The Creation

(A)In the beginning (B)God (C)created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was a (D)[a]formless and desolate emptiness, and (E)darkness was over the [b]surface of the deep, and (F)the Spirit of God (G)was hovering over the [c]surface of the waters. Then (H)God said, “[d]Let there be light”; and there was light. God saw that the light was (I)good; and God (J)separated the light from the darkness. (K)God called the light “day,” and the darkness He called “night.” And (L)there was evening and there was morning, one day.

Then God said, “Let there be [e]an (M)expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” God made the [f]expanse, and separated (N)the waters that were below the [g]expanse from the waters (O)that were above the [h]expanse; and it was so. God called the [i]expanse “heaven.” And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.

Then God said, “(P)Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let (Q)the dry land appear”; and it was so. 10 And God called the dry land “earth,” and the (R)gathering of the waters He called “seas”; and God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, “Let the earth sprout [j](S)vegetation, [k]plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit according to [l]their kind [m]with seed in them”; and it was so. 12 The earth produced [n]vegetation, [o]plants yielding seed according to [p]their kind, and trees bearing fruit [q]with seed in them, according to [r]their kind; and God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.

14 Then God said, “Let there be [s](T)lights in the [t](U)expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and they shall [u]serve as (V)signs and for (W)seasons, and for days and years; 15 and they [v]shall serve as lights in the [w]expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. 16 God made the two great lights, the (X)greater light [x]to govern the day, and the lesser light [y]to govern the night; He made (Y)the stars also. 17 (Z)God placed them in the [z]expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 and [aa]to (AA)govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

20 Then God said, “Let the waters [ab]teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth [ac]in the open [ad]expanse of the heavens.” 21 And God created (AB)the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind; and God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

24 (AC)Then God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures according to [ae]their kind: livestock and crawling things and animals of the earth according to [af]their kind”; and it was so. 25 God made the (AD)animals of the earth according to [ag]their kind, and the livestock according to [ah]their kind, and everything that crawls on the ground according to its kind; and God saw that it was good.

26 Then God said, “[ai]Let (AE)Us make (AF)mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; and [aj]let them (AG)rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the livestock and over all the earth, and over every crawling thing that crawls on the earth.” 27 So God created man (AH)in His own image, in the image of God He created him; (AI)male and female He created them. 28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “(AJ)Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that [ak]moves on the earth.” 29 Then God said, “Behold, (AK)I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the [al]surface of all the earth, and every tree [am]which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; 30 and (AL)to every animal of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to everything that [an]moves on the earth [ao]which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so. 31 And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very (AM)good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

And so the heavens and the earth were completed, and all (AN)their heavenly [ap]lights. By (AO)the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and (AP)He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on it He rested from all His work which God had created [aq]and made.

The Creation of Man and Woman

[ar](AQ)This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in (AR)the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven. (AS)Now no shrub of the field was yet on the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, (AT)for the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to [as]cultivate the ground. But a [at]mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole [au]surface of the ground. Then the Lord God formed the man of (AU)dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the (AV)man became a living [av]person. The Lord God planted a (AW)garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. Out of the ground the Lord God caused (AX)every tree to grow that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; (AY)the tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

10 Now a (AZ)river [aw]flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four [ax]rivers. 11 The name of the first is Pishon; it [ay]flows around the whole land of (BA)Havilah, where there is gold. 12 The gold of that land is good; the bdellium and the onyx stone are there as well. 13 The name of the second river is Gihon; it [az]flows around the whole land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is [ba](BB)Tigris; it [bb]flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the [bc](BC)Euphrates.

15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and tend it. 16 The Lord God (BD)commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not [bd]eat, for on the day that you eat from it (BE)you will certainly die.”

18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; (BF)I will make him a helper [be]suitable for him.” 19 (BG)And out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the sky, and (BH)brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all the livestock, and to the birds of the sky, and to every animal of the field, but for [bf]Adam there was not found (BI)a helper [bg]suitable for him. 21 So the Lord God caused a (BJ)deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. 22 And the Lord God [bh]fashioned into a woman (BK)the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said,

(BL)At last this is bone of my bones,
And flesh of my flesh;
[bi]She shall be called [bj]‘woman,’
Because [bk]she was taken out of [bl]man.”

24 (BM)For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. 25 (BN)And the man and his wife were both naked, but they were not ashamed.

The Fall of Mankind

Now (BO)the serpent was more cunning than any animal of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “(BP)From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” (BQ)The serpent said to the woman, “You certainly will not die! For God knows that on the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and (BR)you will [bm]become like God, knowing good and evil.” (BS)When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they (BT)knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves waist coverings.

