The Beginning 1 In the beginning God created the
heavens and the earth. 2 Now the
earth was formless and empty, darkness
was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering
over the waters.
3 And God said, "Let there be light," and
there was light. 4 God saw that the
light was good, and he separated the
light from the darkness. 5 God called
the light "day," and the darkness he
called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning-the first day.
6 And God said. "Let there be an expanse
between the Waters to separate water
from water." 7 So God made the expanse
and separated the water under
the expanse from the water above it.
And it was so. 8 God called the expanse
"sky." And there was evening, and
there was morning-the second day.
9 And God said, "Let the water under the
sky he gathered to one place, and let
dry ground appear." And it was so.
10 God called the dry ground "land,"
and the gathered waters he called
"seas." And God saw that it was good.
11 Then God said, "Let the land produce
vegetation: seed-bearing plants
and trees on the land that bear fruit
with seed in it, according to their various
kinds." And it was so. 12 The land
produced vegetation: plants bearing
seed according to their kinds and trees
bearing fruit with seed in it according
to their kinds. And God saw that it was
good. 13 And there was evening, and
there was morning-the third day.
14 And God said, "Let there be lights in the
expanse of the sky to separate the day
from the night, and let them serve as
signs to mark seasons and days and
years, 15 and let them be lights in the
expanse of the sky to give light on the
earth." And it was so. 16 God made two
great-lights the greater light to govern
the day and the lesser light to govern
the night. He also made the stars.
17 God set them in the expanse of the
sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern
the day and the night, and to separate
light from darkness. And God
saw that it was good. 19 And there was
evening, and there was morning-the
fourth day.
20 And God said, "Let the water teem with
living creatures, and let birds fly above
the earth across the expanse of the
sky." 21 So God created the great creatures
of the sea and every living and
moving thing with which the water
teems, according to their kinds, and
every winged bird according to its
kind. And God saw that it was good.
22 God blessed them and said, "Be
fruitful and increase in number and fill
the water in the seas, and let the birds
increase on the earth." 23 And there
was evening, and there was morning-the
fifth day.
24 And God said, "Let the land produce living
creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along
the ground, and wild animals, each according
to its kind." And it was so.
25 God made the wild animals according
to their kinds, the livestock according
to their kinds, and all the creatures
that move along the ground
according to their kinds. And God saw
that it was good.
26 Then God said, "Let us make man
in our image, in our likeness, and let
them rule over the fish of the sea and
the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the
creatures that move along the ground."
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to
them, "Be fruitful and increase in
number; fill the earth and subdue it.
Rule over the fish of the sea and the
birds of the air and over every living
creature that moves on the ground."
29 Then God said, "I give you every
seed-bearing plant on the face of the
whole earth and every tree that has
fruit with seed in it. They will be
yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts
of the earth and all the birds of the air
and all the creatures that move on the
ground-everything that has the
breath of life in it-I give every green
plant for food." And it was so.
31 God saw all that he had made, and
it was very good. And there was
evening, and there was morning-the
sixth day.
2 Thus the heavens and the earth
were completed in all their vast array.
2 By the seventh day God had finished the
work he had been doing; so on the
seventh day he rested from all his
work. 3 And God blessed the seventh
day and made it holy, because on it he
rested from all the work of creating
that he had done.
Adam and Eve
4 This is the account of the heavens and
the earth when they were created.
When the Lord God made the earth and
the heavens- 5 and no shrub of the field
had yet appeared on the earth and no plant
of the field had yet sprung up, for the Lord
God had not sent rain on the earth and
there was no man to work the ground, 6 but
streams came up from the earth and watered
the whole surface of the ground-the
7 Lord God formed the man from the
dust of the ground and breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life, and the man became
a living being.
8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden
in the east of Eden; and there he put
the man he had formed. And the Lord
God made all kinds of trees grow out of the
ground-trees that were pleasing to the
eye and good for food. In the middle of the
garden were the tree of life and the tree of
the knowledge of good and evil.
