Parallel theme
Psalm 104:31
Genesis 1:23
References God
Job 38:7
Genesis 1:5
Genesis 1:8
Chapter Summary
Open your Bible to page one, and you find yourself in the midst of void, water and night, until God speaks and brings everything to life. Genesis chapter 1 tells of how God created the universe in six days, and one day rested and enjoyed his finished work.
I would like to briefly walk through the days.
On day one, God spoke and brought light. He separated the light from the darkness and named them day and night (which is the first sunrise without the sun). Although the sun is mentioned later (day four) this can cause confusion among a new reader.
On day two, God made the sky by separating the waters, with some of the water staying above as clouds and the rest as oceans below. On day three, God made the land appear from the water, and then brought forth all plant life from the dirt. Day three was a busy day for God, as he brought two new things into existence.
On day four, God brought the sun, moon, and stars into existence, so that they could rule over the skies and keep track of the days, months, and years. God filled up the empty oceans and skies of day four on day five by bringing forth fish and birds, and telling them to multiply and fill their respective habitats. This is the first time that we see God telling something to multiply and fill in the Bible, and it will not be the last. On day six, God brought animals to fill the land, and then paused and said something different than he had said in the previous days.
Many people consider this to be an indicator of the Trinity, although the text does not say so. Either way, it is clear that the creation of humans was something special and different from the creation of everything else that had come before it.
God created Adam and Eve in his image, and gave them the responsibility of taking care of the earth and all of its life. He told them to have children and to fill the earth with them, and gave them the plants as food. He told the animals to eat the plants, so there was no animal or plant life on the first day. God blessed and spoke of all of his creations as being good, but when he looked upon the humans he made he declared them to be "very good."
Every evening the text tells us that it was so, and every morning it was also so. The text states the heavens and the earth were completed in the sixth day, even though the seventh day (in which God rested) is mentioned in the opening of the second chapter. The book of Genesis leaves us right where we need to be in order to understand that God has a bigger purpose than just simply bringing things into existence, and we should be looking for meaning beyond this life because God wants to reveal his plan to us.
The reason why any of this should matter to us at all is threefold. First of all, it shows us that God is the creator of everything, and he spoke everything into existence without having to wrestle with any of it or leave scraps along the way.
Secondly, it shows us that he takes care of everything he creates by giving it specific instructions so that it will thrive.
Lastly, it shows us the place of mankind in all of this, as he spoke us into existence on day six, made us different from the rest of creation, gave us a command to take care of everything, and gave us the ability to have a relationship with himself.
It is also worth noting the style in which this chapter is written. It follows a pattern throughout the days, and that pattern serves to remind readers that this is indeed the opening stanza or prelude to the epic novel that God is about to unveil to his creation, as it is not written like a scientific journal would be.
I would like to briefly walk through the days.
On day one, God spoke and brought light. He separated the light from the darkness and named them day and night (which is the first sunrise without the sun). Although the sun is mentioned later (day four) this can cause confusion among a new reader.
On day two, God made the sky by separating the waters, with some of the water staying above as clouds and the rest as oceans below. On day three, God made the land appear from the water, and then brought forth all plant life from the dirt. Day three was a busy day for God, as he brought two new things into existence.
On day four, God brought the sun, moon, and stars into existence, so that they could rule over the skies and keep track of the days, months, and years. God filled up the empty oceans and skies of day four on day five by bringing forth fish and birds, and telling them to multiply and fill their respective habitats. This is the first time that we see God telling something to multiply and fill in the Bible, and it will not be the last. On day six, God brought animals to fill the land, and then paused and said something different than he had said in the previous days.
Many people consider this to be an indicator of the Trinity, although the text does not say so. Either way, it is clear that the creation of humans was something special and different from the creation of everything else that had come before it.
God created Adam and Eve in his image, and gave them the responsibility of taking care of the earth and all of its life. He told them to have children and to fill the earth with them, and gave them the plants as food. He told the animals to eat the plants, so there was no animal or plant life on the first day. God blessed and spoke of all of his creations as being good, but when he looked upon the humans he made he declared them to be "very good."
Every evening the text tells us that it was so, and every morning it was also so. The text states the heavens and the earth were completed in the sixth day, even though the seventh day (in which God rested) is mentioned in the opening of the second chapter. The book of Genesis leaves us right where we need to be in order to understand that God has a bigger purpose than just simply bringing things into existence, and we should be looking for meaning beyond this life because God wants to reveal his plan to us.
The reason why any of this should matter to us at all is threefold. First of all, it shows us that God is the creator of everything, and he spoke everything into existence without having to wrestle with any of it or leave scraps along the way.
Secondly, it shows us that he takes care of everything he creates by giving it specific instructions so that it will thrive.
Lastly, it shows us the place of mankind in all of this, as he spoke us into existence on day six, made us different from the rest of creation, gave us a command to take care of everything, and gave us the ability to have a relationship with himself.
It is also worth noting the style in which this chapter is written. It follows a pattern throughout the days, and that pattern serves to remind readers that this is indeed the opening stanza or prelude to the epic novel that God is about to unveil to his creation, as it is not written like a scientific journal would be.