Chapter One
Genesis
The Account of Creation
1 In the beginning God created the heavens
and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and
empty, and darkness covered the deep waters.
And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface
of the waters.
3 Then God said, "Let there be light," and there
was light. 4 And God saw that the light was
good. Then he separated the light from the
darkness. 5 God called the light "day" and the
darkness "night."
And evening passed and morning came,
marking the first day.
6 Then God said, "Let there be a space between
the waters, to separate the waters of the
heavens from the waters of the earth." 7 And
that is what happened. God made this space
to separate the waters of the earth from the
waters of the heavens. 8 God called the space
"sky."
And evening passed and morning came,
marking the second day.
9 Then God said, "Let the waters beneath the sky
flow together into one place, so dry ground
may appear." And that is what happened.
10 God called the dry ground "land" and the
waters "seas." And God saw that it was good.
11 Then God said, "Let the land sprout with
vegetation-every sort of seed-bearing plant,
and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These
seeds will then produce the kinds of plants
and trees from which they came." And that
is what happened. 12 The land produced
vegetation-all sorts of seed-bearing plants,
and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their
seeds produced plants and trees of the same
kind. And God saw that it was good.
13 And evening passed and morning came,
marking the third day.
14 Then God said, "Let great lights appear in the
sky to separate the day from the night. Let
them mark off the seasons, days, and years.
15 Let these lights in the sky shine down on
the earth." And that is what happened.
16 God made two great lights, the sun and the
moon-the larger one to govern the day, and
the smaller one to govern the night. He also
made the stars. 17 God set these lights in the
sky to light the earth, 18 to govern the day and
night, and to separate the light from the
darkness. And God saw that it was good.
19 And evening passed and morning came,
marking the fourth day.
20 Then 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 living thing that
scurries and swarms in the water, and every
sort of bird-each producing offspring of
the same kind. And God saw that it was good.
22 Then God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful
and multiply. Let the fish fill the seas, and let
the birds multiply on the earth."
23 And evening passed and morning came,
marking the fifth day.
24 Then God said, "Let the earth produce every
sort of animal, each producing offspring of
the same kind-livestock, small animals that
scurry along the ground, and wild animals."
And that is what happened. 25 God made all
sorts of wild animals, livestock, and small
animals, each able to produce offspring of
the same kind. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, "Let us make human
beings in our image, to be like ourselves.
They will reign over the fish in the sea, the
birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild
animals on the earth, and the small animals
that scurry along the ground."
27 So God created human beings in his own
image.
In the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
28 Then God blessed them and said, "Be
fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and
govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the
birds in the sky, and all the animals that
scurry along the ground."
29 Then God said, "Look! I have given you
every seed-bearing plant throughout the
earth and all the fruit trees for your food.
30 And I have given every green plant as food
for all the wild animals, the birds in the sky,
and the small animals that scurry along the
ground-everything that has life." And that is
what happened.
31 Then God looked over all he had made,
and he saw that it was very good!
And evening passed and morning came,
marking the sixth day. 2
2 So the creation of the heavens and the earth
and everything in them was completed.
2 On the seventh day God had finished his
work of creation, so he 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 all 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 earth and the
heavens, 5 neither wild plants nor grains were
growing on the earth. The Lord God had not yet
sent rain to water the earth, and there were no
people to cultivate the soil. 6 Instead, springs
came up from the ground and watered all the
land. 7 Then the Lord God formed the man from
the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath
of life into the man's nostrils, 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
made. 9 The Lord God made all sorts of trees
grow up from the ground-trees that were beautiful
and that produced delicious fruit. In the
middle of the garden he placed the tree of life
and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
10 A river watered the garden and then flowed
out of Eden and divided into four branches.
11 The first branch, called the Pishon, flowed
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, called the
Gihon, flowed around the entire land of Cush.
14 The third branch, called the Tigris, flowed east
of the land of Asshur. The fourth branch is
called the Euphrates.
15 The Lord God placed the man in the Garden
of Eden to tend and watch over it. 16 But the Lord
God warned him, "You may freely eat the fruit of
every tree in the garden-17 except the tree of
the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its
fruit, you are sure to die."
