Deuteronomy Chapter 7

1 and houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and cisterns hewn out, which thou hewedst not, vineyards and olive-trees, which thou plantedst not, and thou shalt eat and be full;

2 then beware lest thou forget Jehovah, who brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

3 Thou shalt fear Jehovah thy God; and him shalt thou serve, and shalt swear by his name.

4 Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the peoples that are round about you;

5 for Jehovah thy God in the midst of thee is a jealous God; lest the anger of Jehovah thy God be kindled against thee, and he destroy thee from off the face of the earth.

6 Ye shall not tempt Jehovah your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.

7 Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of Jehovah your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee.

8 And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of Jehovah; that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which Jehovah sware unto thy fathers,

9 to thrust out all thine enemies from before thee, as Jehovah hath spoken.

10 When thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which Jehovah our God hath commanded you?

11 then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh’s bondmen in Egypt: and Jehovah brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand;

12 and Jehovah showed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his house, before our eyes;

13 and he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers.

14 And Jehovah commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear Jehovah our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as at this day.

15 And it shall be righteousness unto us, if we observe to do all this commandment before Jehovah our God, as he hath commanded us.

16 When Jehovah thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and shall cast out many nations before thee, the Hittite, and the Girgashite, and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, seven nations greater and mightier than thou;

17 and when Jehovah thy God shall deliver them up before thee, and thou shalt smite them; then thou shalt utterly destroy them: thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them;

18 neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.

19 For he will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of Jehovah be kindled against you, and he will destroy thee quickly.

20 But thus shall ye deal with them: ye shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and hew down their Asherim, and burn their graven images with fire.

21 For thou art a holy people unto Jehovah thy God: Jehovah thy God hath chosen thee to be a people for his own possession, above all peoples that are upon the face of the earth.

22 Jehovah did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all peoples:

23 but because Jehovah loveth you, and because he would keep the oath which he sware unto your fathers, hath Jehovah brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

24 Know therefore that Jehovah thy God, he is God, the faithful God, who keepeth covenant and lovingkindness with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations,

25 and repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face.

26 Thou shalt therefore keep the commandment, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which I command thee this day, to do them.

darby (darby) - eBible.org Darby 1890 plaintext

1 When Jehovah thyGod shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and shall cast out many nations from before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou,

2 and when Jehovah thyGod shall give them up before thee and thou shalt smite them, then shalt thou utterly destroy them: thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them.

3 And thou shalt make no marriages with them: thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor take his daughter for thy son;

4 for he will turn away thy son from following me, and they will serve othergods, and the anger of Jehovah will be kindled against you, and he will destroy thee quickly.

5 But thus shall ye deal with them: ye shall break down their altars, and shatter their statues, and hew down their Asherahs, and burn their graven images with fire.

6 For a holy people art thou unto Jehovah thyGod: Jehovah thyGod hath chosen thee to be unto him a people for a possession, above all the peoples that are upon the face of the earth.

7 Not because ye were more in number than all the peoples, hath Jehovah been attached to you and chosen you, for ye are the fewest of all the peoples;

8 but because Jehovah loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath Jehovah brought you out with a powerful hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

9 And thou shalt know that Jehovah thyGod, he isGod, the faithfulGod, who keepeth covenant and mercy to a thousand generations with them that love him and keep his commandments;

10 and repayeth them that hate him [each] to his face, to cause them to perish: he delayeth not with him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face.

11 And thou shalt keep the commandment, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which I command thee this day, to do them.

12 And it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these ordinances, and keep and do them, that Jehovah thyGod will keep with thee the covenant and the mercy which he swore unto thy fathers;

13 and he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee, and will bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy ground, thy corn and thy new wine, and thine oil, the offspring of thy kine, and the increase of thy sheep, in the land which he swore unto thy fathers to give thee.

14 Thou shalt be blessed above all the peoples; there shall not be male or female barren with thee, or with thy cattle;

15 and Jehovah will take away from thee all sickness, and none of the evil infirmities of Egypt, which thou knowest, will he put upon thee; but he will lay them upon all them that hate thee.

16 And thou shalt consume all the peoples that Jehovah thyGod will give up unto thee; thine eye shall not spare them, and thou shalt not serve theirgods; for that would be a snare unto thee.

17 If thou shouldest say in thy heart, These nations are greater than I; how can I dispossess them?

18 fear them not; remember well what Jehovah thyGod did unto Pharaoh, and unto all the Egyptians;

19 the great trials which thine eyes saw, and the signs, and the wonders, and the powerful hand, and the stretched-out arm, whereby Jehovah thyGod brought thee out: so will Jehovah thyGod do unto all the peoples whom thou fearest.

