Young Believer Bible-Nlt (Hardback)

Chapter One

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was empty, a formless mass cloaked in darkness. And the Spirit of God was hovering over its surface. 3 Then God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4 And God saw that it was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light "day" and the darkness "night." Together these made up one day.

6 And God said, "Let there be space between the waters, to separate water from water." 7 And so it was. God made this space to separate the waters above from the waters below. 8 And God called the space "sky." This happened on the second day.

9 And God said, "Let the waters beneath the sky be gathered into one place so dry ground may appear." And so it was. 10 God named the dry ground "land" and the water "seas." And God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, "Let the land burst forth with every sort of grass and seed-bearing plant. And let there be trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. The seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came." And so it was. 12 The land was filled with seed-bearing plants and trees, and their seeds produced plants and trees of like kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 This all happened on the third day.

14 And God said, "Let bright lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. They will be signs to mark off the seasons, the days, and the years. 15 Let their light shine down upon the earth." And so it was. 16 For God made two great lights, the sun and the moon, to shine down upon the earth. The greater one, the sun, presides during the day; the lesser one, the moon, presides through the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set these lights in the heavens to light the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 This all happened on the fourth day.

20 And God said, "Let the waters swarm with fish and other life. Let the skies be filled with birds of every kind." 21 So God created great sea creatures and every sort of fish and every kind of bird. And God saw that it was good. 22 Then God blessed them, saying, "Let the fish multiply and fill the oceans. Let the birds increase and fill the earth." 23 This all happened on the fifth day.

24 And God said, "Let the earth bring forth every kind of animal-livestock, small animals, and wildlife." And so it was. 25 God made all sorts of wild animals, livestock, and small animals, each able to reproduce more of its own kind. And God saw that it was good.

26 Then God said, "Let us make people in our image, to be like ourselves. They will be masters over all life-the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the livestock, wild animals, and small animals."

27 So God created people in his own image; God patterned them after himself; male and female he created them.

28 God blessed them and told them, "Multiply and fill the earth and subdue it. Be masters over the fish and birds and all the animals." 29 And God said, "Look! I have given you the seed-bearing plants throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food. 30 And I have given all the grasses and other green plants to the animals and birds for their food." And so it was. 31 Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was excellent in every way. This all happened on the sixth day.

Chapter 2

So the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed. 2 On the seventh day, having finished his task, God rested from all his work. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from his work of creation.

4 This is the account of the creation of the heavens and the earth.

The Man and Woman in Eden

When the Lord God made the heavens and the earth, 5 there were no plants or grain growing on the earth, for the Lord God had not sent any rain. And no one was there to cultivate the soil. 6 But water came up out of the ground and watered all the land. 7 And the Lord God formed a man's body from the dust of the ground and breathed into it the breath of life. And the man became a living person.

8 Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he placed the man he had created. 9 And the Lord God planted all sorts of trees in the garden-beautiful trees that produced delicious fruit. At the center of the garden he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

10 A river flowed from the land of Eden, watering the garden and then dividing into four branches. 11 One of these branches is the Pishon, which flows around the entire land of Havilah, where gold is found. 12 The gold of that land is exceptionally pure; aromatic resin and onyx stone are also found there. 13 The second branch is the Gihon, which flows around the entire land of Cush. 14 The third branch is the Tigris, which flows to the east of Asshur. The fourth branch is the Euphrates.

15 The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and care for it. 16 But the Lord God gave him this warning: "You may freely eat any fruit in the garden 17 except fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat of its fruit, you will surely die."

18 And the Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a companion who will help him." 19 So the Lord God formed from the soil every kind of animal and bird. He brought them to Adam to see what he would call them, and Adam chose a name for each one. 20 He gave names to all the livestock, birds, and wild animals. But still there was no companion suitable for him. 21 So the Lord God caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep. He took one of Adam's ribs and closed up the place from which he had taken it. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib and brought her to Adam.

23 "At last!" Adam exclaimed. "She is part of my own flesh and bone! She will be called 'woman,' because she was taken out of a man." 24 This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one. 25 Now, although Adam and his wife were both naked, neither of them felt any shame.

Chapter 3

The Man and Woman Sin

Now the serpent was the shrewdest of all the creatures the Lord God had made. "Really?" he asked the woman. "Did God really say you must not eat any of the fruit in the garden?"

2 "Of course we may eat it," the woman told him. 3 "It's only the fruit from the tree at the center of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God says we must not eat it or even touch it, or we will die."

4 "You won't die!" the serpent hissed. 5 "God knows that your eyes will be opened when you eat it. You will become just like God, knowing everything, both good and evil."

6 The woman was convinced. The fruit looked so fresh and delicious, and it would make her so wise! So she ate some of the fruit. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her. Then he ate it, too. 7 At that moment, their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they strung fig leaves together around their hips to cover themselves.

8 Toward evening they heard the Lord God walking about in the garden, so they hid themselves among the trees. 9 The Lord God called to Adam, "Where are you?"

10 He replied, "I heard you, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked."

11 "Who told you that you were naked?" the Lord God asked. "Have you eaten the fruit I commanded you not to eat?"

12 "Yes," Adam admitted, "but it was the woman you gave me who brought me the fruit, and I ate it."

13 Then the Lord God asked the woman, "How could you do such a thing?" "The serpent tricked me," she replied. "That's why I ate it."

