¹Pakutanga Mwari wakasika matenga nenyika.

¹In the beginning God The Hebrew word rendered “God” is “Elohim.” After “God,” the Hebrew has the two letters “Aleph Tav” (the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet) as a grammatical marker. created the heavens and the earth.

²Zvino nyika yakange isina chimiro, isina chinhu, uye rima raiva pamusoro peudzamu; uye Mweya waMwari waindeya pamusoro mvura.

²Now the earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep. God’s Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters.

³Zvino Mwari akati: Ngakuve nechie­dza, chiedza ndokuvapo.

³God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

⁴Zvino Mwari wakaona chiedza kuti chaka­naka; Mwari ndokuparadzanisa chiedza nerima.

⁴God saw the light, and saw that it was good. God divided the light from the darkness.

⁵Zvino Mwari akatumidza chiedza, kuti masikati, nerima akaritumidza kuti Usiku. Madekwani akavapo, nemangwanani akavapo, zuva rekutanga.

⁵God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” There was evening and there was morning, one day.

⁶Zvino Mwari wakati: Ngakuve nenzvimbo pakati pemvura, uye ngaiparadzanise pakati pemvura nemvura.

⁶God said, “Let there be an expanse in the middle of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.”

⁷Zvino Mwari wakaita nzvimbo, ndokuparadzanisa mvura yaiva pasi penzvimbo, nemvura yaiva pamusoro pemuganhu; zvikaita saizvozvo.

⁷God made the expanse, and divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so.

⁸Mwari akatumidza nzvimbo kuti matenga. Ma­dekwani akavapo, nemangwanani akavapo, zuva repiri.

⁸God called the expanse “sky.” There was evening and there was morning, a second day.

⁹Zvino Mwari wakati: Mvura iri pasi pede­nga ngaiunganidzwe panzvimbo imwe, uye pasi pakaoma ngapaonekwe; ndokuita saizvozvo.

⁹God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so.

¹⁰Zvino Mwari wkatumidza pasi pakaoma, kuti nyika; nemuunganidzwa wemvura akautumi­dza kuti makungwa. Mwari akaona kuti zvakanaka.

¹⁰God called the dry land “earth,” and the gathering together of the waters he called “seas.” God saw that it was good.

¹¹Zvino Mwari wakati: Nyika ngaimerese uswa, miriwo inobereka mbeu, nemiti yemichero inobereka michero inoenderana nemarudzi ayo, mbeu dzayo dziri mukati mayo, panyika; ndokuita saizvozvo.

¹¹God said, “Let the earth yield grass, herbs yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with its seed in it, on the earth”; and it was so.

¹²Zvino nyika ika­meresa uswa, nemiriwo inobereka mbeu dzine marudzi adzo, nemuti unobereka michero, mbeu dzawo dziri mukati mawo, une marudzi awo. Mwari akaona kuti zva­kanaka.

¹²The earth yielded grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, with its seed in it, after their kind; and God saw that it was good.

¹³Zvino madekwani akavapo nemangwa­nani akavapo, zuva retatu.

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

¹⁴Zvino Mwari wakati: Ngakuve nezviedza panzvimbo yedenga, kuti zviparadzanise masikati neusiku; kuti zvive zviratidzo, nenguva yakatarwa, nemazuva, nemakore.

¹⁴God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of sky to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years;

¹⁵Zvino ngazvive zviedza panzvimbo yedenga, kuti zvipe chiedza panyika; zvikaita saizvo­zvo.

¹⁵and let them be for lights in the expanse of sky to give light on the earth”; and it was so.

¹⁶Zvino Mwari wakaita zviedza zvikuru zviviri: Chiedza chikuru kuti chitonge masikati, nechiedza chiduku, kuti chitonge usiku, nenyeredziwo.

¹⁶God made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He also made the stars.

¹⁷Zvino Mwari aka­zviisa pasi penzvimbo yedenga, kuti zvipe chiedza panyika,

¹⁷God set them in the expanse of sky to give light to the earth,

¹⁸uye zvitonge masikati neusiku, nekuparadzanisa chie­dza kubva parima; zvino Mwari akaona kuti zvaka­naka.

¹⁸and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good.

¹⁹Zvino madekwani akavapo, nemangwanani akavapo, zuva rechina.

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

²⁰Zvino Mwari wakati: Mvura ngaizare nekupfakanyika kwemweya mipenyu, neshiri dzibhuru­ruke pamusoro penyika munzvimbo ye­denga.

²⁰God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of sky.”

²¹Zvino Mwari wakasika mabukanana egungwa, nezvipenyu zvose zvinokambaira, izvo mvura yakanga izere na­zvo, zvine marudzi azvo, neshiri dzose dzine mapapiro, dzine marudzi adzo; Mwari akaona kuti zvakanaka.

²¹God created the large sea creatures, and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed, after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind. God saw that it was good.

²²Zvino Mwari wakazviropafadza, achiti: Berekai, muwa­nde, muzadze mvura iri mumakungwa; neshiri ngadziwande panyika.

²²God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”

²³Zvino ma­dekwani akavapo, nemangwanani akavapo, zuva reshanu.

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

²⁴Zvino Mwari wakati: Nyika ngaibereke zvisikwa zvipenyu zvine marudzi azvo, nezvi­pfuwo, nezvinokambaira, nemhuka dze­nyika, zvina marudzi azvo. Zvikaita sai­zvozvo.

²⁴God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures after their kind, livestock, creeping things, and animals of the earth after their kind”; and it was so.

²⁵Mwari akaita mhuka dzenyika dzine marudzi adzo, nezvipfuwo zvine marudzi azvo, nezvinhu zvose zvinoka­mbaira panyika zvine marudzi azvo. Mwari akaona kuti zvakanaka.

²⁵God made the animals of the earth after their kind, and the livestock after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind. God saw that it was good.

²⁶Zvino Mwari wakati: Ngatiite munhu nemufananidzo wedu, akafanana nesu; ngaave nesimba pamusoro pehove dzegu­ngwa, nepamusoro peshiri dzedenga, nepamusoro pezvipfuwo, nepamusoro pe­nyika yose, nepamusoro pezvose zvinokambaira panyika.

²⁶God 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 sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

²⁷Zvino Mwari wakasika munhu nemufananidzo waMwari; akavasika murume nemukadzi.

²⁷God created man in his own image. In God’s image he created him; male and female he created them.

²⁸Zvino Mwari wakavaropafadza, Mwari ndokuti kwavari: Berekai, muwande, uye muzadze nyika, nekuitonga; muve nesimba pamusoro pehove dzegungwa, nepamu­soro peshiri dzedenga, nepamusoro pe­zvipenyu zvose zvinokambaira pamusor penyika.

²⁸God blessed them. God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

²⁹Zvino Mwari wakati: Tarirai, ndakakupai mi­riwo yose inobereka mbeu, iri pachiso chenyika yose, nemiti yose ine michero yemiti inobereka mbeu, kwamuri ndeyekudya.

²⁹God said, “Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree, which bears fruit yielding seed. It will be your food.

³⁰Zvino kumhuka dzose dzenyika, nekushiri dzose dzedenga, nezvose zvino­kambaira panyika, zvine mweya weupe­nyu, ndakazvipa miriwo yose minyoro, kuti zvive zvokudya zvazvo. Zvikaita saizvozvo.

³⁰To every animal of the earth, and to every bird of the sky, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so.

³¹Zvino Mwari wakaona zvose zvaakaita, onei zvakanaka kwazvo. Zvino madekwani akavapo, namangwanani akavapo, zuva retanhatu.

³¹God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. There was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.