Genesis

Genesis 1

1When God began to create heaven and earth—

2the earth being unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep and a wind from God sweeping over the water—

3God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.

4God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.

5God called the light Day and called the darkness Night. And there was evening and there was morning, a first day.

6God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the water, that it may separate water from water.”

7God made the expanse, and it separated the water which was below the expanse from the water which was above the expanse. And it was so.

8God called the expanse Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.

9God said, “Let the water below the sky be gathered into one area, that the dry land may appear.” And it was so.

10God called the dry land Earth and called the gathering of waters Seas. And God saw that this was good.

11And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation: seed-bearing plants, fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.” And it was so.

12The earth brought forth vegetation: seed-bearing plants of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that this was good.

13And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.

14God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate day from night; they shall serve as signs for the set times—the days and the years;

15and they shall serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to shine upon the earth.” And it was so.

16God made the two great lights, the greater light to dominate the day and the lesser light to dominate the night, and the stars.

17And God set them in the expanse of the sky to shine upon the earth,

18to dominate the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that this was good.

19And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

20God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and birds that fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.”

21God created the great sea monsters, and all the living creatures of every kind that creep, which the waters brought forth in swarms, and all the winged birds of every kind. And God saw that this was good.

22God blessed them, saying, “Be fertile and increase, fill the waters in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.”

23And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

24God said, “Let the earth bring forth every kind of living creature: cattle, creeping things, and wild beasts of every kind.” And it was so.

25God made wild beasts of every kind and cattle of every kind, and all kinds of creeping things of the earth. And God saw that this was good.

26And God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, after our likeness. They shall rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the cattle, the whole earth, and all the creeping things that creep on earth.”

27And God created humankind in the divine image,

creating it in the image of God—

creating them male and female.

28God blessed them and God said to them, “Be fertile and increase, fill the earth and master it; and rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and all the living things that creep on earth.”

29God said, “See, I give you every seed-bearing plant that is upon all the earth, and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit; they shall be yours for food.

30And to all the animals on land, to all the birds of the sky, and to everything that creeps on earth, in which there is the breath of life, [I give] all the green plants for food.” And it was so.

31And God saw all that had been made, and found it very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Genesis 2

1The heaven and the earth were finished, and all their array.

2On the seventh day God finished the work that had been undertaken: [God] ceased on the seventh day from doing any of the work.

3And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy—having ceased on it from all the work of creation that God had done.

4Such is the story of heaven and earth when they were created. When God יהוה made earth and heaven—

5when no shrub of the field was yet on earth and no grasses of the field had yet sprouted, because God יהוה had not sent rain upon the earth and there were no human beings to till the soil,

6but a flow would well up from the ground and water the whole surface of the earth—

7God יהוה formed the Human from the soil’s humus, blowing into his nostrils the breath of life: the Human became a living being.

8God יהוה planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and placed there the Human who had been fashioned.

9And from the ground God יהוה caused to grow every tree that was pleasing to the sight and good for food, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and bad.

10A river issues from Eden to water the garden, and it then divides and becomes four branches.

11The name of the first is Pishon, the one that winds through the whole land of Havilah, where the gold is.

12(The gold of that land is good; bdellium is there, and lapis lazuli.)

13The name of the second river is Gihon, the one that winds through the whole land of Cush.

14The name of the third river is Tigris, the one that flows east of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

15God יהוה settled the Human in the garden of Eden, to till it and tend it.

16And God יהוה commanded the Human, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you are free to eat;

17but as for the tree of knowledge of good and bad, you must not eat of it; for as soon as you eat of it, you shall die.”

18God יהוה said, “It is not good for the Human to be alone; I will make a fitting counterpart for him.”

19And God יהוה formed out of the earth all the wild beasts and all the birds of the sky, and brought them to the Human to see what he would call them; and whatever the Human called each living creature, that would be its name.

20And the Human gave names to all the cattle and to the birds of the sky and to all the wild beasts; but no fitting counterpart for a human being was found.

21So God יהוה cast a deep sleep upon the Human; and, while he slept, [God] took one of his sides and closed up the flesh at that site.

22And God יהוה fashioned the side that had been taken from the Human into a woman, bringing her to the Human.

23Then the Human said,

“This one at last

Is bone of my bones

And flesh of my flesh.

This one shall be called Woman,

For from a Human was she taken.”

24Hence a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, so that they become one flesh.

25The two of them were naked, the Human and his wife, yet they felt no shame.

Genesis 3

1Now the serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild beasts that God יהוה had made. It said to the woman, “Did God really say: You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?”

2The woman replied to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the other trees of the garden.

3It is only about fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said: ‘You shall not eat of it or touch it, lest you die.’”

4And the serpent said to the woman, “You are not going to die,

5but God knows that as soon as you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like divine beings who know good and bad.”

6When the woman saw that the tree was good for eating and a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable as a source of wisdom, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave some to her husband, and he ate.

7Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they perceived that they were naked; and they sewed together fig leaves and made themselves loincloths.

8They heard the sound of God יהוה moving about in the garden at the breezy time of day; and the Human and his wife hid from God יהוה among the trees of the garden.

9God יהוה called out to the Human and said to him, “Where are you?”

10He replied, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.”

11“Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat of the tree from which I had forbidden you to eat?”

12The Human said, “The woman You put at my side—she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”

13And God יהוה said to the woman, “What is this you have done!” The woman replied, “The serpent duped me, and I ate.”

14Then God יהוה said to the serpent,

“Because you did this,

More cursed shall you be

Than all cattle

And all the wild beasts:

On your belly shall you crawl

And dirt shall you eat

All the days of your life.

15I will put enmity

Between you and the woman,

And between your offspring and hers;

They shall strike at your head,

And you shall strike at their heel.”

16And to the woman [God] said,

“I will greatly expand

Your hard labor—and your pregnancies;

In hardship shall you bear children.

Yet your urge shall be for your husband,

And he shall rule over you.”

17To Adam [God] said, “Because you did as your wife said and ate of the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’

Cursed be the ground because of you;

18By hard labor shall you eat of it

All the days of your life:

Thorns and thistles shall it sprout for you.

But your food shall be the grasses of the field;

19By the sweat of your brow

Shall you get bread to eat,

Until you return to the ground—

For from it you were taken.

For dust you are,

And to dust you shall return.”

20The Human named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all the living.

21And God יהוה made garments of skins for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.

22And God יהוה said, “Now that humankind has become like any of us, knowing good and bad, what if one should stretch out a hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever!”

23So God יהוה banished humankind from the garden of Eden, to till the humus from which it was taken:

24it was driven out; and east of the garden of Eden were stationed the cherubim and the fiery ever-turning sword, to guard the way to the tree of life.