Genesis 2

1 So the heavens and the earth and everything else were created.

The Seventh Day

2 t By the seventh day God had finished his work, and so he rested.

3 God blessed the seventh day and made it special because on that day he rested from his work.

The Garden of Eden

4 That’s how God created the heavens and the earth. When the Lord God made the heavens and the earth,5 no grass or plants were growing anywhere. God had not yet sent any rain, and there was no one to work the land.

6 But streamst came up from the ground and watered the earth.
7 t The Lord God took a handful of soil and made a man.t God breathed life into the man, and the man started breathing.

8 The Lord made a garden in a place called Eden, which was in the east, and he put the man there.

9 t The Lord God placed all kinds of beautiful trees and fruit trees in the garden. Two other trees were in the middle of the garden. One of the trees gave life—the other gave the power to know the difference between right and wrong.
10 From Eden a river flowed out to water the garden, then it divided into four rivers.11 The first one is the Pishon River that flows through the land of Havilah,12 where pure gold, rare perfumes, and precious stones are found.13 The second is the Gihon River that winds through Ethiopia.t

14 The Tigris River that flows east of Assyria is the third, and the fourth is the Euphrates River.
15 The Lord God put the man in the Garden of Eden to take care of it and to look after it.16 But the Lord told him, “You may eat fruit from any tree in the garden,

17 except the one that has the power to let you know the difference between right and wrong. If you eat any fruit from that tree, you will die before the day is over!”
18 The Lord God said, “It isn’t good for the man to live alone. I need to make a suitable partner for him.”19-20 So the Lord took some soil and made animals and birds. He brought them to the man to see what names he would give each of them. Then the man named the tame animals and the birds and the wild animals. That’s how they got their names. None of these was the right kind of partner for the man.21 So the Lord God made him fall into a deep sleep, and he took out one of the man’s ribs. Then after closing the man’s side,22 the Lord made a woman out of the rib. The Lord God brought her to the man,

23 and the man exclaimed, “Here is someone like me!
She is part of my body,
my own flesh and bones.
She came from me, a man.
So I will name her Woman!” t

24 t That’s why a man will leave his own father and mother. He marries a woman, and the two of them become like one person.

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

Genesis 3

The First Sin

1 t The snake was sneakier than any of the other wild animals that the Lord God had made. One day it came to the woman and asked, “Did God tell you not to eat fruit from any tree in the garden?”
2 The woman answered, “God said we could eat fruit from any tree in the garden,

3 except the one in the middle. He told us not to eat fruit from that tree or even to touch it. If we do, we will die.”
4 “No, you won’t!” the snake replied.

5 “God understands what will happen on the day you eat fruit from that tree. You will see what you have done, and you will know the difference between right and wrong, just as God does.”
6 The woman stared at the fruit. It looked beautiful and tasty. She wanted the wisdom that it would give her, and she ate some of the fruit. Her husband was there with her, so she gave some to him, and he ate it too.

7 Right away they saw what they had done, and they realized they were naked. Then they sewed fig leaves together to make something to cover themselves.
8 Late in the afternoon a breeze began to blow, and the man and woman heard the Lord God walking in the garden. They were frightened and hid behind some trees.

The Trouble with Sin

9 The Lord called out to the man and asked, “Where are you?”

10 The man answered, “I was naked, and when I heard you walking through the garden, I was frightened and hid!”

11 “How did you know you were naked?” God asked. “Did you eat any fruit from that tree in the middle of the garden?”

12 “It was the woman you put here with me,” the man said. “She gave me some of the fruit, and I ate it.”

13 t The Lord God then asked the woman, “What have you done?” “The snake tricked me,” she answered. “And I ate some of that fruit.”

14 So the Lord God said to the snake: “Because of what you have done,
you will be the only animal
to suffer this curse—
For as long as you live,
you will crawl on your stomach
and eat dirt.

15 t15You and this woman will hate each other;
your descendants and hers
will always be enemies.
One of hers will strike you
on the head,
and you will strike him
on the heel.”

