The Beginning

Adam and Eve

⁴ This is the account^(CR) of the heavens and the earth when they were created,^(CS) when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.

⁵ Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth^[b] and no plant had yet sprung up,^(CT) for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth^(CU) and there was no one to work the ground, ⁶ but streams^[c] came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. ⁷ Then the Lord God formed^(CV) a man^[d](CW) from the dust^(CX) of the ground^(CY) and breathed into his nostrils the breath^(CZ) of life,^(DA) and the man became a living being.^(DB)

⁸ Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden;^(DC) and there he put the man he had formed. ⁹ The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees^(DD) that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life^(DE) and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.^(DF)

¹⁰ A river^(DG) watering the garden flowed from Eden;^(DH) 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,^(DI) where there is gold. ¹² (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin^[e](DJ) and onyx are also there.) ¹³ The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush.^{[f] 14} The name of the third river is the Tigris;^(DK) it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.^(DL)

¹⁵ The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden^(DM) 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;^{(DN) 17} but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,^(DO) for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”^(DP)

¹⁸ The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”^(DQ)

¹⁹ Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals^(DR) and all the birds in the sky.^(DS) He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called^(DT) each living creature,^(DU) that was its name. ²⁰ So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.

But for Adam^[g] no suitable helper^(DV) was found. ²¹ So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep;^(DW) and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs^[h] and then closed up the place with flesh. ²² Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib^[i](DX) he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

²³ The man said,

²⁴ That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united^(EB) to his wife, and they become one flesh.^(EC)

²⁵ Adam and his wife were both naked,^(ED) and they felt no shame.

The Fall

3 Now the serpent^(EE) 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’?^(EF)”

² The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,^{(EG) 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.’”^(EH)

⁴ “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman.^{(EI) 5} “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,^(EJ) 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^(EK) for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband,^(EL) who was with her, and he ate it.^{(EM) 7} Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked;^(EN) so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.^(EO)

⁸ Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking^(EP) in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid^(EQ) from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. ⁹ But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”^(ER)

¹⁰ He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid^(ES) because I was naked;^(ET) so I hid.”

¹¹ And he said, “Who told you that you were naked?^(EU) Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?^(EV)”

¹² The man said, “The woman you put here with me^(EW)—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,^(EX) and I ate.”

¹⁴ So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,

¹⁶ To the woman he said,

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,’^(FF)

²⁰ Adam^[l] named his wife Eve,^[m](FP) 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.^{(FQ) 22} And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us,^(FR) knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life^(FS) and eat, and live forever.” ²³ So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden^(FT) to work the ground^(FU) from which he had been taken. ²⁴ After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side^[n] of the Garden of Eden^(FV) cherubim^(FW) and a flaming sword^(FX) flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.^(FY)

Cain and Abel

4 Adam^[o] made love to his wife^(FZ) Eve,^(GA) and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain.^[p](GB) She said, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth^[q] a man.” ² Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.^(GC)

Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil.^{(GD) 3} In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering^(GE) to the Lord.^{(GF) 4} And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions^(GG) from some of the firstborn of his flock.^(GH) The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering,^{(GI) 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?^(GJ) 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;^(GK) it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.^(GL)”

⁸ Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.”^[r] While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.^(GM)

⁹ Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”^(GN)

“I don’t know,^(GO)” 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.^{(GP) 11} Now you are under a curse^(GQ) 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.^(GR) You will be a restless wanderer^(GS) on the earth.^(GT)”

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;^(GU) I will be a restless wanderer on the earth,^(GV) and whoever finds me will kill me.”^(GW)

¹⁵ But the Lord said to him, “Not so^[s]; anyone who kills Cain^(GX) will suffer vengeance^(GY) seven times over.^(GZ)” 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^(HA) and lived in the land of Nod,^[t] east of Eden.^(HB)

¹⁷ Cain made love to his wife,^(HC) and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city,^(HD) and he named it after his son^(HE) 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^(HF) two women,^(HG) 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^(HH) and pipes.^{(HI) 22} Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged^(HJ) all kinds of tools out of^[u] bronze and iron. Tubal-Cain’s sister was Naamah.

²³ Lamech said to his wives,

²⁵ Adam made love to his wife^(HO) again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth,^[v](HP) saying, “God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.”^{(HQ) 26} Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh.^(HR)

At that time people began to call on^[w] the name of the Lord.^(HS)

The Table of Nations

10 This is the account^(A) of Shem, Ham and Japheth,^(B) Noah’s sons,^(C) who themselves had sons after the flood.

The Japhethites^(D)

The Hamites^(P)

⁸ Cush was the father^[c] of Nimrod,^(Y) who became a mighty warrior on the earth. ⁹ He was a mighty^(Z) hunter^(AA) before the Lord; that is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.” ¹⁰ The first centers of his kingdom were Babylon,^(AB) Uruk,^(AC) Akkad and Kalneh,^(AD) in^[d] Shinar.^{[e](AE) 11} From that land he went to Assyria,^(AF) where he built Nineveh,^(AG) Rehoboth Ir,^[f] Calah ¹² and Resen, which is between Nineveh and Calah—which is the great city.

