Bereshit, בְּרֵאשִׁית

Passages

Torah: Genesis 1:1 - 2:3
Gospel: John 1:1 - 1:14

Torah — Genesis 1:1 - 2:3

1:1 The Creation In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth—

1:2 Now the earth was formless and empty, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.

1:3 And God said, “Let there be light!” And there was light.

1:4 And God saw the light, that it was good, and God caused there to be a separation between the light and between the darkness.

1:5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

1:6 And God said, “Let there be a vaulted dome in the midst of the waters, and let it cause a separation between the waters.”

1:7 So God made the vaulted dome, and he caused a separation between the waters which were under the vaulted dome and between the waters which were over the vaulted dome. And it was so.

1:8 And God called the vaulted dome “heaven.” And there was evening, and there was morning, a second day.

1:9 And God said, “Let the waters under heaven be gathered to one place, and let the dry ground appear.” And it was so.

1:10 And God called the dry ground “earth,” and he called the collection of the waters “seas.” And God saw that it was good.

1:11 And God said, “Let the earth produce green plants that will bear seed—fruit trees bearing fruit in which there is seed—according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so.

1:12 And the earth brought forth green plants bearing seed according to its kind, and trees bearing fruit in which there was seed according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

1:13 And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.

1:14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vaulted dome of heaven to separate day from night, and let them be as signs and for appointed times, and for days and years,

1:15 and they shall be as lights in the vaulted dome of heaven to give light on the earth.” And it was so.

1:16 And God made two lights, the greater light to rule the day and the smaller light to rule the night, and the stars.

1:17 And God placed them in the vaulted dome of heaven to give light on the earth

1:18 and to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good.

1:19 And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

1:20 And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly over the earth across the face of the vaulted dome of heaven.

1:21 So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kind, and every bird with wings according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

1:22 And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.”

1:23 And there was evening, and there was morning, a fifth day.

1:24 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kind: cattle and moving things, and wild animals according to their kind.” And it was so.

1:25 So God made wild animals according to their kind and the cattle according to their kind, and every creeping thing of the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

1:26 And God said, “Let us make humankind in our image and according to our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of heaven, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every moving thing that moves upon the earth.”

1:27 So God created humankind in his image, in the likeness of God he created him, male and female he created them.

1:28 And God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of heaven, and over every animal that moves upon the earth.”

1:29 And God said, “Look—I am giving to you every plant that bears seed which is on the face of the whole earth, and every kind of tree that bears fruit. They shall be yours as food.”

1:30 And to every kind of animal of the earth and to every bird of heaven, and to everything that moves upon the earth in which there is life I am giving every green plant as food.” And it was so.

1:31 And God saw everything that he had made and, behold, it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning, a sixth day.

2:1 And heaven and earth and all their array were finished.

2:2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.

2:3 And God blessed the seventh day, and he sanctified it, because on it he rested from all his work of creating that there was to do.

1:1 The Beginning In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

1:2 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.

1:3 God said, “Let there be light.” And there was light.

1:4 God saw that the light was good. He separated the light from the darkness.

1:5 God called the light “day.” He called the darkness “night.” There was evening, and there was morning. It was day one.

1:6 God said, “Let there be a huge space between the waters. Let it separate water from water.”

1:7 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.

1:8 God called the huge space “sky.” There was evening, and there was morning. It was day two.

1:9 God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered into one place. Let dry ground appear.” And that’s exactly what happened.

1:10 God called the dry ground “land.” He called the waters that were gathered together “oceans.” And God saw that it was good.

1:11 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.

1:12 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.

1:13 And there was evening, and there was morning. It was day three.

1:14 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.

1:15 Let them serve as lights in the huge space of the sky to give light on the earth.” And that’s exactly what happened.

1:16 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.

1:17 God put the lights in the huge space of the sky to give light on the earth.

1:18 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.

1:19 And there was evening, and there was morning. It was day four.

1:20 God said, “Let the waters be filled with living things. Let birds fly above the earth across the huge space of the sky.”

1:21 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.

1:22 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.”

1:23 There was evening, and there was morning. It was day five.

1:24 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.

1:25 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.

1:26 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.”

1:27 So God created man in his own likeness. He created him in the likeness of God. He created them as male and female.

1:28 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.”

1:29 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.

1:30 “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.

1:31 God saw everything he had made. And it was very good. There was evening, and there was morning. It was day six.

2:1 So the heavens and the earth and everything in them were completed.

2:2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing. So on the seventh day he rested from all of his work.

2:3 God blessed the seventh day and made it holy. He rested on it. After he had created everything, he rested from all of the work he had done.

Gospel — John 1:1 - 1:14

1:1 The Prologue to John’s Gospel In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

1:2 This one was in the beginning with God.

1:3 All things came into being through him, and apart from him not one thing came into being that has come into being.

1:4 In him was life, and the life was the light of humanity.

1:5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

1:6 A man came, sent from God, whose name was John.

1:7 This one came for a witness, in order that he could testify about the light, so that all would believe through him.

1:8 That one was not the light, but came in order that he could testify about the light.

1:9 The true light, who gives light to every person, was coming into the world.

1:10 He was in the world, and the world came into being through him, and the world did not recognize him.

1:11 He came to his own things, and his own people did not receive him.

1:12 But as many as received him—to those who believe in his name—he gave to them authority to become children of God,

1:13 who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of a husband, but of God.

1:14 And the Word became flesh and took up residence among us, and we saw his glory, glory as of the one and only from the Father, full of grace and truth.

1:1 The Word Became Human In the beginning, the Word was already there. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.

1:2 He was with God in the beginning.

1:3 All things were made through him. Nothing that has been made was made without him.

1:4 Life was in him, and that life was the light for all people.

1:5 The light shines in the darkness. But the darkness has not understood it.

1:6 A man came who was sent from God. His name was John.

1:7 He came to give witness about that light. He gave witness so that all people could believe.

1:8 John himself was not the light. He came only as a witness to the light.

1:9 The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.

1:10 The Word was in the world that was made through him. But the world did not recognize him.

1:11 He came to what was his own. But his own people did not accept him.

1:12 Some people did accept him. They believed in his name. He gave them the right to become children of God.

1:13 To be a child of God has nothing to do with human parents. Children of God are not born because of human choice or because a husband wants them to be born. They are born because of what God does.

1:14 The Word became a human being. He made his home with us. We have seen his glory. It is the glory of the one and only Son. He came from the Father. And he was full of grace and truth.

Passages

Torah — Genesis 1:1 - 2:3

LEB translation

NIRV translation

Gospel — John 1:1 - 1:14

LEB translation

NIRV translation