16 Then the Lord said to the woman, “You will suffer terribly
when you give birth.
But you will still desire
your husband,
and he will rule over you.”

17 t The Lord said to the man, “You listened to your wife
and ate fruit from that tree.
And so, the ground
will be under a curse
because of what you did.
As long as you live,
you will have to struggle
to grow enough food.

18 Your food will be plants, but the ground will produce
thorns and thistles.

19 You will have to sweat to earn a living;
you were made out of soil,
and you will once again
turn into soil.”

20 The man Adamt named his wife Evet because she would become the mother of all who live.

21 Then the Lord God made clothes out of animal skins for the man and his wife.
22 t The Lord said, “These people now know the difference between right and wrong, just as we do. But they must not be allowed to eat fruit from the tree that lets them live forever.”23 So the Lord God sent them out of the Garden of Eden, where they would have to work the ground from which the man had been made.

24 Then God put winged creatures at the entrance to the garden and a flaming, flashing sword to guard the way to the life-giving tree.

Genesis 4

Cain Murders Abel

1 Adamt and Eve had a son. Then Eve said, “I’ll name him Cain because I gott him with the help of the Lord.”2 Later she had another son and named him Abel. Abel became a sheep farmer, but Cain farmed the land.3 One day, Cain gave part of his harvest to the Lord,4 t4 and Abel also gave an offering to the Lord. He killed the first-born lamb from one of his sheep and gave the Lord the best parts of it. The Lord was pleased with Abel and his offering,

5 but not with Cain and his offering. This made Cain so angry that he could not hide his feelings.
6 The Lord said to Cain: What’s wrong with you? Why do you have such an angry look on your face?

7 If you had done the right thing, you would be smiling.t But you did the wrong thing, and now sin is waiting to attack you like a lion. Sin wants to destroy you, but don’t let it!

8 t Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go for a walk.”t And when they were out in a field, Cain killed him.

9 Afterwards the Lord asked Cain, “Where is Abel?” “How should I know?” he answered. “Am I supposed to look after my brother?”

10 t Then the Lord said: Why have you done this terrible thing? You killed your own brother, and his blood flowed onto the ground. Now his blood is calling out for me to punish you.11 And so, I’ll put you under a curse. Because you killed Abel and made his blood run out on the ground, you will never be able to farm the land again.

12 If you try to farm the land, it won’t produce anything for you. From now on, you’ll be without a home, and you’ll spend the rest of your life wandering from place to place.
13 “This punishment is too hard!” Cain said.

14 “You’re making me leave my home and live far from you.t I will have to wander about without a home, and just anyone could kill me.”
15 “No!”t the Lord answered. “Anyone who kills you will be punished seven times worse than I am punishing you.” So the Lord put a mark on Cain to warn everyone not to kill him.16 But Cain had to go far from the Lord and live in the Land of Wandering,t which is east of Eden.

More and More People

17 Later, Cain and his wife had a son named Enoch. At the time Cain was building a town, and so he named it Enoch after his son.

18 Then Enoch had a son named Irad, who had a son named Mehujael, who had a son named Methushael, who had a son named Lamech.
19 Lamech married Adah, then Zillah.

20-21 Lamech and Adah had two sons, Jabal and Jubal. Their son Jabal was the first to live in tents and raise sheep and goats. Jubal was the first to play harps and flutes.

22 Lamech and Zillah had a son named Tubal Cain who made tools out of bronze and iron. They also had a daughter, whose name was Naamah.
23 One day, Lamech said to his two wives, “A young man wounded me, and I killed him.

24 Anyone who tries to get even with me will be punished ten times more than anyone who tries to get even with Cain.”
25 Adam and his wife had another son. They named him Seth, because they said, “God has givent us a son to take the place of Abel, who was killed by his brother Cain.”

26 Later, Seth had a son and named him Enosh. About this time people started worshiping the Lord. t