18 Then the Lord God said, "It is not good for
the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is
just right for him." 19 So the Lord God formed
from the ground all the wild animals and all the
birds of the sky. He brought them to the man to
see what he would call them, and the man chose
a name for each one. 20 He gave names to all the
livestock, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild
animals. But still there was no helper just right
for him.
21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a
deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God
took out one of the man's ribs and closed up the
opening. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman
from the rib, and he brought her to the man.
23 "At last!" the man exclaimed.
"This one is bone from my bone,
and flesh from my flesh!
She will be called 'woman,'
because she was taken from '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 the man and his wife were both naked,
but they felt no shame.
The Man and Woman Sin
3 The serpent was the shrewdest of all the
wild animals the Lord God had made. One
day he asked the woman, "Did God really say you
must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in
the garden?"
2 "Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in
the garden," the woman replied. 3 "It's only the
fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden
that we are not allowed to eat. God said, 'You
must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will
die.'"
4 "You won't die!" the serpent replied to the
woman. 5 "God knows that your eyes will be
opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like
God, knowing both good and evil."
6 The woman was convinced. She saw that the
tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious,
and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So
she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she
gave some to her husband, who was with her,
and he ate it, too. 7 At that moment their eyes
were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at
their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together
to cover themselves.
8 When the cool evening breezes were blowing,
the man and his wife heard the Lord God
walking about in the garden. So they hid from
the Lord God among the trees. 9 Then the Lord
God called to the man, "Where are you?"
10 He replied, "I heard you walking in the garden,
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 from the tree
whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?"
12 The man replied, "It was the woman you
gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it."
13 Then the Lord God asked the woman,
"What have you done?"
"The serpent deceived me," she replied.
"That's why I ate it."
14 Then the Lord God said to the serpent,
"Because you have done this, you are cursed
more than all animals, domestic and wild.
You will crawl on your belly,
groveling in the dust as long as you live.
15 And I will cause hostility between you and
the woman,
and between your offspring and her
offspring.
He will strike your head,
and you will strike his heel."
16 Then he said to the woman,
"I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy,
and in pain you will give birth.
And you will desire to control your husband,
but he will rule over you."
17 And to the man he said,
"Since you listened to your wife and ate from
the tree
whose fruit I commanded you not to eat,
the ground is cursed because of you.
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 By the sweat of your brow
will you have food to eat
until you return to the ground
from which you were made.
For you were made from dust,
and to dust you will return."
Paradise Lost: God's Judgment
20 Then the man-Adam-named his wife Eve,
because she would be the mother of all who
live. 21 And the Lord God made clothing from
animal skins for Adam and his wife.
22 Then the Lord God said, "Look, the human
beings have become like us, knowing both
good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit
from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will
live forever!" 23 So the Lord God banished them
from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out
to cultivate the ground from which he had been
made. 24 After sending them out, the Lord God
stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the
Garden of Eden. And he placed a flaming sword
that flashed back and forth to guard the way to
the tree of life.
Cain and Abel
4 Now Adam had sexual relations with his
wife, Eve, and she became pregnant. When
she gave birth to Cain, she said, "With the Lord's
help, I have produced a man!" 2 Later she gave
birth to his brother and named him Abel.
When they grew up, Abel became a shepherd,
while Cain cultivated the ground. 3 When it was
time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his
crops as a gift to the Lord. 4 Abel also brought a
gift-the best of the firstborn lambs from his
flock. The Lord accepted Abel and his gift, 5 but
he did not accept Cain and his gift. This made
Cain very angry, and he looked dejected.
6 "Why are you so angry?" the Lord asked
Cain. "Why do you look so dejected? 7 You will
be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse
to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is
crouching at the door, eager to control you. But
you must subdue it and be its master."
8 One day Cain suggested to his brother, "Let's
go out into the fields." And while they were in
the field, Cain attacked his brother, Abel, and
killed him.
9 Afterward the Lord asked Cain, "Where is
your brother? Where is Abel?"