14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, you will be punished. You are singled out from all the domestic and wild animals of the whole earth to be cursed. You will grovel in the dust as long as you live, crawling along on your belly. 15 From now on, you and the woman will be enemies, and your offspring and her offspring will be enemies. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."

16 Then he said to the woman, "You will bear children with intense pain and suffering. And though your desire will be for your husband, he will be your master."

17 And to Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate the fruit I told you not to eat, I have placed a curse on the ground. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it. 18 It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains. 19 All your life you will sweat to produce food, until your dying day. Then you will return to the ground from which you came. For you were made from dust, and to the dust you will return."

20 Then Adam named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all people everywhere. 21 And the Lord God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife.

22 Then the Lord God said, "The people have become as we are, knowing everything, both good and evil. What if they eat the fruit of the tree of life? Then they will live forever!" 23 So the Lord God banished Adam and his wife from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made. 24 After banishing them from the garden, the Lord God stationed mighty angelic beings to the east of Eden. And a flaming sword flashed back and forth, guarding the way to the tree of life.

Chapter 4

Cain, Abel, and Seth

Now Adam slept with his wife, Eve, and she became pregnant. When the time came, she gave birth to Cain, and she said, "With the Lord's help, I have brought forth a man!" 2 Later she gave birth to a second son and named him Abel.

When they grew up, Abel became a shepherd, while Cain was a farmer. 3 At harvesttime Cain brought to the Lord a gift of his farm produce, 4 while Abel brought several choice lambs from the best of his flock. The Lord accepted Abel and his offering, 5 but he did not accept Cain and his offering. This made Cain very angry and dejected.

6 "Why are you so angry?" the Lord asked him. "Why do you look so dejected? 7 You will be accepted if you respond in the right way. But if you refuse to respond correctly, then watch out! Sin is waiting to attack and destroy you, and you must subdue it."

8 Later Cain suggested to his brother, Abel, "Let's go out into the fields." And while they were there, Cain attacked and killed his brother.

9 Afterward the Lord asked Cain, "Where is your brother? Where is Abel?"

"I don't know!" Cain retorted. "Am I supposed to keep track of him wherever he goes?"

10 But the Lord said, "What have you done? Listen-your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground! 11 You are hereby banished from the ground you have defiled with your brother's blood. 12 No longer will it yield abundant crops for you, no matter how hard you work! From now on you will be a homeless fugitive on the earth, constantly wandering from place to place."

13 Cain replied to the Lord, "My punishment is too great for me to bear! 14 You have banished me from my land and from your presence; you have made me a wandering fugitive. All who see me will try to kill me!"

15 The Lord replied, "They will not kill you, for I will give seven times your punishment to anyone who does." Then the Lord put a mark on Cain to warn anyone who might try to kill him. 16 So Cain left the Lord's presence and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

17 Then Cain's wife became pregnant and gave birth to a son, and they named him Enoch. When Cain founded a city, he named it Enoch after his son.

18 Enoch was the father of Irad. Irad was the father of Mehujael. Mehujael was the father of Methushael. Methushael was the father of Lamech.

19 Lamech married two women-Adah and Zillah. 20 Adah gave birth to a baby named Jabal. He became the first of the herdsmen who live in tents. 21 His brother's name was Jubal, the first musician-the inventor of the harp and flute. 22 To Lamech's other wife, Zillah, was born Tubal-cain. He was the first to work with metal, forging instruments of bronze and iron. Tubal-cain had a sister named Naamah.

23 One day Lamech said to Adah and Zillah, "Listen to me, my wives. I have killed a youth who attacked and wounded me. 24 If anyone who kills Cain is to be punished seven times, anyone who takes revenge against me will be punished seventy-seven times!"

25 Adam slept with his wife again, and she gave birth to another son. She named him Seth, for she said, "God has granted me another son in place of Abel, the one Cain killed." 26 When Seth grew up, he had a son and named him Enosh. It was during his lifetime that people first began to worship the Lord.

Chapter 5

From Adam to Noah

This is the history of the descendants of Adam. When God created people, he made them in the likeness of God. 2 He created them male and female, and he blessed them and called them "human."

3 When Adam was 130 years old, his son Seth was born, and Seth was the very image of his father. 4 After the birth of Seth, Adam lived another 800 years, and he had other sons and daughters. 5 He died at the age of 930.

6 When Seth was 105 years old, his son Enosh was born. 7 After the birth of Enosh, Seth lived another 807 years, and he had other sons and daughters. 8 He died at the age of 912.

9 When Enosh was 90 years old, his son Kenan was born. 10 After the birth of Kenan, Enosh lived another 815 years, and he had other sons and daughters. 11 He died at the age of 905.

12 When Kenan was 70 years old, his son Mahalalel was born. 13 After the birth of Mahalalel, Kenan lived another 840 years, and he had other sons and daughters. 14 He died at the age of 910.

15 When Mahalalel was 65 years old, his son Jared was born. 16 After the birth of Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years, and he had other sons and daughters. 17 He died at the age of 895.

18 When Jared was 162 years old, his son Enoch was born. 19 After the birth of Enoch, Jared lived another 800 years, and he had other sons and daughters. 20 He died at the age of 962.

21 When Enoch was 65 years old, his son Methuselah was born. 22 After the birth of Methuselah, Enoch lived another 300 years in close fellowship with God, and he had other sons and daughters. 23 Enoch lived 365 years in all. 24 He enjoyed a close relationship with God throughout his life. Then suddenly, he disappeared because God took him.

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