Font Size
Genesis 3-5
Contemporary English Version
Genesis 3-5
Contemporary English Version
The First Sin
3 (A) The snake was sneakier than any of the other wild animals that the Lord God had made. One day it came to the woman and asked, “Did God tell you not to eat fruit from any tree in the garden?”
2 The woman answered, “God said we could eat fruit from any tree in the garden, 3 except the one in the middle. He told us not to eat fruit from that tree or even to touch it. If we do, we will die.”
4 “No, you won't!” the snake replied. 5 “God understands what will happen on the day you eat fruit from that tree. You will see what you have done, and you will know the difference between right and wrong, just as God does.”
6 The woman stared at the fruit. It looked beautiful and tasty. She wanted the wisdom that it would give her, and she ate some of the fruit. Her husband was there with her, so she gave some to him, and he ate it too. 7 At once they saw what they had done, and they realized they were naked. Then they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.
8 Late in the afternoon, when the breeze began to blow, the man and woman heard the Lord God walking in the garden. So they hid behind some trees.
Sin Brings a Curse
9 The Lord God called out to the man and asked, “Where are you?”
10 The man answered, “I was naked, and when I heard you walking through the garden, I was frightened and hid!”
11 “How did you know you were naked?” God asked. “Did you eat any fruit from that tree in the middle of the garden?”
12 “It was the woman you put here with me,” the man said. “She gave me some of the fruit, and I ate it.”
13 (B) The Lord God then asked the woman, “What have you done?”
“The snake tricked me,” she answered, “and I ate some of that fruit.”
14 So the Lord God said to the snake:
“Because of what you have done,
you will be the only animal
to suffer this curse—
For as long as you live,
you will crawl on your stomach
and eat dirt.
15 (C) You and this woman
will hate each other;
your descendants and hers
will always be enemies.
One of hers will strike you
on the head,
and you will strike him
on the heel.”
16 Then the Lord God said to the woman,
“You will suffer terribly
when you give birth.
But you will still desire
your husband,
and he will rule over you.”
17 (D) The Lord said to the man,
“You listened to your wife
and ate the fruit
I told you not to eat.
And so, the ground
will be under a curse
because of what you did.
As long as you live,
you will have to struggle
to grow enough food.
18 Your food will be plants,
but the ground will produce
thorns and thistles.
19 You will sweat all your life
to earn a living;
you were made out of soil,
and you will once again
turn into soil.”
20 The man Adam[a] named his wife Eve[b] because she would become the mother of all who live.
21 Then the Lord God made clothes out of animal skins for the man and his wife.
22 (E) The Lord said, “They now know the difference between right and wrong, just as we do. But they must not be allowed to eat fruit from the tree that lets them live forever.” 23 So the Lord God sent them out of the Garden of Eden, where they would have to work the ground from which the man had been made. 24 Then God put winged creatures at the entrance to the garden and a flaming, flashing sword to guard the way to the life-giving tree.
Cain Murders Abel
4 Adam[c] and Eve had a son. Then Eve said, “I'll name him Cain because I got[d] him with the help of the Lord.” 2 Later she had another son and named him Abel.
Abel became a sheep farmer, but Cain farmed the land. 3 One day, Cain gave part of his harvest to the Lord, 4 (F) and Abel also gave an offering to the Lord. He killed the first-born lamb from one of his sheep and gave the Lord the best parts of it. The Lord was pleased with Abel and his offering, 5 but not with Cain and his offering. This made Cain so angry that he could not hide his feelings.
6 The Lord said to Cain:
What's wrong with you? Why do you look so angry? 7 If you had done the right thing, you would be smiling.[e] But you did the wrong thing, and now sin is waiting to attack you like a lion. Sin wants to destroy you, but don't let it!
8 (G) Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let's go for a walk.”[f] And when they were out in a field, Cain attacked and killed him.
9 Afterwards the Lord asked Cain, “Where is Abel?”
“How should I know?” he answered. “Am I supposed to look after my brother?”
10 (H) Then the Lord said:
Why have you done this terrible thing? You killed your own brother, and his blood flowed onto the ground. Now his blood is calling out for me to punish you. 11 And so, I'll put you under a curse. Because you killed Abel and made his blood run out on the ground, you will never be able to farm it again. 12 When you try to farm the land, it won't produce anything for you. From now on, you'll be without a home, and you'll spend the rest of your life wandering from place to place.
13 “This punishment is too hard!” Cain said. 14 “You're making me leave my home and live far from you.[g] I will have to wander about without a home, and just anyone could kill me.”
15 “No!”[h] the Lord answered. “Anyone who kills you will be punished seven times worse than I am punishing you.” So the Lord put a mark on Cain to warn everyone not to kill him. 16 But Cain had to go far from the Lord and live in the Land of Wandering,[i] which is east of Eden.