20 Moreover, Jehovah thyGod will send the hornet among them, until they that are left, and they that hide themselves from thee, are destroyed.

21 Thou shalt not be afraid of them; for Jehovah thyGod is in thy midst, aGod great and terrible.

22 And Jehovah thyGod will cast out those nations from before thee by little and little; thou shalt not be able to make an end of them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee.

23 But Jehovah thyGod will give them up before thee, and will confound them with great consternation, until they are destroyed.

24 And he will give their kings into thy hand, and thou shalt put out their name from under the heavens; no man shall stand before thee, until thou hast destroyed them.

25 The graven images of theirgods shall ye burn with fire; thou shalt not covet the silver and gold [that is] on them and take it unto thee, lest thou be ensnared therein; for it is an abomination to Jehovah thyGod.

26 And thou shalt not bring an abomination into thy house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.

lxxbrent (lxxbrent) - Septuagint (Brenton 1851) eBible USFM

1 And when the Lord thy God shall bring thee into the land, into which thou goest to possess it, and shall remove great nations from before thee, the Chettite, and Gergesite, and Amorite, and Chananite, and Pherezite, and Evite, and Jebusite, seven nations [more] numerous and stronger than you,

2 and the Lord thy God shall deliver them into thy hands, then thou shalt smite them: thou shalt utterly destroy them: thou shalt not make a covenant with them, neither shall ye pity them:

3 neither shall ye contract marriages with them: thou shalt not give thy daughter to his son, and thou shalt not take his daughter to thy son.

4 For he will draw away thy son from me, and he will serve other gods; and the Lord will be very angry with you, and will soon utterly destroy thee.

5 But thus shall ye do to them; ye shall destroy their altars, and shall break down their pillars, and shall cut down their groves, and shall burn with fire the graven images of their gods.

6 For thou art a holy people to the Lord thy God; and the Lord thy God chose thee to be to him a peculiar people beyond all nations that [are] upon the face of the earth.

7 It was not because ye are more numerous than all [other] nations that the Lord preferred you, and the Lord made choice of you: for ye are fewer in number than all [other] nations.

8 But because the Lord loved you, and as keeping the oath which he sware to your fathers, the Lord brought you out with a strong hand, and the Lord redeemed thee from the house of bondage, out of the hand of Pharao king of Egypt.

9 Thou shalt know therefore, that the Lord thy God, he [is] God, a faithful God, who keeps covenant and mercy for them that love him, and for those that keep his commandments to a thousand generations,

10 and who recompenses them that hate him to their face, to destroy them utterly; and will not be slack with them that hate him: he will recompense them to their face.

11 Thou shalt keep therefore the commands, and the ordinances, and these judgments, which I command thee this day to do.

12 And it shall come to pass when ye shall have heard these ordinances, and shall have kept and done them, that the Lord thy God shall keep for thee the covenant and the mercy, which he sware to your fathers.

13 And he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee; and he will bless the offspring of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the herds of thine oxen, and the flocks of thy sheep, on the land which the Lord sware to thy fathers to give to thee.

14 Thou shalt be blessed beyond all nations; there shall not be among you an impotent or barren one, or among thy cattle.

15 And the Lord thy God shall remove from thee all sickness; and none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou hast seen, and all that thou hast known, will he lay upon thee; but he will lay them upon all that hate thee.

16 And thou shalt eat all the spoils of the nations which the Lord thy God gives thee; thine eye shall not spare them, and thou shalt not serve their gods; for this is an offence to thee.

17 But if thou shouldest say in thine heart, This nation [is] greater than I, how shall I be able to destroy them utterly?

18 thou shalt not fear them; thou shalt surely remember all that the Lord thy God did to Pharao and to all the Egyptians:

19 the great temptations which thine eyes have seen, those signs and great wonders, the strong hand, and the high arm; how the Lord thy God brought thee forth: so the Lord your God will do to all the nations, whom thou fearest in their presence.

20 And the Lord thy God shall send against them the hornets, until they that are left and they that are hidden from thee be utterly destroyed.

21 Thou shalt not be wounded before them, because the Lord thy God in the midst of thee [is] a great and powerful God.

22 And the Lord thy God shall consume these nations before thee by little and little: thou shalt not be able to consume them speedily, lest the land become desert, and the wild beasts of the field be multiplied against thee.

23 And the Lord thy God shall deliver them into thy hands, and thou shalt destroy them with a great destruction, until ye shall have utterly destroyed them.

