Creation and humanity in Yahweh’s image

24 Yahweh, you’ve made so many different kinds of things.

You used your wisdom when you made them.

Now the earth is full with your various creatures.

25 The ocean is wide and huge—

Swimming creatures there without number—

both small and large.

26 Ships travel across it.

The sea dragon that you formed plays in it.[ref]

27 All of them look to you

to give them their food at the appropriate time.

28 They gather what you give to them.

≈ When you open your hand, they’re satisfied.

29 When you hide yourself away, they’re upset.

≈ If you take away their breath, they die and return to dust.

30 When you send out your spirit, they’re created,

and you renew the ground’s surface.

26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness,[ref] and let them rule over the fish in the sea and over the birds in the sky and over the livestock and over all the earth, and over every creature moving on the earth.” 27 Then God created humankind in his image, yes, created in the image of God—male and female he created them.[ref] 28 Then God blessed them and told them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and take control of it. You’re in charge of the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 Then God said, “Look, I’ve given you every plant throughout the whole earth that yields seed, and every tree that has fruit with a seed or seeds inside it. They will be yours for food, 30 and to every living thing on the earth, and to every bird in the sky, and to everything moving on the earth that has living breath in it, I’ve given every green plant for food.” Everything happened exactly as he commanded, 31 and he saw everything that he’d made, and wow, it was very good. Then evening came, and later morning came, and that was the end of the sixth day.

15 Yahweh God took the man and put him in the garden at Eden to cultivate and maintain it 16 and instructed him, “You can eat as much fruit as you want from any tree in the garden, 17 but you mustn’t eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, because the day you eat its fruit you’ll certainly die.”

18 Then Yahweh God said, “It’s not good for the man to be alone, so I’ll make a suitable helper for him.”

19 Now Yahweh God had formed every living thing of the countryside and every bird of the sky from the ground, so he brought them to the man to see what he would call them, and whatever the man called each living creature, that would become its name. 20 The man gave names to all the various livestock and to the birds of the sky and to every living creature in the countryside, but none of them was a suitable companion to help him.

21 So Yahweh God caused the man to go into a deep sleep, and then while he was sleeping, he removed one of his ribs and closed up over its place with flesh. 22 Then Yahweh God used the rib which he had taken from the man to form into a woman, and he brought her to the man, 23 and the man said:

“Now this is bone from my bones

and flesh from my flesh.

She’ll be named ‘woman’

because she came from a man.”

24 So that’s why a man leaves his father and mother, and becomes united to his wife, and the two of them become one being.[ref]

25 At that time, both the man and his wife were naked, but they had no sense of shame.

3 When I look up at the sky, I see your handiwork—

the moon and the stars that you placed there.

4 How come that you even notice humankind?[fn]

Why would you even pay attention to any descendant of ours?[ref]

5 You’ve made him a little lower than God (or ‘gods’),

and poured splendour and majesty over him.[fn]

6 You’ve established him as ruler over your creation—

you’ve put him in charge of everything:[ref]

7 All the sheep and cows,

as well as the animals in the countryside,

8 the birds that fly and the fish in the sea—

everything that moves along the ocean currents.

9 Our master, Yahweh,

your magnificent reputation has spread around the whole world.

7 Every kind of wild animal and birds and reptiles and sea creature can be tamed and has been tamed by humankind 8 but no one is able to tame the tongue—it’s an erratically evil body part that’s full of deadly poison. 9 We use it to bless our master and father, yet we use it to curse our fellow humans who are made in God’s image.[ref] 10 Both blessings and curses come out of the same mouth! My brothers and sisters, it shouldn’t be like that. 11 Surely a spring flowing out of a single cavity can’t produce both good-tasting and bitter water. 12 A fig tree can’t produce olives and a grape vine can’t produce figs, my brothers and sisters, just like a salty supply can’t give fresh water.