More and More People
17 Later, Cain and his wife had a son named Enoch. At the time Cain was building a town, and so he named it Enoch after his son. 18 Then Enoch had a son named Irad, who had a son named Mehujael, who had a son named Methushael, who had a son named Lamech.
19 Lamech married Adah, then Zillah. 20-21 Lamech and Adah had two sons, Jabal and Jubal. Their son Jabal was the first to live in tents and raise sheep and goats. Jubal was the first to play harps and flutes.
22 Lamech and Zillah had a son named Tubal Cain who made tools out of bronze and iron. They also had a daughter, whose name was Naamah.
23 One day, Lamech said to his two wives, “A young man wounded me, and I killed him. 24 Anyone who tries to get even with me will be punished ten times more than anyone who tries to get even with Cain.”
25 Adam and his wife had another son. They named him Seth, because they said, “God has given[j] us a son to take the place of Abel, who was killed by his brother Cain.” 26 Later, Seth had a son and named him Enosh.
About this time people started worshiping the Lord.[k]
Descendants of Adam
5 1-2 (I) God created men and women to be like himself. He gave them his blessing and called them human beings. The following is a list of the descendants of Adam, the first man:
3-4 When Adam was 130, he had a son who was just like him, and he named him Seth. Adam had more children 5 and died at the age of 930.
6 When Seth was 105, he had a son named Enosh. 7 Seth had more children 8 and died at the age of 912.
9 When Enosh was 90, he had a son named Kenan. 10 Enosh had more children 11 and died at the age of 905.
12 When Kenan was 70, he had a son named Mahalalel. 13 Kenan had more children 14 and died at the age of 910.
15 When Mahalalel was 65, he had a son named Jared. 16 Mahalalel had more children 17 and died at the age of 895.
18 When Jared was 162, he had a son named Enoch. 19 Jared had more children 20 and died at the age of 962.
21 When Enoch was 65, he had a son named Methuselah, 22 and during the next 300 years he had more children. Enoch truly loved God, 23-24 (J) and God took him away at the age of 365.
25 When Methuselah was 187, he had a son named Lamech. 26 Methuselah had more children 27 and died at the age of 969.
28 When Lamech was one 182, he had a son. 29 Lamech said, “I'll name him Noah because he will give us comfort,[l] as we struggle hard to make a living on this land that the Lord has put under a curse.” 30 Lamech had more children 31 and died at the age of 777.
32 After Noah was 500 years old, he had three sons and named them Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Footnotes
- 3.20 The man Adam: In Hebrew “man” and “Adam” are the same.
- 3.20 Eve: In Hebrew “Eve” sounds like “living.”
- 4.1 Adam: See the note at 3.20.
- 4.1 Cain … got: In Hebrew “Cain” sounds like “got.”
- 4.7 you would be smiling: Or “I would have accepted your offering.”
- 4.8 Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let's … walk.” Most ancient translations; Hebrew “Cain spoke to his brother Abel.”
- 4.14 live … you: It was generally believed that the Lord was with his people only in their own land.
- 4.15 No: Three ancient translations; Hebrew “Very well!”
- 4.16 Wandering: The Hebrew text has “Nod,” which means “wandering.”
- 4.25 Seth … given: In Hebrew “Seth” sounds like “given.”
- 4.26 worshiping the Lord: Or “worshiping in the name of the Lord.”
- 5.29 Noah … comfort: In Hebrew “Noah” sounds like “comfort.”
Genesis 3-5
New International Version
Genesis 3-5
New International Version
The Fall
3 Now the serpent(A) 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’?(B)”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,(C) 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.’”(D)
4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman.(E) 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,(F) 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(G) for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband,(H) who was with her, and he ate it.(I) 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked;(J) so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.(K)
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking(L) in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid(M) from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”(N)
10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid(O) because I was naked;(P) so I hid.”
11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked?(Q) Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?(R)”
12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me(S)—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,(T) and I ate.”
14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,
“Cursed(U) are you above all livestock
and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust(V)
all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring[a](W) and hers;(X)
he will crush[b] your head,(Y)
and you will strike his heel.”
