God called the light “day,” and He called the darkness “night.” Evening came and then morning: the first day.

Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night. They will serve as signs for festivals and for days and years.

God made the two great lights—the greater light to have dominion over the day and the lesser light to have dominion over the night—as well as the stars.

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

No shrub of the field had yet grown on the land, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not made it rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground.

but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.”

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper as his complement.”

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.’”

“No! You will not die,” the serpent said to the woman.

Then He asked, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

And He said to Adam, “Because you listened to your wife’s voice and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘Do not eat from it’:

The ground is cursed because of you.
You will eat from it by means of painful labor
all the days of your life.

The Lord God said, “Since man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil, he must not reach out, take from the tree of life, eat, and live forever.”

but He did not have regard for Cain and his offering. Cain was furious, and he looked despondent.

If you do what is right, won’t you be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”

Then the Lord replied to him, “In that case, whoever kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” And He placed a mark on Cain so that whoever found him would not kill him.

Then Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

Enoch walked with God; then he was not there because God took him.

And the Lord said, “My Spirit will not remain with mankind forever, because they are corrupt. Their days will be 120 years.”

You are to take with you seven pairs, a male and its female, of all the clean animals, and two of the animals that are not clean, a male and its female,

After he had waited another seven days, he sent out the dove, but she did not return to him again.

As long as the earth endures,
seedtime and harvest, cold and heat,
summer and winter, and day and night
will not cease.”

However, you must not eat meat with its lifeblood in it.

Then Shem and Japheth took a cloak and placed it over both their shoulders, and walking backward, they covered their father’s nakedness. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father naked.

Come, let Us go down there and confuse their language so that they will not understand one another’s speech.”

But the land was unable to support them as long as they stayed together, for they had so many possessions that they could not stay together,

Then Abram said to Lot, “Please, let’s not have quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, since we are relatives.

And he and his servants deployed against them by night, attacked them, and pursued them as far as Hobah to the north of Damascus.

that I will not take a thread or sandal strap or anything that belongs to you, so you can never say, ‘I made Abram rich.’

After these events, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:

Do not be afraid, Abram.
I am your shield;
your reward will be very great.

Now the word of the Lord came to him: “This one will not be your heir; instead, one who comes from your own body will be your heir.”

So he brought all these to Him, split them down the middle, and laid the pieces opposite each other, but he did not cut up the birds.

Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know this for certain: Your offspring will be foreigners in a land that does not belong to them; they will be enslaved and oppressed 400 years.

In the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”

Abram’s wife Sarai had not borne any children for him, but she owned an Egyptian slave named Hagar.

Throughout your generations, every male among you at eight days old is to be circumcised. This includes a slave born in your house and one purchased with money from any foreigner. The one who is not your offspring,

If any male is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that man will be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”

God said to Abraham, “As for your wife Sarai, do not call her Sarai, for Sarah will be her name.

Then he said, “My lord, if I have found favor in your sight, please do not go on past your servant.

So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick! Knead three measures of fine flour and make bread.”

Sarah denied it. “I did not laugh,” she said, because she was afraid.

But He replied, “No, you did laugh.”

I will go down to see if what they have done justifies the cry that has come up to Me. If not, I will find out.”

You could not possibly do such a thing: to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. You could not possibly do that! Won’t the Judge of all the earth do what is just?”

suppose the 50 righteous lack five. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?”

He replied, “I will not destroy it if I find 45 there.”

Then he spoke to Him again, “Suppose 40 are found there?”

He answered, “I will not do it on account of 40.”

Then he said, “Let the Lord not be angry, and I will speak further. Suppose 30 are found there?”

He answered, “I will not do it if I find 30 there.”

Then he said, “Since I have ventured to speak to the Lord, suppose 20 are found there?”

He replied, “I will not destroy it on account of 20.”

Then he said, “Let the Lord not be angry, and I will speak one more time. Suppose 10 are found there?”

He answered, “I will not destroy it on account of 10.”

and said, “My lords, turn aside to your servant’s house, wash your feet, and spend the night. Then you can get up early and go on your way.”

“No,” they said. “We would rather spend the night in the square.”

And he said to him, “All right, I’ll grant your request about this matter too and will not demolish the town you mentioned.

So they got their father to drink wine that night, and the firstborn came and slept with her father; he did not know when she lay down or when she got up.