"I don't know," Cain responded. "Am I my
brother's guardian?"
10 But the Lord said, "What have you done?
Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me
from the ground! 11 Now you are cursed and banished
from the ground, which has swallowed
your brother's blood. 12 No longer will the
ground yield good crops for you, no matter how
hard you work! From now on you will be a homeless
wanderer on the earth."
13 Cain replied to the Lord, "My punishment
is too great for me to bear! 14 You have banished
me from the land and from your presence; you
have made me a homeless wanderer. Anyone
who finds me will kill me!"
15 The Lord replied, "No, for I will give a
sevenfold punishment to anyone who kills you."
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.
The Descendants of Cain
17 Cain had sexual relations with his wife, and
she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch.
Then Cain founded a city, which he named
Enoch, after his son. 18 Enoch had a son named
Irad. Irad became the father of Mehujael.
Mehujael became the father of Methushael.
Methushael became the father of Lamech.
19 Lamech married two women. The first was
named Adah, and the second was Zillah. 20 Adah
gave birth to Jabal, who was the first of those
who raise livestock and live in tents. 21 His
brother's name was Jubal, the first of all who
play the harp and flute. 22 Lamech's other wife,
Zillah, gave birth to a son named Tubal-cain. He
became an expert in forging tools of bronze and
iron. Tubal-cain had a sister named Naamah.
23 One day Lamech said to his wives,
"Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;
listen to me, you wives of Lamech.
I have killed a man who attacked me,
a young man who wounded me.
24 If someone who kills Cain is punished seven
times,
then the one who kills me will be punished
seventy-seven times!"
The Birth of Seth
25 Adam had sexual relations 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, whom Cain killed."
26 When Seth grew up, he had a son and named
him Enosh. At that time people first began to
worship the Lord by name.
The Descendants of Adam
5 This is the written account of the descendants
of Adam. When God created human
beings, he made them to be like himself. 2 He
created them male and female, and he blessed
them and called them "human."
3 When Adam was 130 years old, he became the
father of a son who was just like him-in his
very image. He named his son Seth.
Continues.
Chapter One
Genesis
The Account of Creation
1 In the beginning God created the heavens
and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and
empty, and darkness covered the deep waters.
And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface
of the waters.
3 Then God said, "Let there be light," and there
was light. 4 And God saw that the light was
good. Then he separated the light from the
darkness. 5 God called the light "day" and the
darkness "night."
And evening passed and morning came,
marking the first day.
6 Then God said, "Let there be a space between
the waters, to separate the waters of the
heavens from the waters of the earth." 7 And
that is what happened. God made this space
to separate the waters of the earth from the
waters of the heavens. 8 God called the space
"sky."
And evening passed and morning came,
marking the second day.
9 Then God said, "Let the waters beneath the sky
flow together into one place, so dry ground
may appear." And that is what happened.
10 God called the dry ground "land" and the
waters "seas." And God saw that it was good.
11 Then God said, "Let the land sprout with
vegetation-every sort of seed-bearing plant,
and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These
seeds will then produce the kinds of plants
and trees from which they came." And that
is what happened. 12 The land produced
vegetation-all sorts of seed-bearing plants,
and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their
seeds produced plants and trees of the same
kind. And God saw that it was good.
13 And evening passed and morning came,
marking the third day.
14 Then God said, "Let great lights appear in the
sky to separate the day from the night. Let
them mark off the seasons, days, and years.
15 Let these lights in the sky shine down on
the earth." And that is what happened.
16 God made two great lights, the sun and the
moon-the larger one to govern the day, and
the smaller one to govern the night. He also
made the stars. 17 God set these lights in the
sky to light the earth, 18 to govern the day and
night, and to separate the light from the
darkness. And God saw that it was good.
19 And evening passed and morning came,
marking the fourth day.
20 Then 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 living thing that
scurries and swarms in the water, and every
sort of bird-each producing offspring of
the same kind. And God saw that it was good.
22 Then God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful
and multiply. Let the fish fill the seas, and let
the birds multiply on the earth."
23 And evening passed and morning came,
marking the fifth day.
