1 In the beginning God {Elohim, Sovereign Creator} created {bara: an act of creation unique to God} the heavens and the earth.
2 The earth was formless and empty, with darkness over the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God {Ruakh Elohim, Divine Breath} was hovering over the face of the waters {mayim: Primeval Waters}.
3 God {Elohim, Sovereign Speaker} said, “Let there be {yehi: come into existence} light,” and light came into being.
4 God {Elohim, Perceptive Judge} looked at the light {or: created brightness} and saw that it was good, and God set the light apart from the darkness.
5 God {Elohim, Sovereign Namer} named the light “day,” and He named the darkness “night.” Then there was evening {erev: transition from light} and there was morning—one day.
6 And God {Elohim, Cosmic Separator} said, “Let an expanse {raqia: stretched dome} appear among the waters, to divide the waters from the waters.”
7 And God {Elohim, Cosmic Order-Giver} made the expanse {raqia: stretched-out space}, and He divided the waters below the expanse from the waters above the expanse. And it was so.
8 God {Elohim, Sovereign Namer} called the expanse {raqia: vast open space} “heavens.” Then there was evening and there was morning—day two.
9 And God {Elohim, Sovereign Separator} said, “Let the waters {mayim: gathered seas} beneath the heavens unite in a single place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so.
10 God {Elohim, Sovereign Namer} called the dry land {yabashah: exposed ground} “Earth,” and He called the gathered waters “Seas.” And God saw that it was good.
11 And God {Elohim, Initiator of Growth} said, “Let the earth {erets: fertile ground} bring forth vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees producing fruit according to their kinds, with seed in them upon the earth.” And it was so.
12 The earth produced vegetation—plants bearing seed by their kinds, and trees bearing fruit with seed in it by their kinds. And God {Elohim, Orderly Designer} saw that it was good {tov: inherently beneficial}.
13 There was evening {erev: close of daylight} and there was morning—the third day {yom shelishi: structured time marker}.
14 And God {Elohim, Cosmic Timekeeper} said, “Let there be lights {meorot: created light-bearers} in the expanse of the heavens to separate day from night, and let them serve as signs and for appointed times, and for days and for years.”
15 Let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens {shamayim: celestial realm} to shine upon the earth {arets: physical world}. And it was so.
16 God {Elohim, Sovereign Arranger} made two great lights: the greater light to hold dominion {memshelet: governing authority} over the day, and the lesser light to hold dominion over the night—along with the stars.
17 God {Elohim, Cosmic Arranger} placed them in the expanse of the heavens {shamayim: sky dome} to give light upon the earth.
18 They were to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God {Elohim, Wise Evaluator} saw that it was good {tov: wholly beneficial}.
19 Evening {erev: onset of night} arrived, and morning dawned—the fourth day {yom: full daily cycle}.
20 And God {Elohim, Creator of Life} said, “Let the waters swarm with living creatures {nephesh: life essence}, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the expanse of the heavens.”
21 And God {Elohim, Sovereign Life-Filler} created the great sea creatures and every living being {nefesh: individual life} that moves, with which the waters swarmed, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
22 And God {Elohim, Fruitfulness Giver} blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and become numerous; fill the waters of the seas {yamim: marine realms}, and let the birds multiply on the earth.”
23 There was evening and there was morning—the fifth {chamishi: ordered in sequence} day {yom: measured period}.
24 And God {Elohim, Creative Architect} said, “Let the earth bring forth living beings {nefesh: life essence} according to their kinds—cattle, creeping things, and wild animals of the earth, each according to its kind.” And it was so.
25 And God {Elohim, Life Ordering Creator} made the animals of the earth according to their kind, and the livestock according to their kind, and every creeping thing of the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good {tov: perfectly fitting}.
26 And God {Elohim, Creator King} said, “Let Us make man in Our image {tsalem: royal representation}, according to Our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the heavens, over the cattle, over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that moves upon the earth.”
27 Thus God {Elohim, Originator of Humanity} created the human {adam: collective humanity} in His image; in the image of God He created him; and as male and female He created them.
28 And God {Elohim, Universal Blesser} blessed them and declared, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth {erets: inhabited world} and subdue it; hold sway over the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, and every living creature that moves on the earth.”
29 And God {Elohim, Generous Provider} said, “Behold, I have given to you every plant {esev: green plant} bearing seed on the surface of all the earth, and every tree in which is seed-bearing fruit; these shall be food for you.”
30 To every animal {chayah: land creature} of the earth, to every bird of the heavens, and to every creature that crawls on the earth—in which there is a living soul {nefesh: life force}—I have given every green plant for food. And it was so.
31 God {Elohim, Sovereign Maker} looked over all that He had made, and behold {hinneh: solemn notice}, it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.