The Temptation and the Fall

3 Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?”^(A)

² The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. ³ But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’”^(B)

⁴ “No! You will not die,” the serpent said to the woman.^{(C) 5} “In fact, God knows that when^[a] you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God,^[b] knowing good and evil.” ⁶ Then the woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.^{(D) 7} Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

¹¹ Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with wickedness.^{[a] 12} God saw how corrupt the earth was, for every creature had corrupted its way on the earth.^{(A) 13} Then God said to Noah, “I have decided to put an end to every creature, for the earth is filled with wickedness^[b] because of them; therefore I am going to destroy them along with the earth.

¹⁴ “Make yourself an ark of gopher^[c] wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it with pitch inside and outside.

¹⁷ “Understand that I am bringing a flood—floodwaters on the earth^(A) to destroy every creature under heaven with the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will die. ¹⁸ But I will establish My covenant with you,^(B) and you will enter the ark with your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives.

The Tower of Babylon

11 At one time the whole earth had the same language and vocabulary.^{[a] 2} As people^[b] migrated from the east,^[c] they found a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there.^{(A) 3} They said to each other, “Come, let us make oven-fired bricks.” They used brick for stone and asphalt for mortar.^{(B) 4} And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky.^(C) Let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise, we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

⁵ Then the Lord came down^(D) to look over the city and the tower that the men were building. ⁶ The Lord said, “If they have begun to do this as one people all having the same language, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. ⁷ Come, let Us go down there and confuse^[d] their language^[e] so that they will not understand one another’s speech.”^[f]