Study Desk

In the beginning God created the sky and the earth.

Then God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.

God saw that the light was good, so he divided the light from the darkness.

God named the light "day" and the darkness "night." Evening passed, and morning came. This was the first day.

Then God said, "Let there be something to divide the water in two."

So God made the air and placed some of the water above the air and some below it.

God named the air "sky." Evening passed, and morning came. This was the second day.

Then God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered together so the dry land will appear." And it happened.

God named the dry land "earth" and the water that was gathered together "seas." God saw that this was good.

Then God said, "Let the earth produce plants—some to make grain for seeds and others to make fruits with seeds in them. Every seed will produce more of its own kind of plant." And it happened.

The earth produced plants with grain for seeds and trees that made fruits with seeds in them. Each seed grew its own kind of plant. God saw that all this was good.

Then God said, "Let there be lights in the sky to separate day from night. These lights will be used for signs, seasons, days, and years.

So God made the two large lights. He made the brighter light to rule the day and made the smaller light to rule the night. He also made the stars.

God put all these in the sky to shine on the earth,

to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. God saw that all these things were good.

Then God said, "Let the water be filled with living things, and let birds fly in the air above the earth."

So God created the large sea animals and every living thing that moves in the sea. The sea is filled with these living things, with each one producing more of its own kind. He also made every bird that flies, and each bird produced more of its own kind. God saw that this was good.

God blessed them and said, "Have many young ones so that you may grow in number. Fill the water of the seas, and let the birds grow in number on the earth."

Then God said, "Let the earth be filled with animals, each producing more of its own kind. Let there be tame animals and small crawling animals and wild animals, and let each produce more of its kind." And it happened.

So God made the wild animals, the tame animals, and all the small crawling animals to produce more of their own kind. God saw that this was good.