שָׁמַיִם

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

God called the expanse “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.

And God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered into one place, so that the dry land may appear.” And it was so.

And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to distinguish between the day and the night, and let them be signs to mark the seasons and days and years.

And let them serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to shine upon the earth.” And it was so.

God set these lights in the expanse of the sky to shine upon the earth,

And God said, “Let the waters teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky.”

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness, to rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, and over all the earth itself and every creature that crawls upon it.”

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth.”

And to every beast of the earth and every bird of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth—everything that has the breath of life in it—I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.

Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made them.

And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and He brought them to the man to see what he would name each one. And whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.

The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.

So the LORD said, “I will blot out man, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—every man and beast and crawling creature and bird of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them.”

And behold, I will bring floodwaters upon the earth to destroy every creature under the heavens that has the breath of life. Everything on the earth will perish.

…and seven pairs of every kind of bird of the air, male and female, to preserve their offspring on the face of all the earth.

In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month, all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.

Finally, the waters completely prevailed upon the earth, so that all the high mountains under all the heavens were covered.

And every living thing on the face of the earth was destroyed—man and livestock, crawling creatures and birds of the air; they were blotted out from the earth, and only Noah and those with him in the ark remained.

The springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens were closed, and the rain from the sky was restrained.

The fear and dread of you will fall on every living creature on the earth, every bird of the air, every creature that crawls on the ground, and all the fish of the sea. They are delivered into your hand.

“Come,” they said, “let us build for ourselves a city with a tower that reaches to the heavens, that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of all the earth.”

…and he blessed Abram and said: “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth,

But Abram replied to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the LORD God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth,

And the LORD took him outside and said, “Now look to the heavens and count the stars, if you are able.” Then He told him, “So shall your offspring be.”

Then the LORD rained down sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of the heavens.

Then God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, “What is wrong, Hagar? Do not be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he lies.

Just then the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham, Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied.

And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time,

I will surely bless you, and I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the gates of their enemies.

…and I will have you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I am dwelling,

The LORD, the God of heaven, who brought me from my father’s house and my native land, who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give this land’—He will send His angel before you so that you can take a wife for my son from there.

I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed,

May God give to you the dew of heaven and the richness of the earth—an abundance of grain and new wine.

His father Isaac answered him: “Behold, your dwelling place shall be away from the richness of the land, away from the dew of heaven above.

And Jacob had a dream about a ladder that rested on the earth with its top reaching up to heaven, and God’s angels were going up and down the ladder.

And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven!”

…by the God of your father who helps you, and by the Almighty who blesses you, with blessings of the heavens above, with blessings of the depths below, with blessings of the breasts and womb.

Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from the furnace; in the sight of Pharaoh, Moses is to toss it into the air.

So they took soot from the furnace and stood before Pharaoh. Moses tossed it into the air, and festering boils broke out on man and beast.

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, so that hail may fall on all the land of Egypt—on man and beast and every plant of the field throughout the land of Egypt.”

So Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and lightning struck the earth. So the LORD rained down hail upon the land of Egypt.

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, so that darkness may spread over the land of Egypt—a palpable darkness.”

So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and total darkness covered all the land of Egypt for three days.

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain down bread from heaven for you. Each day the people are to go out and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test whether or not they will follow My instructions.

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as a reminder and recite it to Joshua, because I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.”

You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath.