Old/New Testament
The Story of Cain and Abel
4 Now[a] the man was intimate with[b] his wife Eve, and she became pregnant[c] and gave birth to Cain. Then she said, “I have created[d] a man just as the Lord did!”[e] 2 Then she gave birth[f] to his brother Abel.[g] Abel took care of the flocks, while Cain cultivated the ground.[h]
3 At the designated time[i] Cain brought some of the fruit of the ground for an offering[j] to the Lord. 4 But Abel brought[k] some of the firstborn of his flock—even the fattest[l] of them. And the Lord was pleased with[m] Abel and his offering, 5 but with Cain and his offering he was not pleased.[n] So Cain became very angry,[o] and his expression was downcast.[p]
6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why is your expression downcast? 7 Is it not true[q] that if you do what is right, you will be fine?[r] But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching[s] at the door. It desires to dominate you, but you must subdue it.”[t]
8 Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.”[u] While they were in the field, Cain attacked[v] his brother[w] Abel and killed him.
9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”[x] And he replied, “I don’t know! Am I my brother’s guardian?”[y] 10 But the Lord said, “What have you done?[z] The voice[aa] of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground! 11 So now you are banished[ab] from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you try to cultivate[ac] the ground it will no longer yield[ad] its best[ae] for you. You will be a homeless wanderer[af] on the earth.”
13 Then Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment[ag] is too great to endure![ah] 14 Look, you are driving me off the land[ai] today, and I must hide from your presence.[aj] I will be a homeless wanderer on the earth; whoever finds me will kill me!” 15 But the Lord said to him, “All right then,[ak] if anyone kills Cain, Cain will be avenged seven times as much.”[al] Then the Lord put a special mark[am] on Cain so that no one who found him would strike him down.[an] 16 So Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and lived in the land of Nod,[ao] east of Eden.
The Beginning of Civilization
17 Cain was intimate with[ap] his wife, and she became pregnant[aq] and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was building a city, and he named the city after[ar] his son Enoch. 18 To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of[as] Mehujael. Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech.
19 Lamech took two wives for himself; the name of the first was Adah, and the name of the second was Zillah. 20 Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the first[at] of those who live in tents and keep[au] livestock. 21 The name of his brother was Jubal; he was the first of all who play the harp and the flute. 22 Now Zillah also gave birth to Tubal-Cain, who heated metal and shaped[av] all kinds of tools made of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah.
23 Lamech said to his wives,
“Adah and Zillah, listen to me!
You wives of Lamech, hear my words!
I have killed a man for wounding me,
a young man[aw] for hurting me.
24 If Cain is to be avenged seven times as much,
then Lamech seventy-seven times!”[ax]
25 And Adam was intimate with[ay] his wife again, and she gave birth to a son. She named him Seth, saying, “God has given[az] me another child[ba] in place of Abel because Cain killed him.” 26 And a son was also born to Seth, whom he named Enosh. At that time people[bb] began to worship[bc] the Lord.
From Adam to Noah
5 This is the record[bd] of the family line[be] of Adam.
When God created humankind,[bf] he made them[bg] in the likeness of God. 2 He created them male and female; when they were created, he blessed them and named them “humankind.”[bh]
3 When[bi] Adam had lived 130 years he fathered a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and he named him Seth. 4 The length of time Adam lived[bj] after he became the father of Seth was 800 years; during this time he had[bk] other[bl] sons and daughters. 5 The entire lifetime[bm] of Adam was 930 years, and then he died.[bn]
6 When Seth had lived 105 years, he became the father of[bo] Enosh. 7 Seth lived 807 years after he became the father of Enosh, and he had[bp] other[bq] sons and daughters. 8 The entire lifetime of Seth was 912 years, and then he died.
9 When Enosh had lived 90 years, he became the father of Kenan. 10 Enosh lived 815 years after he became the father of Kenan, and he had other sons and daughters. 11 The entire lifetime of Enosh was 905 years, and then he died.
12 When Kenan had lived 70 years, he became the father of Mahalalel. 13 Kenan lived 840 years after he became the father of Mahalalel, and he had other sons and daughters. 14 The entire lifetime of Kenan was 910 years, and then he died.
15 When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he became the father of Jared. 16 Mahalalel lived 830 years after he became the father of Jared, and he had other sons and daughters. 17 The entire lifetime of Mahalalel was 895 years, and then he died.
18 When Jared had lived 162 years, he became the father of Enoch. 19 Jared lived 800 years after he became the father of Enoch, and he had other sons and daughters. 20 The entire lifetime of Jared was 962 years, and then he died.
21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. 22 After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God[br] for 300 years,[bs] and he had other[bt] sons and daughters. 23 The entire lifetime of Enoch was 365 years. 24 Enoch walked with God, and then he disappeared[bu] because God took[bv] him away.
25 When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech. 26 Methuselah lived 782 years after he became the father of Lamech, and he had other[bw] sons and daughters. 27 The entire lifetime of Methuselah was 969 years, and then he died.
28 When Lamech had lived 182 years, he had a son. 29 He named him Noah,[bx] saying, “This one will bring us comfort[by] from our labor and from the painful toil of our hands because of the ground that the Lord has cursed.” 30 Lamech lived 595 years after he became the father of Noah, and he had other[bz] sons and daughters. 31 The entire lifetime of Lamech was 777 years, and then he died.
