and they shall be as lights in the vaulted dome of heaven to give light on the earth." And it [was] so.

And God said, "Look--I am giving to you every plant [that] bears seed which [is] on the face of the whole earth, and every kind of tree {that bears fruit}. They shall be yours as food."

These are the generations of heaven and earth when they were created, in the day [that] Yahweh God made earth and heaven--

Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall cling to his wife, and they shall be as one flesh.

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

Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they [were] naked. And they sewed together fig leaves and they made for themselves coverings.

Then they heard the sound of Yahweh God walking in the garden {at the windy time of day}. And the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Yahweh God among the trees of the garden.

Then Cain said to his brother Abel, ["Let us go out into the field."] And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.

Male and female he created them. And he blessed them. And he called their name "Humankind" when they were created.

Then the sons of God saw the daughters of humankind, that they [were] beautiful. And they took for themselves wives from all that they chose.

The Nephilim [were] upon the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God went into the daughters of humankind, and they bore children to them.

And of every living thing, from all flesh, you must bring two from every [kind] into the ark to keep [them] alive with you; they shall be male and female.

they and all the living creatures according to their kind, and all the domesticated animals according to their kind, and all the creatures that creep upon the earth according to their kind, all the birds according to their kind, every winged creature.

And they came to Noah to the ark, {two of each}, from every living thing in which [was] the breath of life.

And the waters prevailed {overwhelmingly} upon the earth, and they covered all the high mountains which were under the entire heaven.

And he blotted out every living thing upon the surface of the ground, from humankind, to animals, to creeping things, and to the birds of heaven; they were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah and those who [were] with him in the ark remained.

And fear of you and dread of you shall be upon every animal of the earth, and on every bird of heaven, [and] on everything that moves upon the ground, and on all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they shall be given.

Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, and the two of them put [it] on [their] shoulders and, walking backward, they covered the nakedness of their father. And their faces [were turned] backward, so that they did not see the nakedness of their father.

And as people migrated from the east they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.

And they said {to each other}, "Come, let us make bricks and {burn them thoroughly}." And they had brick for stone and they had tar for mortar.

And they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower whose top [reaches to] the heavens. And let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered over the face of the whole earth."

And Yahweh said, "Behold, {they are one people with one language}, and {this is only the beginning of what they will do}. So now nothing that they intend to do will be impossible for them.

Come, let us go down and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand {each other's language}."

So Yahweh scattered them from there over the face of the whole earth, and they stopped building the city.

And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot, the son of Haran, {his grandson}, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, the wife of Abram his son, and went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan. And they went to Haran, and they settled there.

And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot {his nephew}, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and all the persons that they had acquired in Haran, and they went out to go to the land of Canaan. And they went to the land of Canaan.

and it shall happen [that], if the Egyptians see you, then they will say, 'This [is] his wife,' then they will kill me but let you live.

And the officials of Pharaoh saw her, and they praised her [beauty] to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken to the house of Pharaoh.

And the land could not {support them} [so as] to live together, because their possessions were [so] many that they were not able to live together.

So Lot chose for himself all the plain of the Jordan. And Lot journeyed from the east, and so they separated {from each other}.

Twelve years they had served Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

Then they turned back and came to En-Mishpat (that [is], Kadesh). And they defeated the whole territory of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who were living in Hazazon-Tamar.

Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that [is], Zoar) went out, and {they took up battle position} in the Valley of Siddim

So they took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their provisions, and they left.

And they took Lot, the son of the brother of Abram, and his possessions, and left. (Now he had been living in Sodom.)

Then one who escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew. And he was living at the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner. {They were allies with Abram}.

And he said to Abram, "{You must surely know} that your descendants shall be [as] aliens in a land {not their own}. And they shall serve them and they shall oppress them four hundred years.

And also the nation that they serve I will judge. Then afterward they shall go out with great possessions.

And the angel of Yahweh said to her, "{I will greatly multiply} your offspring, so that they cannot be counted for [their] abundance."

And let me bring a piece of bread, then refresh {yourselves}. Afterward you can pass on, {once} you have passed by with your servant." Then they said, "Do so as you have said."

Then he took curds and milk, and the calf which he prepared, and set [it] before them. And he was standing by them under the tree while they ate.

And they said to him, "Where [is] Sarah your wife?" And he said, "Here, in the tent."

Then the men set out from there, and they looked down upon Sodom. And Abraham went with them {to send them on their way}.

For I have chosen him, that he will command his children and his household after him that they will keep the way of Yahweh, to do righteousness and justice, so that Yahweh may bring upon Abraham that which he said to him."

I will go down and I will see. Have they done altogether according to its cry of distress [which] has come to me? If not, I will know."

And he said, "Behold, my lords, please turn aside into the house of your servant and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you can rise early and go on your way." And they said, "No, but we will spend the night in the square."

But {he urged them strongly}, and they turned aside with him and came into his house. And he made a meal for them and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.

Before they laid down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people {to the last man}, surrounded the house.

And they called to Lot and said to him, "Where [are] the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we may know them."

Behold, I have two daughters who have not known a man. Please, let me bring them out to you; then do to them as [it seems] good in your eyes. Only to these men do not do [this] thing, since they came under{ my roof} for protection."