24 And he shall deliver their kings into your hands, and ye shall destroy their name from that place; none shall stand up in opposition before thee, until thou shalt have utterly destroyed them.

25 Ye shall burn with fire the graven images of their gods: thou shalt not covet [their] silver, neither shalt thou take to thyself gold from them, lest thou shouldest offend thereby, because it is an abomination to the Lord thy God.

26 And thou shalt not bring an abomination into thine house, so shouldest thou be an accursed thing like it; thou shalt utterly hate it, and altogether abominate it, because it is an accursed thing.

vul1914 (vul1914) - Vulgate 1914 UTF-8 (sacredbible.org)

1 Cum introduxerit te Dominus Deus tuus in terram, quam possessurus ingredieris, et deleverit Gentes multas coram te, Hethæum, et Gergezæum, et Amorrhæum, Chananæum, et Pherezæum, et Hevæum, et Iebusæum, septem gentes multo maioris numeri quam tu es, et robustiores te:

2 tradideritque eas Dominus Deus tuus tibi, percuties eas usque ad internecionem. Non inibis cum eis fœdus, nec misereberis earum,

3 neque sociabis cum eis coniugia. Filiam tuam non dabis filio eius, nec filiam illius accipies filio tuo:

4 quia seducet filium tuum, ne sequatur me, et ut magis serviat diis alienis. irasceturque furor Domini, et delebit te cito.

5 Quin potius hæc facietis eis: Aras eorum subvertite, et confringite statuas, lucosque succidite, et sculptilia comburite.

6 Quia populus sanctus es Domino Deo tuo. Te elegit Dominus Deus tuus, ut sis ei populus peculiaris de cunctis populis, qui sunt super terram.

7 Non quia cunctas gentes numero vincebatis, vobis iunctus est Dominus, et elegit vos, cum omnibus sitis populis pauciores:

8 sed quia dilexit vos Dominus, et custodivit iuramentum, quod iuravit patribus vestris: eduxitque vos in manu forti, et redemit de domo servitutis, de manu Pharaonis regis Ægypti.

9 Et scies quia Dominus Deus tuus, ipse est Deus fortis et fidelis, custodiens pactum et misericordiam diligentibus se, et his qui custodiunt præcepta eius in mille generationes:

10 et reddens odientibus se statim, ita ut disperdat eos, et ultra non differat, protinus eis restituens quod merentur.

11 Custodi ergo præcepta et ceremonias atque iudicia, quæ ego mando tibi hodie ut facias.

12 Si postquam audieris hæc iudicia, custodieris ea et feceris, custodiet et Dominus Deus tuus pactum tibi, et misericordiam quam iuravit patribus tuis:

13 et diliget te ac multiplicabit, benedicetque fructui ventris tui, et fructui terræ tuæ, frumento tuo, atque vindemiæ, oleo, et armentis, gregibus ovium tuarum super Terram, pro qua iuravit patribus tuis ut daret eam tibi.

14 Benedictus eris inter omnes populos. Non erit apud te sterilis utriusque sexus, tam in hominibus quam in gregibus tuis.

15 Auferet Dominus a te omnem languorem: et infirmitates Ægypti pessimas, quas novisti, non inferet tibi, sed cunctis hostibus tuis.

16 Devorabis omnes populos, quos Dominus Deus tuus daturus est tibi. Non parcet eis oculus tuus, nec servies diis eorum, ne sint in ruinam tui.

17 Si dixeris in corde tuo: Plures sunt gentes istæ quam ego, quo modo potero delere eas?

18 noli metuere, sed recordare quæ fecerit Dominus Deus tuus Pharaoni, et cunctis Ægyptiis,

19 plagas maximas, quas viderunt oculi tui, et signa atque portenta, manumque robustam, et extentum brachium, ut educeret te Dominus Deus tuus. sic faciet cunctis populis, quos metuis.

20 Insuper et crabrones mittet Dominus Deus tuus in eos, donec deleat omnes atque disperdat qui te fugerint, et latere potuerint.

21 Non timebis eos, quia Dominus Deus tuus in medio tui est, Deus magnus et terribilis:

22 ipse consumet nationes has in conspectu tuo paulatim atque per partes. Non poteris eas delere pariter: ne forte multiplicentur contra te bestiæ terræ.

23 Dabitque eos Dominus Deus tuus in conspectu tuo: et interficiet illos donec penitus deleantur.

24 Tradetque reges eorum in manus tuas, et disperdes nomina eorum sub cælo: nullus poterit resistere tibi, donec conteras eos.

25 Sculptilia eorum igne combures: non concupisces argentum et aurum, de quibus facta sunt, neque assumes ex eis tibi quidquam, ne offendas, propterea quia abominatio est Domini tui.