10 A river watering the garden flowed
from Eden; from there it was separated into
four headwaters. 11 The name of the first is
the Pishon; it winds through the entire land
of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 (The gold
of that land is good; aromatic resin and
onyx are also there.) 13 The name of the
second river is the Gihon; it winds through
the entire land of Cush. 14 The name of the
third river is the Tigris; it runs along the
east side of Asshur. And the fourth river is
the Euphrates.
15 The Lord God took the man and put
him in the Garden of Eden to work it and
take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded
the man, "You are free to eat from
any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not
eat from the tree of the knowledge of good
and evil, for when you eat of it you will
surely die."
18 The Lord Gods said, "It is not good for
the man to be alone." I will make a helper,
suitable for him."
19 Now the Lord God had formed out of
the ground all the beasts of the field and all
the birds of the air. He brought them to the
man to see what he would name them; and
whatever the man called each living creature,
that was its name. 20 So the man gave
names to all the livestock, the birds of the
air and all the beasts of the field.
But for Adam no suitable helper was
found. 21 So the Lord God caused the man
to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was
sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and
closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the
Lord God made a woman from the rib he
had taken out of the man, and he brought
her to the man.
23 The man said,
"This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called `woman,'
for she was taken out of man."
24 For this reason a man will leave his father
and mother and be united to his wife, and
they will become one flesh.
25 The man and his wife were both naked,
and they felt no shame.
The Fall of Man
3 Now the serpent was more crafty
than any of the wild animals the Lord
God had made. He said to the woman, "Did
God really say, `You must not eat from any
tree in the garden'?"
2 The woman said to the serpent, "We
may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,
3 but God did say, `You must not eat fruit
from the tree that is in the middle of the
garden, and you must not touch it, or you
will die.'"
4 "You will not surely die," the serpent
said to the woman. 5 "For God knows that
when you eat of it your eyes will be
opened, and you will be like God, knowing
good and evil."
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of
the tree was good for food and pleasing to
the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom,
she took some and ate it. She also
gave some to her husband, who was with
her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of
them were opened, and they realized they
were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together
and made coverings for themselves.
8 Then the man and his wife heard the
sound of the Lord God as he was walking
in the garden in the cool of the day, and
they hid from the Lord God among the
trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God
called to the man, "Where are you?"
10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden,
and I was afraid because I was naked;
so I hid."
11 And he said, "Who told you that you
were naked? Have you eaten from the tree
that I commanded you not to eat from?"
12 The man said, "The woman you put
here with me-she gave me some fruit
from the tree, and I ate it."
13 Then the Lord God said to the woman,
"What is this you have done?"
The woman said, "The serpent deceived
me, and I ate."
14 So the Lord God said to the serpent,
"Because you have done this,
"Cursed are you above all the livestock
and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity
between you and the woman, and between your offspring" and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."
16 To the woman he said,
"I will greatly increase your pains in
childbearing; with pain you will give birth to
children.
Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you."
17 To Adam he said, "Because you listened
to your wife and ate from the tree
about which I commanded you, `You must
not eat of it,'
"Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it
all the days of your life.
18 It will produce thorns and thistles for
you, and you will eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your brow
you will eat your food
until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are
and to dust you will return."
20 Adam named his wife Eve, because
she would become the mother of all the living.
21 The Lord God made garments of skin
for Adam and his wife and clothed them.
22 And the Lord God said, "The man has
now become like one of us, knowing good
and evil. He must not be allowed to reach
out his hand and take also from the tree of
life and eat, and live forever." 23 So the
Lord God banished him from the Garden of
Eden to work the ground from which he
had been taken. 24 After he drove the man
out, he placed on the east side of the Garden
of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword
flashing back and forth to guard the way to
the tree of life.
Cain and Abel
Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she
became pregnant and gave birth to
Cain. She said, "With the help of the Lord
I have brought forth a man." 2 Later she
gave birth to his brother Abel.
Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked
the soil. 3 In the course of time Cain
brought some of the fruits of the soil as an
offering to the Lord. 4 But Abel brought fat
portions from some of the firstborn of his
flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel
and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering
he did not look with favor. So Cain was
very angry, and his face was downcast.
