Genesis 1–3

1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

2Now the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.

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

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

5God called the light “day,” and the darkness He called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

6And God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters, to separate the waters from the waters.”

7So God made the expanse and separated the waters beneath it from the waters above. And it was so.

8God called the expanse “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.

9And God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered into one place, so that the dry land may appear.” And it was so.

10God called the dry land “earth,” and the gathering of waters He called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.

11Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth vegetation: seed-bearing plants and fruit trees, each bearing fruit with seed according to its kind.” And it was so.

12The earth produced vegetation: seed-bearing plants according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

13And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.

14And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to distinguish between the day and the night, and let them be signs to mark the seasons and days and years.

15And let them serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to shine upon the earth.” And it was so.

16God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night. And He made the stars as well.

17God set these lights in the expanse of the sky to shine upon the earth,

18to preside over the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.

19And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.

20And God said, “Let the waters teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky.”

21So God created the great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters teemed according to their kinds, and every winged bird after its kind. And God saw that it was good.

22Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters of the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”

23And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.

24And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, land crawlers, and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so.

25God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that crawls upon the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

26Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness, to rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, and over all the earth itself and every creature that crawls upon it.”

27So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

28God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth.”

29Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit contains seed. They will be yours for food.

30And to every beast of the earth and every bird of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth—everything that has the breath of life in it—I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.

31And God looked upon all that He had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

1Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

2And by the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on that day He rested from all His work.

3Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on that day He rested from all the work of creation that He had accomplished.

4This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made them.

5Now no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth, nor had any plant of the field sprouted, for the LORD God had not yet sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground.

6But springs welled up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground.

7Then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.

8And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, where He placed the man He had formed.

9Out of the ground the LORD God gave growth to every tree that is pleasing to the eye and good for food. And in the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

10Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it branched into four headwaters:

11The name of the first river is the Pishon; it winds through the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.

12And the gold of that land is pure, and bdellium and onyx are found there.

13The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the whole land of Cush.

14The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

15Then the LORD God took the man and placed him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it.

16And the LORD God commanded him, “You may eat freely from every tree of the garden,

17but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.”

18The LORD God also said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make for him a suitable helper.”

19And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and He brought them to the man to see what he would name each one. And whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.

20The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.

21So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he slept, He took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the area with flesh.

22And from the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man, He made a woman and brought her to him.

23And the man said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for out of man she was taken.”

24For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

25And the man and his wife were both naked, and they were not ashamed.

1Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field that the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’”

2The woman answered the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden,

3but about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You must not eat of it or touch it, or you will die.’”

4“You will not surely die,” the serpent told the woman.

5“For God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

6When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom, she took the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.

7And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; so they sewed together fig leaves and made coverings for themselves.

8Then the man and his wife heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the breeze of the day, and they hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

9But the LORD God called out to the man, “Where are you?”

10“I heard Your voice in the garden,” he replied, “and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.”

11“Who told you that you were naked?” asked the LORD God. “Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”

12And the man answered, “The woman whom You gave me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

13Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied, “and I ate.”

14So the LORD God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and every beast of the field! On your belly will you go, and dust you will eat, all the days of your life.

15And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

16To the woman He said: “I will sharply increase your pain in childbirth; in pain you will bring forth children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”

17And to Adam He said: “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat, cursed is the ground because of you; through toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.

18Both thorns and thistles it will yield for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.

19By the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread, until you return to the ground— because out of it were you taken. For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”

20And Adam named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all the living.

21And the LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and He clothed them.

22Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil. And now, lest he reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever...”

23Therefore the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.

24So He drove out the man and stationed cherubim on the east side of the Garden of Eden, along with a whirling sword of flame to guard the way to the tree of life.