But they said, "Step aside!" Then they said, "{This fellow} came to dwell as a foreigner and he acts as a judge! Now we shall do worse to you than them!" And they pressed very hard against the man, against Lot, and they drew near to break the door.

Then the men reached out [with] their hands and brought Lot in to them, into the house, and they shut the door.

And the men who [were] at the entrance of the house they struck with blindness, both small and great, and they were unable to find the entrance.

But [when] he lingered, the men seized him by his hand and his wife's hand, and his two daughters by hand, on account of the mercy of Yahweh upon him. And they brought him out and set him outside of the city.

And they gave their father wine to drink that night, and the firstborn went and lay with her father, but he did not know when she lay down or when she got up.

And they gave their father wine to drink again that night, and the younger got up and lay with him, but he did not know when she lay down or when she got up.

And Abraham said, "Because I thought, surely there is no fear of God in this place; they will kill me on account of the matter of my wife.

And Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his female servants so that they [could] bear children [again].

And they {made} a covenant at Beersheba. And Abimelech, and Phicol his army commander stood and returned to the land of the Philistines.

And they came to the place that God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood. Then he bound Isaac his son and placed him on the altar atop the wood.

And Abraham returned to his servants, and they got up and went together to Beersheba. And Abraham lived in Beersheba.

When she finished giving him a drink she said, "I will also draw water for your camels until they finish drinking."

Then you shall be released from my oath, when you come to my family. And if they will not give [a woman] to you, then you will be released from my oath.'

Then Laban and Bethuel answered, and they said, "The matter has gone out from Yahweh; we are not able to speak bad or good to you.

And he and the men who [were] with him ate and drank, and they spent the night. And they got up in the morning, and he said, "Let me go to my master."

And they said, "Let us call the girl and ask {her opinion}."

And they called Rebekah and said to her, "Will you go with this man?" And she said, "I will go."

So they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and the servant of Abraham and his men.

And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, "You [are] our sister; may you become countless thousands; and may your offspring take possession of the gate of his enemies."

And Rebekah and her maidservants arose, and they mounted the camels and {followed} the man. And the servant took Rebekah and left.

They settled from Havilah to Shur, which [was] opposite Egypt, going toward Asshur, opposite; he {settled} opposite all his brothers.

And the first came out red, all {his body} [was] like a hairy coat, so they called his name Esau.

And the Philistines stopped up all the wells that the servants of his father had dug in the days of Abraham his father. They filled them with earth.

And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after the death of Abraham. And he gave to them {the same names} which his father had given them.

And when the servants of Isaac dug in the valley, they found a well of fresh water there.

Then the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with the herdsmen of Isaac, saying, "The water is ours." And he called the name of the well Esek, because they contended with him.

And they dug another well, and they quarreled over it also. And he called its name Sitnah.

Then he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. And he called its name Rehoboth, and said, "Now Yahweh has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land."

And they said, "We see clearly that Yahweh has been with you, so we thought let there be an oath between us--between us and you--and let us {make} a covenant with you

So he made a meal for them, and they ate and drank.

And they arose early in the morning and each one swore to the other, and Isaac sent them away. And they left him in peace.

And it happened [that] on that same day the servants of Isaac came and told him about the well that they had dug. And they said, "We have found water!"

And {they made life bitter} for Isaac and Rebekah.

And [when] all the flocks were gathered there, they rolled away the stone from the mouth of the well. And they watered the sheep and returned the stone upon the mouth of the well to its place.

And Jacob said to them, "My brothers, where [are] you from?" And they said, "We [are] from Haran."

And he said to them, "Do you know Laban, son of Nahor?" And they said, "We know [him]."

And he said to them, "{Is he well}?" And they said, "[He is] well. Now look, Rachel his daughter is coming with the sheep."

And they said, "We are not able, until all the flocks are gathered. Then the stone is rolled away from the mouth of the well, and we water the sheep."

And Jacob worked for Rachel seven years, but they were as a few days in his eyes because he loved her.

And he set the branches that he had peeled in front of the flocks, in the troughs [and] in the water containers. And they were in heat when they came to drink.

And whenever any of the stronger of the flocks were in heat, Jacob put the branches {in full view} of the flock in the troughs that they might mate among the branches.

For you have searched all my possessions and what did you find among all the possessions of my household? Set it before my kinsmen and your kinsmen that they may decide between the two of us!

Then Laban answered and said to Jacob, "The daughters [are] my daughters and the grandsons [are] my grandsons, and the flocks [are] my flocks, and all that you see, it [is] mine. Now, what can I do for these my daughters today, or for their children whom they have borne?

And Jacob said to his kinsmen, "Gather stones." And they took stones and made a pile of stones, and they ate there by the pile of stones.

And Jacob sacrificed a sacrifice on the hill, and he called his kinsmen to eat the meal. And they ate the meal and spent the night on the hill.

But Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell upon his neck and kissed him, and they wept.

Then the female servants drew near, they and their children, and they bowed down.

Then Leah and her children drew near and bowed down, and afterward Joseph and Rachel drew near and they bowed down.

But he said to him, "My lord knows that the children [are] frail, and the flocks and the cattle [which are] nursing [are a concern] to me. Now [if] they drove them hard for a day all the flocks would die.

And Jacob heard that Dinah his daughter had been defiled, but his sons were with his flocks in the field. And Jacob kept silent until they came.