Six Translations Compared

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New King James Version (NKJV)

Genesis 1:1–5

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

The earth was without form, and void: and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Then God said, “Let there be light”: and there was light.

And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.

Genesis 1:26–27

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to our likeness: let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’”

So God created man in His own image: in the image of God He created him: male and female He created them.

Genesis 2:4–7

This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.

before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth. And there was no man to till the ground;

but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life: and man became a living being.

Revised Standard Version (RSV)

Genesis 1:1–5

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep: and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters.

And God said, “Let there be light”: and there was light. And God saw that the light was good: and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

Genesis 1:26–27

Then God 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 birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him: male and female he created them.

Genesis 2:4–7

These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created.

In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no man to till the ground: but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground—then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life: and man became a living being.

The Bible in Basic English (BBE)

Genesis 1:1–5

At the first God made the heaven and the earth.

And the earth was waste and without form; and it was dark on the face of the deep: and the Spirit of God was moving on the face of the waters.

And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

And God, looking on the light, saw that it was good: and God made a division between the light and the dark,

Naming the light, Day, and the dark, Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

Genesis 1:26–27

And God said, Let us make man in our image, like us: and let him have rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every living thing which goes flat on the earth.

And God made man in his image, in the image of God he made him: male and female he made them.

Genesis 2:4–7

These are the generations of the heaven and the earth when they were made. In the day when the Lord God made earth and heaven there were no plants of the field on the earth, and no grass had come up: for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to do work on the land.

But a mist went up from the earth, watering all the face of the land.

And the Lord God made man from the dust of the earth, breathing into him the breath of life: and man became a living soul.

061

The New English Bible (NEB)

Genesis 1:1–5

In the beginning of creation, when God made heaven and earth, the earth was without form and void, with darkness over the face of the abyss, and a mighty wind that swept over the surface of the waters. God said. ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light; and God saw that the light was good, and he separated light from darkness. He called the light day, and the darkness night. So evening came, and morning came, the first day.

Genesis 1:26–27

Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image and likeness to rule the fish in the sea, the birds of heaven, the cattle, all wild animals on earth, and all reptiles that crawl upon the earth.’ So God created man in his own image: in the image of God he created him: male and female he created them.

Genesis 2:4–7

This is the story of the making of heaven and earth when they were created. When the Lord God made earth and heaven, there was neither shrub nor plant growing wild upon the earth, because the Lord God had sent no rain on the earth; nor was there any man to till the ground. A flood used to rise out of the earth and water all the surface of the ground. Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. Thus the man became a living creature.

The Jerusalem Bible (JB)

Genesis 1:1–5

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was a formless void, there was darkness over the deep, and God’s spirit hovered over the water.

God said, ‘Let there be light’, and there was light. God saw that light was good, and God divided light from darkness. God called the light ‘day’, and darkness he called ‘night’. Evening came and morning came: the first day.

Genesis 1:26–27

God said, ‘Let us make man in our own image, in the likeness of ourselves, and let them be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven, the cattle, all the wild beasts and all the reptiles that crawl upon the earth’.

God created man in the image of himself,

in the image of God he created him,

male and female he created them.

Genesis 2:4–7

Such were the origins of heaven and earth when they were created.

At the time when Yahweh God made earth and heaven there was as yet no wild bush on the earth nor had any wild plant yet sprung up, for Yahweh God had not sent rain on the earth, nor was there any man to till the soil. However, a flood was rising from the earth and watering all the surface of the soil. Yahweh God fashioned man of dust from the soil. Then he breathed into his nostrils a breath of life, and thus man became a living being.

New Jewish Publication Society Bible (NJPS)

Genesis 1:1–5

When God began to create the heaven and the earth—the earth being unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep and a wind from God sweeping over the water—God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, a first day.

Genesis 1:26–27

And God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. They shall rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the cattle, the whole earth, and all the creeping things that creep on earth.” And God created man in His image, in the image of God He created him male and female He created them.

Genesis 2:4–7

Such is the story of heaven and earth when they were created. When the Lord God made earth and heaven—when no shrub of the field was yet on earth and no grasses of the field had yet sprouted, because the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth and there was no man to till the soil, but a flow would well up from the ground and water the whole surface of the earth—the Lord God formed man from the dust of the earth. He blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.