6 Then the Lord said to Cain, "Why are
you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If
you do what is right, will you not be accepted?
But if you do not do what is right,
sin is crouching at your door; it desires to
have you, but you must master it."
8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel,
"Let's go out to the field." And while they
were in the field, Cain attacked his brother
Abel and killed him.
9 Then the Lord said to Cain, "Where is
your brother Abel?"
"I don't know," he replied. "Am I my
brother's keeper?"
10 The Lord said, "What have you done?
Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to
me from the ground. "Now you are under
a curse and driven from the ground, which
opened its mouth to receive your brother's
blood from your hand. 12 When you work
the ground, it will no longer yield its crops
for you. You will be a restless wanderer on
the earth."
13 Cain said to the Lord, "My punishment
is more than I can bear. 14 Today you
are driving me from the land, and I will be
hidden from your presence; I will be a restless
wanderer on the earth, and whoever
finds me will kill me."
15 But the Lord said to him, "Not so; if
anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance
seven times over." Then the Lord put a
mark on Cain so that no one who found him.
would kill him. 16 So Cain went out from the
Lord's presence and lived in the land of
Nod, east of Eden.
17 Cain lay with his wife, and she became
pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was
then building a city, and he named it after
his son Enoch. 18 To Enoch was born Irad,
and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and
Mehujael was the father of Methushael,
and Methushael was the father of Lamech.
19 Lamech married two women, one
named Adah and the other Zillah. 20 Adah
gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of
those who live in tents and raise livestock.
21 His brother's name was Jubal; he was the
father of all who play the harp and flute.
22 Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who
forged all kinds of tools out of bronze and
iron. Tubal-Cain's sister was Naamah.
23 Lamech said to his wives,
"Adah and Zillah, listen to me; wives of Lamech, hear my words.
I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for injuring me.
24 If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times."
25 Adam lay with his wife again, and she
gave birth to a son and named him Seth,
saying, "God has granted me another child
in place of Abel, since Cain killed him."
26 Seth also had a son, and he named him
Enosh.
At that time men began to call on the
name of the Lord.
From Adam to Noah
This is the written account of Adam's
line.
When God created man, he made him in
the likeness of God. 2 He created them male
and female and blessed them. And when
they were created, he called them "man."
3 When Adam had lived 130 years, he had
a son in his own likeness, in his own image;
and he named him Seth. 4 After Seth was
born, Adam lived 800 years and had other
sons and daughters. 5 Altogether, Adam
lived 930 years, and then he died.
6 When Seth had lived 105 years, he became
the father of Enosh. 7 And after he
became the father of Enosh, Seth lived 807
years and had other sons and daughters.
8 Altogether, Seth lived 912 years, and then
he died.
9 When Enosh had lived 90 years, he became
the father of Kenan. 10 And after he
became the father of Kenan, Enosh lived
815 years and had other sons and daughters.
11 Altogether, Enosh lived 905 years,
and then he died.
12 When Kenan had lived 70 years, he became
the father of Mahalalel. 13 And after
he became the father of Mahalalel, Kenan
lived 840 years and had other sons and
daughters. 14 Altogether, Kenan lived 910
years, and then he died.
15 When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he
became the father of Jared. 16 And after he
became the father of Jared, Mahalalel lived
830 years and had other sons and daughters.
17 Altogether, Mahalalel lived 895
years, and then he died.
18 When Jared had lived 162 years, he became
the father of Enoch. 19 And after he
became the father of Enoch, Jared lived 800
years and had other sons and daughters.
20 Altogether, Jared lived 962 years, and
then he died.
21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became
the father of Methuselah. 22 And after
he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch
walked with God 300 years and had other
sons and daughters. 23 Altogether, Enoch
lived 365 years. 24 Enoch walked with God;
then he was no more, because God took
him away.
25 When Methuselah had lived 187 years,
he became the father of Lamech. 26 And
after he became the father of Lamech,
Methuselah lived 782 years and had other
sons and daughters. 27 Altogether, Methuselah
lived 969 years, and then he died.
(Continues.)