32 After Noah was 500 years old, he[ca] became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
God’s Grief over Humankind’s Wickedness
6 When humankind[cb] began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born[cc] to them,[cd] 2 the sons of God[ce] saw that the daughters of humankind were beautiful. Thus they took wives for themselves from any they chose. 3 So the Lord said, “My Spirit will not remain in[cf] humankind indefinitely,[cg] since[ch] they[ci] are mortal.[cj] They[ck] will remain for 120 more years.”[cl]
4 The Nephilim[cm] were on the earth in those days (and also after this)[cn] when the sons of God would sleep with[co] the daughters of humankind, who gave birth to their children.[cp] They were the mighty heroes[cq] of old, the famous men.[cr]
5 But the Lord saw[cs] that the wickedness of humankind had become great on the earth. Every inclination[ct] of the thoughts[cu] of their minds[cv] was only evil[cw] all the time.[cx] 6 The Lord regretted[cy] that he had made humankind on the earth, and he was highly offended.[cz] 7 So the Lord said, “I will wipe humankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—everything from humankind to animals,[da] including creatures that move on the ground and birds of the air, for I regret that I have made them.”
8 But[db] Noah found favor[dc] in the sight of[dd] the Lord.
The Judgment of the Flood
9 This is the account of Noah.[de]
Noah was a godly man; he was blameless[df] among his contemporaries.[dg] He[dh] walked with[di] God. 10 Noah had[dj] three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
11 The earth was ruined[dk] in the sight of[dl] God; the earth was filled with violence.[dm] 12 God saw the earth, and indeed[dn] it was ruined,[do] for all living creatures[dp] on the earth were sinful.[dq] 13 So God said[dr] to Noah, “I have decided that all living creatures must die,[ds] for the earth is filled with violence because of them. Now I am about to destroy[dt] them and the earth. 14 Make[du] for yourself an ark of cypress[dv] wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover[dw] it with pitch inside and out. 15 This is how you should make it: The ark is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high.[dx] 16 Make a roof for the ark and finish it, leaving 18 inches[dy] from the top.[dz] Put a door in the side of the ark, and make lower, middle, and upper decks. 17 I am about to bring[ea] floodwaters[eb] on the earth to destroy[ec] from under the sky all the living creatures that have the breath of life in them.[ed] Everything that is on the earth will die, 18 but I will confirm[ee] my covenant with you. You will enter[ef] the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. 19 You must bring into the ark two of every kind of living creature from all flesh,[eg] male and female, to keep them alive[eh] with you. 20 Of the birds after their kinds, and of the cattle after their kinds, and of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every kind will come to you so you can keep them alive.[ei] 21 And you must take[ej] for yourself every kind of food[ek] that is eaten,[el] and gather it together.[em] It will be food for you and for them.”
22 And Noah did all[en] that God commanded him—he did indeed.[eo]
The Visit of the Wise Men
2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, in the time[a] of King Herod,[b] wise men[c] from the East came to Jerusalem 2 saying, “Where is the one who is born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose[d] and have come to worship him.” 3 When King Herod[e] heard this he was alarmed, and all Jerusalem[f] with him. 4 After assembling all the chief priests and experts in the law,[g] he asked them where the Christ[h] was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem of Judea,” they said, “for it is written this way by the prophet:
6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are in no way least among the rulers of Judah,
for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”[i]
7 Then Herod[j] privately summoned the wise men and determined from them when the star had appeared. 8 He[k] sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and look carefully for the child. When you find him, inform me so that I can go and worship him as well.” 9 After listening to the king they left, and once again[l] the star they saw when it rose[m] led them until it stopped above the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star they shouted joyfully.[n] 11 As they came into the house and saw the child with Mary his mother, they bowed down[o] and worshiped him. They opened their treasure boxes and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense,[p] and myrrh.[q] 12 After being warned in a dream not to return to Herod,[r] they went back by another route to their own country.
The Escape to Egypt
13 After they had gone, an[s] angel of the Lord[t] appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod[u] is going to look for the child to kill him.” 14 Then he got up, took the child and his mother during[v] the night, and went to Egypt. 15 He stayed there until Herod[w] died. In this way what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet was fulfilled: “I called my Son out of Egypt.”[x]
16 When Herod[y] saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he became enraged. He sent men[z] to kill all the children in Bethlehem and throughout the surrounding region from the age of two and under, according to the time he had learned from the wise men. 17 Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:
18 “A voice was heard in Ramah,
weeping and loud wailing,[aa]
Rachel weeping for her children,
and she did not want to be comforted, because they were[ab] gone.”[ac]
The Return to Nazareth
19 After Herod[ad] had died, an[ae] angel of the Lord[af] appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 saying, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.” 21 So[ag] he got up and took the child and his mother and returned to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus[ah] was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod,[ai] he was afraid to go there. After being warned in a dream, he went to the regions of Galilee. 23 He came to a town called Nazareth[aj] and lived there. Then what had been spoken by the prophets was fulfilled, that Jesus[ak] would be called a Nazarene.[al]
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