Genesis 1

New International Version

The Beginning

1 In the beginning^(A) God created^(B) the heavens^(C) and the earth.^(D) ²Now the earth was formless^(E) and empty,^(F) darkness was over the surface of the deep,^(G) and the Spirit of God^(H) was hovering^(I) over the waters.

³And God said,^(J) “Let there be light,” and there was light.^(K) ⁴God saw that the light was good,^(L) and he separated the light from the darkness.^(M) ⁵God called^(N) the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.”^(O) And there was evening, and there was morning^(P)—the first day.

⁶And God said,^(Q) “Let there be a vault^(R) between the waters^(S) to separate water from water.” ⁷So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it.^(T) And it was so.^(U) ⁸God called^(V) the vault “sky.”^(W) And there was evening, and there was morning^(X)—the second day.

⁹And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place,^(Y) and let dry ground^(Z) appear.” And it was so.^(AA) ¹⁰God called^(AB) the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters^(AC) he called “seas.”^(AD) And God saw that it was good.^(AE)

¹¹Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation:^(AF) seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.^(AG)” And it was so.^(AH) ¹²The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds^(AI) and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.^(AJ) ¹³And there was evening, and there was morning^(AK)—the third day.

¹⁴And God said, “Let there be lights^(AL) in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night,^(AM) and let them serve as signs^(AN) to mark sacred times,^(AO) and days and years,^(AP) ¹⁵and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so.^(AQ) ¹⁶God made two great lights—the greater light^(AR) to govern^(AS) the day and the lesser light to govern^(AT) the night.^(AU) He also made the stars.^(AV) ¹⁷God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, ¹⁸to govern the day and the night,^(AW) and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good.^(AX) ¹⁹And there was evening, and there was morning^(AY)—the fourth day.

²⁰And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures,^(AZ) and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.”^(BA) ²¹So God created^(BB) the great creatures of the sea^(BC) and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it,^(BD) according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind.^(BE) And God saw that it was good.^(BF) ²²God 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.”^(BG) ²³And there was evening, and there was morning^(BH)—the fifth day.

²⁴And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures^(BI) according to their kinds:^(BJ) the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so.^(BK) ²⁵God made the wild animals^(BL) according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds.^(BM) And God saw that it was good.^(BN)

²⁶Then God said, “Let us^(BO) make mankind^(BP) in our image,^(BQ) in our likeness,^(BR) so that they may rule^(BS) over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky,^(BT) over the livestock and all the wild animals,^[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

²⁷So God created^(BU) mankind^(BV) in his own image,^(BW)
in the image of God^(BX) he created them;
male and female^(BY) he created them.^(BZ)

²⁸God blessed them and said to them,^(CA) “Be fruitful and increase in number;^(CB) fill the earth^(CC) and subdue it. Rule over^(CD) the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.^(CE)”

²⁹Then 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.^(CF) ³⁰And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life^(CG) in it—I give every green plant for food.^(CH)” And it was so.

³¹God saw all that he had made,^(CI) and it was very good.^(CJ) And there was evening, and there was morning^(CK)—the sixth day.

Footnotes

Genesis 1:26 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text (see Syriac); Masoretic Text the earth

Genesis 26

New International Version

Isaac and Abimelek^(A)

26 Now there was a famine in the land^(B)—besides the previous famine in Abraham’s time—and Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines^(C) in Gerar.^(D) ²The Lord appeared^(E) to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt;^(F) live in the land where I tell you to live.^(G) ³Stay in this land for a while,^(H) and I will be with you^(I) and will bless you.^(J) For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands^(K) and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham.^(L) ⁴I will make your descendants^(M) as numerous as the stars in the sky^(N) and will give them all these lands,^(O) and through your offspring^[a] all nations on earth will be blessed,^[b]^(P) ⁵because Abraham obeyed me^(Q) and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees^(R) and my instructions.^(S)” ⁶So Isaac stayed in Gerar.^(T)

⁷When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,^(U)” because he was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful.”

⁸When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelek king of the Philistines^(V) looked down from a window and saw Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah. ⁹So Abimelek summoned Isaac and said, “She is really your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?^(W)”

Isaac answered him, “Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her.”

¹⁰Then Abimelek said, “What is this you have done to us?^(X) One of the men might well have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.”

¹¹So Abimelek gave orders to all the people: “Anyone who harms^(Y) this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”^(Z)

¹²Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold,^(AA) because the Lord blessed him.^(AB) ¹³The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy.^(AC) ¹⁴He had so many flocks and herds and servants^(AD) that the Philistines envied him.^(AE) ¹⁵So all the wells^(AF) that his father’s servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up,^(AG) filling them with earth.

¹⁶Then Abimelek said to Isaac, “Move away from us;^(AH) you have become too powerful for us.^(AI)”

¹⁷So Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar,^(AJ) where he settled. ¹⁸Isaac reopened the wells^(AK) that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them.

¹⁹Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there. ²⁰But the herders of Gerar quarreled^(AL) with those of Isaac and said, “The water is ours!”^(AM) So he named the well Esek,^[c] because they disputed with him. ²¹Then they dug another well, but they quarreled^(AN) over that one also; so he named it Sitnah.^[d] ²²He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth,^[e]^(AO) saying, “Now the Lord has given us room^(AP) and we will flourish^(AQ) in the land.”

²³From there he went up to Beersheba.^(AR) ²⁴That night the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham.^(AS) Do not be afraid,^(AT) for I am with you;^(AU) I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants^(AV) for the sake of my servant Abraham.”^(AW)

²⁵Isaac built an altar^(AX) there and called on the name of the Lord.^(AY) There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well.^(AZ)

²⁶Meanwhile, Abimelek had come to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his personal adviser and Phicol the commander of his forces.^(BA) ²⁷Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me, since you were hostile to me and sent me away?^(BB)”

²⁸They answered, “We saw clearly that the Lord was with you;^(BC) so we said, ‘There ought to be a sworn agreement between us’—between us and you. Let us make a treaty^(BD) with you ²⁹that you will do us no harm,^(BE) just as we did not harm you but always treated you well and sent you away peacefully. And now you are blessed by the Lord.”^(BF)

³⁰Isaac then made a feast^(BG) for them, and they ate and drank. ³¹Early the next morning the men swore an oath^(BH) to each other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they went away peacefully.

³²That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well^(BI) they had dug. They said, “We’ve found water!” ³³He called it Shibah,^[f] and to this day the name of the town has been Beersheba.^[g]^(BJ)

Jacob Takes Esau’s Blessing

³⁴When Esau was forty years old,^(BK) he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite.^(BL) ³⁵They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah.^(BM)

Footnotes

Genesis 26:4 Or seed
Genesis 26:4 Or and all nations on earth will use the name of your offspring in blessings (see 48:20)
Genesis 26:20 Esek means dispute.
Genesis 26:21 Sitnah means opposition.
Genesis 26:22 Rehoboth means room.
Genesis 26:33 Shibah can mean oath or seven.
Genesis 26:33 Beersheba can mean well of the oath and well of seven.