The next day the firstborn said to the younger, “Look, I slept with my father last night. Let’s get him to drink wine again tonight so you can go sleep with him and we can preserve our father’s line.”

That night they again got their father to drink wine, and the younger went and slept with him; he did not know when she lay down or when she got up.

But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “You are about to die because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman.”

Now Abimelech had not approached her, so he said, “Lord, would You destroy a nation even though it is innocent?

Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience. I have also kept you from sinning against Me. Therefore I have not let you touch her.

Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, know that you will certainly die, you and all who are yours.”

Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife.

So she said to Abraham, “Drive out this slave with her son, for the son of this slave will not be a coheir with my son Isaac!”

But God said to Abraham, “Do not be concerned about the boy and your slave. Whatever Sarah says to you, listen to her, because your offspring will be traced through Isaac.

Swear to me by God here and now, that you will not break an agreement with me or with my children and descendants. As I have been loyal to you, so you will be loyal to me and to the country where you are a foreign resident.”

Then He said, “Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from Me.”

and said, “By Myself I have sworn,” this is the Lord’s declaration: “Because you have done this thing and have not withheld your only son,

and I will have you swear by the Lord, God of heaven and God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I live,

Now the girl was very beautiful, a young woman who had not known a man intimately. She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came up.

while the man silently watched her to see whether or not the Lord had made his journey a success.

“Whose daughter are you?” he asked. “Please tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?”

She also said to him, “We have plenty of straw and feed and a place to spend the night.”

and said, “Praise the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not withheld His kindness and faithfulness from my master. As for me, the Lord has led me on the journey to the house of my master’s relatives.”

A meal was set before him, but he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I have to say.”

So Laban said, “Please speak.”

My master put me under this oath: ‘You will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I live

But I said to my master, ‘Suppose the woman will not come back with me?’

Then you will be free from my oath if you go to my family and they do not give her to you—you will be free from my oath.’

Now, if you are going to show kindness and faithfulness to my master, tell me; if not, tell me, and I will go elsewhere.”

Then he and the men with him ate and drank and spent the night.

When they got up in the morning, he said, “Send me to my master.”

But he responded to them, “Do not delay me, since the Lord has made my journey a success. Send me away so that I may go to my master.”

The Lord appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt. Live in the land that I tell you about;

He moved from there and dug another, and they did not quarrel over it. He named it Open Spaces and said, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.”

and the Lord appeared to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your offspring because of My servant Abraham.”

You will not harm us, just as we have not harmed you but have only done what was good to you, sending you away in peace. You are now blessed by the Lord.”

When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could not see, he called his older son Esau and said to him, “My son.”

And he answered, “Here I am.”

He said, “Look, I am old and do not know the day of my death.

Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come closer so I can touch you, my son. Are you really my son Esau or not?”

He did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he blessed him.

Esau noticed that Isaac blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram to get a wife there. When he blessed him, Isaac commanded Jacob, “Do not marry a Canaanite woman.”

He reached a certain place and spent the night there because the sun had set. He took one of the stones from the place, put it there at his head, and lay down in that place.

Look, I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go. I will bring you back to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.”

Then Jacob said, “Look, it is still broad daylight. It’s not time for the animals to be gathered. Water the flock, then go out and let them graze.”

Laban answered, “It is not the custom in this place to give the younger daughter in marriage before the firstborn.

When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she envied her sister. “Give me sons, or I will die!” she said to Jacob.

When Jacob came in from the field that evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come with me, for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So Jacob slept with her that night.

Laban asked, “What should I give you?”

And Jacob said, “You don’t need to give me anything. If you do this one thing for me, I will continue to shepherd and keep your flock.

In the future when you come to check on my wages, my honesty will testify for me. If I have any female goats that are not speckled or spotted, or any lambs that are not black, they will be considered stolen.”

As for the weaklings of the flocks, he did not put out the branches. So it turned out that the weak sheep belonged to Laban and the stronger ones to Jacob.

And Jacob saw from Laban’s face that his attitude toward him was not the same.

He said to them, “I can see from your father’s face that his attitude toward me is not the same, but the God of my father has been with me.

and that he has cheated me and changed my wages 10 times. But God has not let him harm me.

Are we not regarded by him as outsiders? For he has sold us and has certainly spent our money.

And Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean, not telling him that he was fleeing.

But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night. “Watch yourself!” God warned him. “Don’t say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”