Now they heard the sound of (BU)the Lord God walking in the garden in the [bn]cool of the day, (BV)and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “(BW)Where are you?” 10 He said, “(BX)I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” 11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 (BY)The man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me some of the fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” And the woman said, “(BZ)The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” 14 Then the Lord God said to the serpent,

(CA)Because you have done this,
Cursed are you more than all the livestock,
And more than any animal of the field;
On your belly you shall go,
And (CB)dust you shall eat
All the days of your life;
15 And I will [bo](CC)make enemies
Of you and the woman,
And of your [bp]offspring and her [bq]Descendant;
(CD)He shall [br]bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise Him on the heel.”

16 To the woman He said,

“I will greatly multiply
Your pain [bs]in childbirth,
In pain you shall (CE)deliver children;
Yet your desire will be for your husband,
And (CF)he shall rule over you.”

17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’;

(CG)Cursed is the ground because of you;
(CH)With [bt]hard labor you shall eat from it
All the days of your life.
18 Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you;
Yet you shall eat the [bu]plants of the field;
19 By the sweat of your face
You shall eat bread,
Until you (CI)return to the ground,
Because (CJ)from it you were taken;
For you are dust,
And to dust you shall return.”

20 Now the man named his wife [bv](CK)Eve, because she was the mother of all the living. 21 And the Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.

22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of (CL)Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might reach out with his hand, and take fruit also from (CM)the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out of the Garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. 24 So (CN)He drove the man out; and at the (CO)east of the Garden of Eden He stationed the (CP)cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to (CQ)the tree of life.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 1:2 Or waste
  2. Genesis 1:2 Lit face of
  3. Genesis 1:2 Lit face of
  4. Genesis 1:3 I.e., a command, not a request; and so throughout the ch
  5. Genesis 1:6 Or a firmament; i.e., atmosphere and space
  6. Genesis 1:7 Or firmament
  7. Genesis 1:7 Or firmament
  8. Genesis 1:7 Or firmament
  9. Genesis 1:8 Or firmament
  10. Genesis 1:11 Or grass
  11. Genesis 1:11 Or herbs
  12. Genesis 1:11 Lit its
  13. Genesis 1:11 Lit in which is its seed
  14. Genesis 1:12 Or grass
  15. Genesis 1:12 Or herbs
  16. Genesis 1:12 Lit its
  17. Genesis 1:12 Lit in which is its seed
  18. Genesis 1:12 Lit its
  19. Genesis 1:14 Or luminaries, light-bearers, and so throughout the ch
  20. Genesis 1:14 Or firmament; i.e., atmosphere and space
  21. Genesis 1:14 Lit be for
  22. Genesis 1:15 Lit be for
  23. Genesis 1:15 Or firmament
  24. Genesis 1:16 Lit for the dominion of
  25. Genesis 1:16 Lit for the dominion of
  26. Genesis 1:17 Or firmament
  27. Genesis 1:18 Lit for the dominion of
  28. Genesis 1:20 Or swarm
  29. Genesis 1:20 Lit on the face of
  30. Genesis 1:20 Or firmament
  31. Genesis 1:24 Lit its
  32. Genesis 1:24 Lit its
  33. Genesis 1:25 Lit its
  34. Genesis 1:25 Lit its
  35. Genesis 1:26 I.e., indicating united action, not a request
  36. Genesis 1:26 I.e., have them rule
  37. Genesis 1:28 Or crawls
  38. Genesis 1:29 Lit face of
  39. Genesis 1:29 Lit in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed
  40. Genesis 1:30 Or crawls
  41. Genesis 1:30 Lit in which is living breath
  42. Genesis 2:1 Lit host i.e., sun, stars, etc.
  43. Genesis 2:3 Lit to make
  44. Genesis 2:4 Lit These are the generations
  45. Genesis 2:5 Lit work, serve
  46. Genesis 2:6 Or flow
  47. Genesis 2:6 Lit face of
  48. Genesis 2:7 Or soul
  49. Genesis 2:10 Lit was going out
  50. Genesis 2:10 Lit heads
  51. Genesis 2:11 Lit surrounds
  52. Genesis 2:13 Lit is the one surrounding
  53. Genesis 2:14 Heb Hiddekel
  54. Genesis 2:14 Lit is the one going
  55. Genesis 2:14 Heb Perath
  56. Genesis 2:17 Lit eat from it
  57. Genesis 2:18 Lit corresponding to
  58. Genesis 2:20 Or man
  59. Genesis 2:20 Lit corresponding to
  60. Genesis 2:22 Lit built
  61. Genesis 2:23 Lit This one
  62. Genesis 2:23 Heb ishshah
  63. Genesis 2:23 Lit This one
  64. Genesis 2:23 Heb ish
  65. Genesis 3:5 Or be
  66. Genesis 3:8 Lit breeze of
  67. Genesis 3:15 Lit put enmity between you
  68. Genesis 3:15 Lit seed
  69. Genesis 3:15 Lit Seed; i.e., a prophetic reference to Christ
  70. Genesis 3:15 Or crush
  71. Genesis 3:16 Lit and your pregnancy
  72. Genesis 3:17 Or hardship
  73. Genesis 3:18 Lit plant
  74. Genesis 3:20 I.e., living; or life

Bible Gateway Recommends