Later the Canaanite^(AT) clans scattered ¹⁹ and the borders of Canaan^(AU) reached from Sidon^(AV) toward Gerar^(AW) as far as Gaza,^(AX) and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboyim,^(AY) as far as Lasha.

²⁰ These are the sons of Ham by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations.

The Semites^(AZ)

²¹ Sons were also born to Shem, whose older brother was^[h] Japheth; Shem was the ancestor of all the sons of Eber.^(BA)

³⁰ The region where they lived stretched from Mesha toward Sephar, in the eastern hill country.

³¹ These are the sons of Shem by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations.

³² These are the clans of Noah’s sons,^(BK) according to their lines of descent, within their nations. From these the nations spread out over the earth^(BL) after the flood.

The Tower of Babel

11 Now the whole world had one language^(BM) and a common speech. ² As people moved eastward,^[l] they found a plain in Shinar^[m](BN) and settled there.

³ They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks^(BO) and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone,^(BP) and tar^(BQ) for mortar. ⁴ Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens,^(BR) so that we may make a name^(BS) for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered^(BT) over the face of the whole earth.”^(BU)

⁵ But the Lord came down^(BV) to see the city and the tower the people were building. ⁶ The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language^(BW) they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. ⁷ Come, let us^(BX) go down^(BY) and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”^(BZ)

⁸ So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth,^(CA) and they stopped building the city. ⁹ That is why it was called Babel^[n](CB)—because there the Lord confused the language^(CC) of the whole world.^(CD) From there the Lord scattered^(CE) them over the face of the whole earth.

From Shem to Abram^(CF)

¹⁰ This is the account^(CG) of Shem’s family line.

Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father^[o] of Arphaxad.^{(CH) 11} And after he became the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters.

¹² When Arphaxad had lived 35 years, he became the father of Shelah.^{(CI) 13} And after he became the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.^[p]

¹⁴ When Shelah had lived 30 years, he became the father of Eber.^{(CJ) 15} And after he became the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

¹⁶ When Eber had lived 34 years, he became the father of Peleg.^{(CK) 17} And after he became the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.

¹⁸ When Peleg had lived 30 years, he became the father of Reu.^{(CL) 19} And after he became the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.

²⁰ When Reu had lived 32 years, he became the father of Serug.^{(CM) 21} And after he became the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.

²² When Serug had lived 30 years, he became the father of Nahor.^{(CN) 23} And after he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.

²⁴ When Nahor had lived 29 years, he became the father of Terah.^{(CO) 25} And after he became the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.

²⁶ After Terah had lived 70 years, he became the father of Abram,^(CP) Nahor^(CQ) and Haran.^(CR)

Abram’s Family

²⁷ This is the account^(CS) of Terah’s family line.

Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor^(CT) and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot.^{(CU) 28} While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans,^(CV) in the land of his birth. ²⁹ Abram and Nahor^(CW) both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai,^(CX) and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milkah;^(CY) she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milkah and Iskah. ³⁰ Now Sarai was childless because she was not able to conceive.^(CZ)

³¹ Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot^(DA) son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law^(DB) Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans^(DC) to go to Canaan.^(DD) But when they came to Harran,^(DE) they settled there.

³² Terah^(DF) lived 205 years, and he died in Harran.

The Call of Abram

12 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household^(DG) to the land^(DH) I will show you.^(DI)

⁴ So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot^(DO) went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old^(DP) when he set out from Harran.^{(DQ) 5} He took his wife Sarai,^(DR) his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated^(DS) and the people^(DT) they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan,^(DU) and they arrived there.

⁶ Abram traveled through the land^(DV) as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh^(DW) at Shechem.^(DX) At that time the Canaanites^(DY) were in the land. ⁷ The Lord appeared to Abram^(DZ) and said, “To your offspring^[s] I will give this land.^(EA)”^(EB) So he built an altar there to the Lord,^(EC) who had appeared to him.

⁸ From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel^(ED) and pitched his tent,^(EE) with Bethel on the west and Ai^(EF) on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.^(EG)

⁹ Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev.^(EH)

Abram in Egypt^(EI)

¹⁰ Now there was a famine in the land,^(EJ) and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.^{(EK) 11} As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai,^(EL) “I know what a beautiful woman^(EM) you are. ¹² When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. ¹³ Say you are my sister,^(EN) so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.”

¹⁴ When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman.^{(EO) 15} And when Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. ¹⁶ He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.^(EP)

¹⁷ But the Lord inflicted^(EQ) serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household^(ER) because of Abram’s wife Sarai. ¹⁸ So Pharaoh summoned Abram. “What have you done to me?”^(ES) he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife?^{(ET) 19} Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’^(EU) so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!” ²⁰ Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.