1. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
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.
3. God said, "Let there be light." And there was light.
4. God saw that the light was good. He separated the light from the darkness.
5. God called the light "day." He called the darkness "night." There was evening, and there was morning. It was day one.
6. God said, "Let there be a huge space between the waters. Let it separate water from water."
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.