Genesis Chapter 1 in Italian

In this lesson, we’ll take a look at the Italian translation of Chapter 1 of Genesis along with its translation into English and audio clips.

The Bible translations that I’m going to use in this article are in the public domain:

If you want to read the translation that is currently considered official by the Catholic Church in Italy, you have to look for the CEI Bible version (CEI means Conferenza Episcopale Italiana, “Italian Episcopal Conference”). This is a more recent translation and is copyrighted.

Notes are also provided to help you learn Italian better. Listen to the audio recordings as many times as you need.


Genesis Chapter 1 in Italian

Genesis 1.1

Nel principio Iddio creò i cieli e la terra.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Iddio: a formal synonym for Dio, God

Genesis 1.2

E la terra era informe e vuota, e le tenebre coprivano la faccia dell’abisso, e lo spirito di Dio aleggiava sulla superficie delle acque. E Dio disse:
And the earth was waste and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep: and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Informe: shapeless
Abisso: abyss
Aleggiare: to hover
Superficie: surface

Genesis 1.3

“Sia la luce!” E la luce fu.
And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

Genesis 1.4

E Dio vide che la luce era buona; e Dio separò la luce dalle tenebre.
And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

Separare: to separate, divide

Genesis 1.5

E Dio chiamò la luce “giorno”, e le tenebre “notte”. Così fu sera, poi fu mattina: e fu il primo giorno.
And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

Primo giorno: first day

Genesis 1.6

Poi Dio disse: “Ci sia una distesa tra le acque, che separi le acque dalle acque”.
And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

Distesa: expense, stretch

Genesis 1.7

E Dio fece la distesa e separò le acque ch’erano sotto la distesa, dalle acque ch’erano sopra la distesa. E così fu.
And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.

Genesis 1.8

E Dio chiamò la distesa “cielo”. Così fu sera, poi fu mattina: e fu il secondo giorno.
And God called the firmament Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.

Genesis 1.9

Poi Dio disse: “Le acque che son sotto il cielo siano raccolte in un unico luogo, e apparisca l’asciutto”. E così fu.
And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

Apparisca is deprecated now, it would actually be appaia, “let it appear”.

Genesis 1.10

E Dio chiamò l’asciutto “terra”, e chiamò la raccolta delle acque “mari”. E Dio vide che questo era buono.
And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

L’asciutto: “what is dry”

Genesis 1.11

Poi Dio disse: “Produca la terra della verdura, dell’erbe che faccian seme e degli alberi fruttiferi che, secondo la loro specie, portino del frutto avente in sé la propria semenza, sulla terra”. E così fu.
And God said, Let the earth put forth grass, herbs yielding seed, [and] fruit-trees bearing fruit after their kind, wherein is the seed thereof, upon the earth: and it was so.

[…] portino del frutto avente in sé la propria semenza: “let them bear fruit having in itself its own seed”

Genesis 1.12

E la terra produsse della verdura, dell’erbe che facevan seme secondo la loro specie, e degli alberi che portavano del frutto avente in sé la propria semenza, secondo la loro specie. E Dio vide che questo era buono.
And the earth brought forth grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, wherein is the seed thereof, after their kind: and God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1.13

Così fu sera, poi fu mattina: e fu il terzo giorno.
And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.

Genesis 1.14

Poi Dio disse: “Sianvi de’ luminari nella distesa dei cieli per separare il giorno dalla notte; e siano dei segni e per le stagioni e per i giorni e per gli anni;
And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years:

Sianvi: “let there be”, literally (a bit deprecated)
Luminare: light (formal)

Genesis 1.15

e servano da luminari nella distesa dei cieli per dar luce alla terra”. E così fu.
and let them be for lights in the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.

Genesis 1.16

E Dio fece i due grandi luminari: il luminare maggiore, per presiedere al giorno, e il luminare minore per presiedere alla notte; e fece pure le stelle.
And God made the two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: [he made] the stars also.

Presiedere: to preside over

Genesis 1.17

E Dio li mise nella distesa dei cieli per dar luce alla terra,
And God set them in the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth,

Genesis 1.18

per presiedere al giorno e alla notte e separare la luce dalle tenebre. E Dio vide che questo era buono.
and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1.19

Così fu sera, poi fu mattina: e fu il quarto giorno.
And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

Genesis 1.20

Poi Dio disse: “Producano le acque in abbondanza animali viventi, e volino degli uccelli sopra la terra per l’ampia distesa del cielo”.
And God said, Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

Producano le acque in abbondanza animali viventi: “let the waters produce living animals in abundance”
Ampio: wide

Genesis 1.21

E Dio creò i grandi animali acquatici e tutti gli esseri viventi che si muovono, i quali le acque produssero in abbondanza secondo la loro specie, ed ogni volatilo secondo la sua specie. E Dio vide che questo era buono.
And God created the great sea-monsters, and every living creature that moveth, wherewith the waters swarmed, after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind: and God saw that it was good.

Animali acquatici: acquatic animals
Volatilo: deprecated form for volatile, a formal synonym for “bird”

Genesis 1.22

E Dio li benedisse, dicendo: “Crescete, moltiplicate, ed empite le acque dei mari, e moltiplichino gli uccelli sulla terra”.
And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.

Empite: deprecated form of riempire, to fill

Genesis 1.23

Così fu sera, poi fu mattina: e fu il quinto giorno.
And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

Genesis 1.24

Poi Dio disse: “Produca la terra animali viventi secondo la loro specie: bestiame, rettili e animali selvatici della terra, secondo la loro specie”. E così fu.
And God said, Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind, cattle, and creeping things, and beasts of the earth after their kind: and it was so.

Rettile: reptile
Animali selvatici: wild animals

Genesis 1.25

E Dio fece gli animali selvatici della terra, secondo le loro specie, il bestiame secondo le sue specie, e tutti i rettili della terra, secondo le loro specie. E Dio vide che questo era buono.
And God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creepeth upon the ground after its kind: and God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1.26

Poi Dio disse: “Facciamo l’uomo a nostra immagine e a nostra somiglianza, ed abbia dominio sui pesci del mare e sugli uccelli del cielo e sul bestiame e su tutta la terra e su tutti i rettili che strisciano sulla terra”.
And God 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 heavens, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

Genesis 1.27

E Dio creò l’uomo a sua immagine; lo creò a immagine di Dio; li creò maschio e femmina.
And God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Genesis 1.28

E Dio li benedisse; e Dio disse loro: “Crescete e moltiplicate e riempite la terra, e rendetevela soggetta, e dominate sui pesci del mare e sugli uccelli del cielo e sopra ogni animale che si muove sulla terra”.
And God blessed them: and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Genesis 1.29

E Dio disse: “Ecco, io vi do ogni erba che fa seme sulla superficie di tutta la terra, ed ogni albero fruttifero che fa seme; questo vi servirà di nutrimento.
And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food:

Nutrimento: nourishment

Genesis 1.30

E ad ogni animale della terra e ad ogni uccello dei cieli e a tutto ciò che si muove sulla terra ed ha in sé un soffio di vita, io do ogni erba verde per nutrimento”. E così fu.
and to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the heavens, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, [I have given] every green herb for food: and it was so.

Soffio di vita: breath of life

Genesis 1.31

E Dio vide tutto quello che aveva fatto, ed ecco, era molto buono. Così fu sera, poi fu mattina: e fu il sesto giorno.
And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.


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