26 Nec inferes quippiam ex idolo in domum tuam, ne fias anathema, sicut et illud est. Quasi spurcitiam detestaberis, et velut inquinamentum ac sordes abominationi habebis, quia anathema est.

web (web) - WorldEnglish.Bible — CC0 modern update of ASV

1 When the LORD your God brings you into the land where you go to possess it, and casts out many nations before you—the Hittite, the Girgashite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite—seven nations greater and mightier than you;

2 and when the LORD your God delivers them up before you, and you strike them, then you shall utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them, nor show mercy to them.

3 You shall not make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to his son, nor shall you take his daughter for your son.

4 For that would turn away your sons from following me, that they may serve other gods. So the LORD’s anger would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you quickly.

5 But you shall deal with them like this: you shall break down their altars, dash their pillars in pieces, cut down their Asherah poles, and burn their engraved images with fire.

6 For you are a holy people to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his own possession, above all peoples who are on the face of the earth.

7 The LORD didn’t set his love on you nor choose you, because you were more in number than any people; for you were the fewest of all peoples;

8 but because the LORD loves you, and because he desires to keep the oath which he swore to your fathers, the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

9 Know therefore that the LORD your God himself is God, the faithful God, who keeps covenant and loving kindness to a thousand generations with those who love him and keep his commandments,

10 and repays those who hate him to their face, to destroy them. He will not be slack to him who hates him. He will repay him to his face.

11 You shall therefore keep the commandments, the statutes, and the ordinances which I command you today, to do them.

12 It shall happen, because you listen to these ordinances and keep and do them, that the LORD your God will keep with you the covenant and the loving kindness which he swore to your fathers.

13 He will love you, bless you, and multiply you. He will also bless the fruit of your body and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your livestock and the young of your flock, in the land which he swore to your fathers to give you.

14 You will be blessed above all peoples. There won’t be male or female barren among you, or among your livestock.

15 The LORD will take away from you all sickness; and he will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which you know, on you, but will lay them on all those who hate you.

16 You shall consume all the peoples whom the LORD your God shall deliver to you. Your eye shall not pity them. You shall not serve their gods; for that would be a snare to you.

17 If you shall say in your heart, “These nations are more than I; how can I dispossess them?”

18 you shall not be afraid of them. You shall remember well what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt:

19 the great trials which your eyes saw, the signs, the wonders, the mighty hand, and the outstretched arm, by which the LORD your God brought you out. So shall the LORD your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid.

20 Moreover the LORD your God will send the hornet among them, until those who are left, and hide themselves, perish from before you.

21 You shall not be scared of them; for the LORD your God is among you, a great and awesome God.

22 The LORD your God will cast out those nations before you little by little. You may not consume them at once, lest the animals of the field increase on you.

23 But the LORD your God will deliver them up before you, and will confuse them with a great confusion, until they are destroyed.

24 He will deliver their kings into your hand, and you shall make their name perish from under the sky. No one will be able to stand before you until you have destroyed them.

25 You shall burn the engraved images of their gods with fire. You shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them, nor take it for yourself, lest you be snared in it; for it is an abomination to the LORD your God.

26 You shall not bring an abomination into your house and become a devoted thing like it. You shall utterly detest it. You shall utterly abhor it; for it is a devoted thing.

ylt (ylt) - Bible.com YLT98 plain UTF-8

1 `When Jehovah thy God doth bring thee in unto the land whither thou art going in to possess it, and He hath cast out many nations from thy presence, the Hittite, and the Girgashite, and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, seven nations more numerous and mighty than thou,

2 and Jehovah thy God hath given them before thee, and thou hast smitten them--thou dost utterly devote them--thou dost not make with them a covenant, nor dost thou favour them.

3 `And thou dost not join in marriage with them; thy daughter thou dost not give to his son, and his daughter thou dost not take to thy son,

4 for he doth turn aside thy son from after Me, and they have served other gods, and the anger of Jehovah hath burned against you, and hath destroyed thee hastily.

5 `But thus thou dost to them: their altars ye break down, and their standing pillars ye shiver, and their shrines ye cut down, and their graven images ye burn with fire;

6 for a holy people <FI>art<Fi> thou to Jehovah thy God; on thee hath Jehovah thy God fixed, to be to Him for a peculiar people, out of all the peoples who <FI>are<Fi> on the face of the ground.

