The Tanakh · JPS 1917 Translation

Genesis 1

Jewish Publication Society 1917 · Torah

The opening of the Torah and of the Tanakh itself: “IN THE beginning G-d created the heaven and the earth” — the JPS 1917 translation.

1IN THE beginning G-d created the heaven and the earth.in-depth page →

2Now the earth was unformed and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of G-d hovered over the face of the waters.

3And G-d said: 'Let there be light.' And there was light.

4And G-d saw the light, that it was good; and G-d divided the light from the darkness.

5And G-d called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

6And G-d said: 'Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.'

7And G-d made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so.

8And G-d called the firmament Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.

9And G-d said: 'Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear.' And it was so.

10And G-d called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters called He Seas; and G-d saw that it was good.

11And G-d said: 'Let the earth put forth grass, herb yielding seed, and fruit-tree bearing fruit after its kind, wherein is the seed thereof, upon the earth.' And it was so.

12And the earth brought forth grass, herb yielding seed after its kind, and tree bearing fruit, wherein is the seed thereof, after its kind; and G-d saw that it was good.

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

14And G-d said: 'Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years;

15and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth.' And it was so.

16And G-d made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; and the stars.

17And G-d set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,

18and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness; and G-d saw that it was good.

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

20And G-d said: 'Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let fowl fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.'

21And G-d created the great sea-monsters, and every living creature that creepeth, wherewith the waters swarmed, after its kind, and every winged fowl after its kind; and G-d saw that it was good.

22And G-d blessed them, saying: 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.'

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

24And G-d said: 'Let the earth bring forth the living creature after its kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after its kind.' And it was so.

25And G-d made the beast of the earth after its kind, and the cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the ground after its kind; and G-d saw that it was good.

26And G-d said: 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.'

27And G-d created man in His own image, in the image of G-d created He him; male and female created He them.in-depth page →

28And G-d blessed them; and G-d said unto them: 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that creepeth upon the earth.'

29And G-d said: 'Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed--to you it shall be for food;

30and to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is a living soul, I have given every green herb for food.' And it was so.

31And G-d saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

31 verses · JPS 1917 (public domain)

Read, search & bookmark — free

This text opens instantly in the FourFaiths reader, with full-text search across every book, bookmarks saved in your browser, reading plans and a verse of the day. No account, no tracking — everything runs locally in your browser.

Open in the Tanakh reader →