In the beginning, the earth was formless and empty, and dark.   There was no light, there were no plants or animals, but there was God.  Just God.  All alone.

And on the first day, God said, “Let there be light” and there was light, beautiful light shining everywhere.  God saw that the light was good and God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.”

On the second day, God separated the water in the oceans below from the water in the clouds above.  God called the space between the oceans and the clouds “sky.”

On the third day, God gathered the oceans together and let dry ground appear.  God called the dry ground “land” and the water God called “seas”.  And God saw that it was good.  Then God said, “Let the land produce plants.”  And it was so.  There were plants of every kind, strong, tall trees, and small beautiful flowers.  And God saw that it was good.

On the fourth day, God said, “Let there be lights in the sky to separate the day from the night.”  And it was so, the moon and the stars were created to govern the night and the sun was created to govern the day.  And God saw that it was good.

On the fifth day, God said, “Let the waters be filled with living creatures and let there be birds to fly across the sky.”  And so God created every creature that swims in the sea and all the birds of the sky.  God saw that it was good and God blessed all the creatures that had been created.

On the sixth day, God said, “Let the land produce animals of all kinds; livestock, and wild animals, and animals that move along the ground.”   And it was so.  And God saw that it was good.  Then God said, “I will create people in my image and they will be responsible for the birds of the air and the fish of the sea and all the animals that move on the ground.”

So, God created people in the image of God.  Women and men were created.  And God blessed them and put them in charge of all the earth. 

God saw all of creation and it was very good. 

On the seventh day, God had finished the creation of the universe, so God rested.  And God blessed the seventh day and set it apart as a holy day.  And this is how God created the heavens and the earth.