Chapter One
GenesisThe 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
be 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 kinds. 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, but streams came
up from the earth and watered the whole surface
of the ground- 7 the 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, in Eden; and there he put the man he
had formed. 9 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 God 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
4 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. 11 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. "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
5 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.
Continues.
