66:8 Praise ¹  our God, you nations!

Loudly proclaim his praise! ² 

66:9 He preserves our lives ³ 

and does not allow our feet to slip.

66:10 For ⁴  you, O God, tested us;

you purified us like refined silver.

66:11 You led us into a trap; ⁵ 

you caused us to suffer. ⁶ 

66:12 You allowed men to ride over our heads;

we passed through fire and water,

but you brought us out into a wide open place. ⁷ 

1:6 God said, “Let there be an expanse ⁴  in the midst of the waters and let it separate water ⁵  from water. 1:7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. ⁶  It was so. ⁷  1:8 God called the expanse “sky.” ⁸  There was evening, and there was morning, a second day.

1:9 God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place ⁹  and let dry ground appear.” ¹⁰  It was so. 1:10 God called the dry ground “land” ¹¹  and the gathered waters he called “seas.” God saw that it was good.

1:11 God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: ¹²  plants yielding seeds according to their kinds, ¹³  and ¹⁴  trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds.” It was so. 1:12 The land produced vegetation – plants yielding seeds according to their kinds, and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. God saw that it was good. 1:13 There was evening, and there was morning, a third day.

1:14 God said, “Let there be lights ¹⁵  in the expanse ¹⁶  of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them be signs ¹⁷  to indicate seasons and days and years, 1:15 and let them serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.” It was so. 1:16 God made two great lights ¹⁸  – the greater light to rule over the day and the lesser light to rule over the night. He made the stars also. ¹⁹