7 `Not because of your being more numerous than any of the peoples hath Jehovah delighted in you, and fixeth on you, for ye <FI>are<Fi> the least of all the peoples,

8 but because of Jehovah's loving you, and because of His keeping the oath which He hath sworn to your fathers, hath Jehovah brought you out by a strong hand, and doth ransom you from a house of servants, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

9 `And thou hast known that Jehovah thy God He <FI>is<Fi> God, the faithful God, keeping the covenant, and the kindness, to those loving Him, and to those keeping His commands--to a thousand generations,

10 and repaying to those hating Him, unto their face, to destroy them; He delayeth not to him who is hating Him--unto his face, He repayeth to him--

11 and thou hast kept the command, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I am commanding thee to-day to do them.

12 `And it hath been, because ye hear these judgments, and have kept, and done them, that Jehovah thy God hath kept to thee the covenant and the kindness which He hath sworn to thy fathers,

13 and hath loved thee, and blessed thee, and multiplied thee, and hath blessed the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy ground, thy corn, and thy new wine, and thine oil, the increase of thine oxen, and the wealth of thy flock, on the ground which He hath sworn to thy fathers to give to thee.

14 `Blessed art thou above all the peoples, there is not in thee a barren man or a barren woman--nor among your cattle;

15 and Jehovah hath turned aside from thee every sickness, and none of the evil diseases of Egypt (which thou hast known) doth He put on thee, and He hath put them on all hating thee.

16 `And thou hast consumed all the peoples whom Jehovah thy God is giving to thee; thine eye hath no pity on them, and thou dost not serve their gods, for a snare it <FI>is<Fi> to thee.

17 `When thou sayest in thine heart, These nations <FI>are<Fi> more numerous than I, how am I able to dispossess them? --

18 thou art not afraid of them; thou dost surely remember that which Jehovah thy God hath done to Pharaoh, and to all Egypt,

19 the great trials which thine eyes have seen, and the signs, and the wonders, and the strong hand, and the stretched-out arm, with which Jehovah thy God hath brought thee out; so doth Jehovah thy God to all the peoples of whose presence thou art afraid.

20 `And also the locust doth Jehovah thy God send among them, till the destruction of those who are left, and of those who are hidden from thy presence;

21 thou art not terrified by their presence, for Jehovah thy God <FI>is<Fi> in thy midst, a God great and fearful.

22 `And Jehovah thy God hath cast out these nations from thy presence little <FI>by<Fi> little, (thou art not able to consume them hastily, lest the beast of the field multiply against thee),

23 and Jehovah thy God hath given them before thee, and destroyed them--a great destruction--till their destruction;

24 and He hath given their kings into thy hand, and thou hast destroyed their name from under the heavens; no man doth station himself in thy presence till thou hast destroyed them.

25 `The graven images of their gods ye do burn with fire; thou dost not desire the silver and gold on them, nor hast thou taken <FI>it<Fi> to thyself, lest thou be snared by it, for the abomination of Jehovah thy God it <FI>is<Fi> ;

26 and thou dost not bring in an abomination unto thy house--or thou hast been devoted like it; --thou dost utterly detest it, and thou dost utterly abominate it; for it <FI>is<Fi> devoted.

Explanations by Age Level

Explain Like I'm 5

A long, long time ago, there was nothing at all - no earth, no sky, no animals, no people. It was all dark and empty. But God was there! God is so powerful that He can make anything just by speaking. So God said "Let there be light!" and BOOM! There was light everywhere! God saw that the light was beautiful and good. He called the light "day" and the darkness "night." This was the very first day when God started making our wonderful world!

Explain Like I'm 10

Before anything existed - no planets, stars, or life - God decided to create the universe. The earth started out as a dark, empty place covered with water. But God's Spirit was there, ready to bring order and beauty to everything. When God spoke and said "Let there be light," light immediately appeared because God's words have incredible power. God looked at the light and was pleased with what He had made. He organized time by separating light (day) from darkness (night), creating the first 24-hour period. This shows us that God is organized and purposeful in everything He does.

Explain Like I'm 15

Genesis 1:1-5 establishes fundamental theological truths about God and creation. The Hebrew word "bara" (created) indicates creation from nothing (ex nihilo), demonstrating God's absolute sovereignty and power. The phrase "without form and void" (tohu wa-bohu) describes a state of chaos that God transforms into order. The Spirit of God "hovering" or "brooding" over the waters suggests active, caring involvement in creation. The creation of light before the sun (created on day 4) indicates that God Himself is the ultimate source of light and energy. The establishment of day and night creates the framework of time, showing that God operates within orderly patterns while transcending them. This passage refutes both atheistic materialism and pantheism, establishing that God is both transcendent (separate from creation) and immanent (actively involved in it).