16 To the woman he said,
“I will make your pains in childbearing very severe;
with painful labor you will give birth to children.(Z)
Your desire will be for your husband,
and he will rule over you.(AA)”
17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’(AB)
“Cursed(AC) is the ground(AD) because of you;
through painful toil(AE) you will eat food from it
all the days of your life.(AF)
18 It will produce thorns and thistles(AG) for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.(AH)
19 By the sweat of your brow(AI)
you will eat your food(AJ)
until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
and to dust you will return.”(AK)
20 Adam[c] named his wife Eve,[d](AL) 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.(AM) 22 And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us,(AN) knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life(AO) and eat, and live forever.” 23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden(AP) to work the ground(AQ) from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side[e] of the Garden of Eden(AR) cherubim(AS) and a flaming sword(AT) flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.(AU)
Cain and Abel
4 Adam[f] made love to his wife(AV) Eve,(AW) and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain.[g](AX) She said, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth[h] a man.” 2 Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.(AY)
Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil.(AZ) 3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering(BA) to the Lord.(BB) 4 And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions(BC) from some of the firstborn of his flock.(BD) The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering,(BE) 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?(BF) 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;(BG) it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.(BH)”
8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.”[i] While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.(BI)
9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”(BJ)
“I don’t know,(BK)” 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.(BL) 11 Now you are under a curse(BM) 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.(BN) You will be a restless wanderer(BO) on the earth.(BP)”
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;(BQ) I will be a restless wanderer on the earth,(BR) and whoever finds me will kill me.”(BS)
15 But the Lord said to him, “Not so[j]; anyone who kills Cain(BT) will suffer vengeance(BU) seven times over.(BV)” 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(BW) and lived in the land of Nod,[k] east of Eden.(BX)
17 Cain made love to his wife,(BY) and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city,(BZ) and he named it after his son(CA) 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(CB) two women,(CC) 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 stringed instruments(CD) and pipes.(CE) 22 Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged(CF) all kinds of tools out of[l] 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(CG) a man for wounding me,
a young man for injuring me.
24 If Cain is avenged(CH) seven times,(CI)
then Lamech seventy-seven times.(CJ)”
25 Adam made love to his wife(CK) again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth,[m](CL) saying, “God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.”(CM) 26 Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh.(CN)
At that time people began to call on[n] the name of the Lord.(CO)
From Adam to Noah
5 This is the written account(CP) of Adam’s family line.(CQ)
When God created mankind, he made them in the likeness of God.(CR) 2 He created them(CS) male and female(CT) and blessed them. And he named them “Mankind”[o] when they were created.
3 When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image;(CU) and he named him Seth.(CV) 4 After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. 5 Altogether, Adam lived a total of 930 years, and then he died.(CW)
6 When Seth had lived 105 years, he became the father[p] of Enosh.(CX) 7 After he became the father of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters. 8 Altogether, Seth lived a total of 912 years, and then he died.
9 When Enosh had lived 90 years, he became the father of Kenan.(CY) 10 After he became the father of Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years and had other sons and daughters. 11 Altogether, Enosh lived a total of 905 years, and then he died.
12 When Kenan had lived 70 years, he became the father of Mahalalel.(CZ) 13 After he became the father of Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years and had other sons and daughters. 14 Altogether, Kenan lived a total of 910 years, and then he died.
15 When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he became the father of Jared.(DA) 16 After he became the father of Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years and had other sons and daughters. 17 Altogether, Mahalalel lived a total of 895 years, and then he died.
18 When Jared had lived 162 years, he became the father of Enoch.(DB) 19 After he became the father of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. 20 Altogether, Jared lived a total of 962 years, and then he died.
21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah.(DC) 22 After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God(DD) 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years. 24 Enoch walked faithfully with God;(DE) then he was no more, because God took him away.(DF)
25 When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech.(DG) 26 After he became the father of Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years and had other sons and daughters. 27 Altogether, Methuselah lived a total of 969 years, and then he died.
28 When Lamech had lived 182 years, he had a son. 29 He named him Noah[q](DH) and said, “He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the Lord has cursed.(DI)” 30 After Noah was born, Lamech lived 595 years and had other sons and daughters. 31 Altogether, Lamech lived a total of 777 years, and then he died.
32 After Noah was 500 years old,(DJ) he became the father of Shem,(DK) Ham and Japheth.(DL)
Footnotes
- Genesis 3:15 Or seed
- Genesis 3:15 Or strike
- Genesis 3:20 Or The man
- Genesis 3:20 Eve probably means living.
- Genesis 3:24 Or placed in front
- Genesis 4:1 Or The man
- Genesis 4:1 Cain sounds like the Hebrew for brought forth or acquired.
- Genesis 4:1 Or have acquired
- Genesis 4:8 Samaritan Pentateuch, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; Masoretic Text does not have “Let’s go out to the field.”
- Genesis 4:15 Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew Very well
- Genesis 4:16 Nod means wandering (see verses 12 and 14).
- Genesis 4:22 Or who instructed all who work in
- Genesis 4:25 Seth probably means granted.
- Genesis 4:26 Or to proclaim
- Genesis 5:2 Hebrew adam
- Genesis 5:6 Father may mean ancestor; also in verses 7-26.
- Genesis 5:29 Noah sounds like the Hebrew for comfort.
Contemporary English Version (CEV) 
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.