24 Then God said, "Let the earth produce every
sort of animal, each producing offspring of
the same kind-livestock, small animals that
scurry along the ground, and wild animals."
And that is what happened. 25 God made all
sorts of wild animals, livestock, and small
animals, each able to produce offspring of
the same kind. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, "Let us make human
beings in our image, to be like ourselves.
They will reign over the fish in the sea, the
birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild
animals on the earth, and the small animals
that scurry along the ground."
27 So God created human beings in his own
image.
In the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
28 Then God blessed them and said, "Be
fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and
govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the
birds in the sky, and all the animals that
scurry along the ground."
29 Then God said, "Look! I have given you
every seed-bearing plant throughout the
earth and all the fruit trees for your food.
30 And I have given every green plant as food
for all the wild animals, the birds in the sky,
and the small animals that scurry along the
ground-everything that has life." And that is
what happened.
31 Then God looked over all he had made,
and he saw that it was very good!
And evening passed and morning came,
marking the sixth day. 2
2 So the creation of the heavens and the earth
and everything in them was completed.
2 On the seventh day God had finished his
work of creation, so he 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 all 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 earth and the
heavens, 5 neither wild plants nor grains were
growing on the earth. The Lord God had not yet
sent rain to water the earth, and there were no
people to cultivate the soil. 6 Instead, springs
came up from the ground and watered all the
land. 7 Then the Lord God formed the man from
the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath
of life into the man's nostrils, 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
made. 9 The Lord God made all sorts of trees
grow up from the ground-trees that were beautiful
and that produced delicious fruit. In the
middle of the garden he placed the tree of life
and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
10 A river watered the garden and then flowed
out of Eden and divided into four branches.
11 The first branch, called the Pishon, flowed
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, called the
Gihon, flowed around the entire land of Cush.
14 The third branch, called the Tigris, flowed east
of the land of Asshur. The fourth branch is
called the Euphrates.
15 The Lord God placed the man in the Garden
of Eden to tend and watch over it. 16 But the Lord
God warned him, "You may freely eat the fruit of
every tree in the garden-17 except the tree of
the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its
fruit, you are sure to die."
18 Then the Lord God said, "It is not good for
the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is
just right for him." 19 So the Lord God formed
from the ground all the wild animals and all the
birds of the sky. He brought them to the man to
see what he would call them, and the man chose
a name for each one. 20 He gave names to all the
livestock, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild
animals. But still there was no helper just right
for him.
21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a
deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God
took out one of the man's ribs and closed up the
opening. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman
from the rib, and he brought her to the man.
23 "At last!" the man exclaimed.
"This one is bone from my bone,
and flesh from my flesh!
She will be called 'woman,'
because she was taken from '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 the man and his wife were both naked,
but they felt no shame.
The Man and Woman Sin
3 The serpent was the shrewdest of all the
wild animals the Lord God had made. One
day he asked the woman, "Did God really say you
must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in
the garden?"
2 "Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in
the garden," the woman replied. 3 "It's only the
fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden
that we are not allowed to eat. God said, 'You
must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will
die.'"
4 "You won't die!" the serpent replied to the
woman. 5 "God knows that your eyes will be
opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like
God, knowing both good and evil."
6 The woman was convinced. She saw that the
tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious,
and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So
she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she
gave some to her husband, who was with her,
and he ate it, too. 7 At that moment their eyes
were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at
their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together
to cover themselves.
8 When the cool evening breezes were blowing,
the man and his wife heard the Lord God
walking about in the garden. So they hid from
the Lord God among the trees. 9 Then the Lord
God called to the man, "Where are you?"
10 He replied, "I heard you walking in the garden,
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 from the tree
whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?"
12 The man replied, "It was the woman you
gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it."
13 Then the Lord God asked the woman,
"What have you done?"
"The serpent deceived me," she replied.
"That's why I ate it."
14 Then the Lord God said to the serpent,
"Because you have done this, you are cursed
more than all animals, domestic and wild.
You will crawl on your belly,
groveling in the dust as long as you live.
15 And I will cause hostility between you and
the woman,
and between your offspring and her
offspring.
