The Creation

1 In the beginning^(A) God created the heavens and the earth.^[a](B)

² Now the earth was^[b] formless and empty,^(C) darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.^{(D) 3} Then God said, “Let there be light,”^(E) and there was light.

² Then the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire within a bush.^(A) As Moses looked, he saw that the bush was on fire but was not consumed. ³ So Moses thought: I must go over and look at this remarkable sight. Why isn’t the bush burning up?

⁴ When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called out to him from the bush, “Moses, Moses!”

“Here I am,” he answered.

⁵ “Do not come closer,” He said. “Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”^{(B) 6} Then He continued, “I am the God of your father,^[a] the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”^(C) Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God.

²⁸ God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth,^(B) and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls^[a] on the earth.” ²⁹ God also said, “Look, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the surface of the entire earth and every tree whose fruit contains seed. This food will be for you,^{(C) 30} for all the wildlife of the earth, for every bird of the sky, and for every creature that crawls on the earth—everything having the breath of life in it. I have given every green plant for food.”^(D) And it was so.