He will strike your head,
and you will strike his heel."
16 Then he said to the woman,
"I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy,
and in pain you will give birth.
And you will desire to control your husband,
but he will rule over you."
17 And to the man he said,
"Since you listened to your wife and ate from
the tree
whose fruit I commanded you not to eat,
the ground is cursed because of you.
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 By the sweat of your brow
will you have food to eat
until you return to the ground
from which you were made.
For you were made from dust,
and to dust you will return."
Paradise Lost: God's Judgment
20 Then the man-Adam-named his wife Eve,
because she would be the mother of all who
live. 21 And the Lord God made clothing from
animal skins for Adam and his wife.
22 Then the Lord God said, "Look, the human
beings have become like us, knowing both
good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit
from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will
live forever!" 23 So the Lord God banished them
from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out
to cultivate the ground from which he had been
made. 24 After sending them out, the Lord God
stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the
Garden of Eden. And he placed a flaming sword
that flashed back and forth to guard the way to
the tree of life.
Cain and Abel
4 Now Adam had sexual relations with his
wife, Eve, and she became pregnant. When
she gave birth to Cain, she said, "With the Lord's
help, I have produced a man!" 2 Later she gave
birth to his brother and named him Abel.
When they grew up, Abel became a shepherd,
while Cain cultivated the ground. 3 When it was
time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his
crops as a gift to the Lord. 4 Abel also brought a
gift-the best of the firstborn lambs from his
flock. The Lord accepted Abel and his gift, 5 but
he did not accept Cain and his gift. This made
Cain very angry, and he looked dejected.
6 "Why are you so angry?" the Lord asked
Cain. "Why do you look so dejected? 7 You will
be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse
to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is
crouching at the door, eager to control you. But
you must subdue it and be its master."
8 One day Cain suggested to his brother, "Let's
go out into the fields." And while they were in
the field, Cain attacked his brother, Abel, and
killed him.
9 Afterward the Lord asked Cain, "Where is
your brother? Where is Abel?"
"I don't know," Cain responded. "Am I my
brother's guardian?"
10 But the Lord said, "What have you done?
Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me
from the ground! 11 Now you are cursed and banished
from the ground, which has swallowed
your brother's blood. 12 No longer will the
ground yield good crops for you, no matter how
hard you work! From now on you will be a homeless
wanderer on the earth."
13 Cain replied to the Lord, "My punishment
is too great for me to bear! 14 You have banished
me from the land and from your presence; you
have made me a homeless wanderer. Anyone
who finds me will kill me!"
15 The Lord replied, "No, for I will give a
sevenfold punishment to anyone who kills you."
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.
The Descendants of Cain
17 Cain had sexual relations with his wife, and
she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch.
Then Cain founded a city, which he named
Enoch, after his son. 18 Enoch had a son named
Irad. Irad became the father of Mehujael.
Mehujael became the father of Methushael.
Methushael became the father of Lamech.
19 Lamech married two women. The first was
named Adah, and the second was Zillah. 20 Adah
gave birth to Jabal, who was the first of those
who raise livestock and live in tents. 21 His
brother's name was Jubal, the first of all who
play the harp and flute. 22 Lamech's other wife,
Zillah, gave birth to a son named Tubal-cain. He
became an expert in forging tools of bronze and
iron. Tubal-cain had a sister named Naamah.
23 One day Lamech said to his wives,
"Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;
listen to me, you wives of Lamech.
I have killed a man who attacked me,
a young man who wounded me.
24 If someone who kills Cain is punished seven
times,
then the one who kills me will be punished
seventy-seven times!"
The Birth of Seth
25 Adam had sexual relations 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, whom Cain killed."
26 When Seth grew up, he had a son and named
him Enosh. At that time people first began to
worship the Lord by name.
The Descendants of Adam
5 This is the written account of the descendants
of Adam. When God created human
beings, he made them to be like himself. 2 He
created them male and female, and he blessed
them and called them "human."
3 When Adam was 130 years old, he became the
father of a son who was just like him-in his
very image. He named his son Seth.
Continues.
