In the beginning, God created the universe.

Then God said, "Let us make mankind in our image, to be like us. Let them be masters over the fish in the ocean, the birds that fly, the livestock, everything that crawls on the earth, and over the earth itself!"

So God created mankind in his own image; in his own image God created them; he created them male and female.

When the earth was as yet unformed and desolate, with the surface of the ocean depths shrouded in darkness, and while the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters,

"I'll place hostility between you and the woman, between your offspring and her offspring. He'll strike you on the head, and you'll strike him on the heel."

Now the Shining One was more clever than any animal of the field that the LORD God had made. He asked the woman, "Did God actually say, "You are not to eat from any tree of the garden'?"

Then God said, "Let vegetation sprout all over the earth, including seed-bearing plants and fruit trees, each kind containing its own seed!" And that is what happened:

So the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground, breathed life into his lungs, and the man became a living being.

The LORD told Abram, "You are to leave your land, your relatives, and your father's house and go to the land that I'm going to show you.

God said, "Let there be light!" So there was light.

God blessed the humans by saying to them, "Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it! Be masters over the fish in the ocean, the birds that fly, and every living thing that crawls on the earth!"

(Therefore a man will leave his father and his mother and cling to his wife, and they will become one flesh.)

Later, the LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make the woman to be an authority corresponding to him."

Now God saw all that he had made, and indeed, it was very good! The twilight and the dawn were the sixth day.

He told the woman, "I'll greatly increase the pain of your labor during childbirth. It will be painful for you to bear children, "since your trust is turning toward your husband, and he will dominate you."

I'll bless those who bless you, but I'll curse the one who curses you, and through you all the people of the earth will be blessed."

God also told them, "Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant that grows throughout the earth, along with every tree that grows seed-bearing fruit. They will produce your food.

God called the canopy "sky." The twilight and the dawn were the second day.

The LORD saw that human evil was growing more and more throughout the earth, with every inclination of people's thoughts becoming only evil on a continuous basis.

The LORD God took the man and placed him in the Garden of Eden in order to have him work it and guard it.

Sometime later, God tested Abraham. He called out to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am!" he answered.

There was a time when the entire earth spoke a common language with an identical vocabulary.

Later, Adam had sexual relations with his wife Eve. She became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, "I have given birth to a male child the LORD."

Now after the population of human beings had increased throughout the earth, and daughters had been born to them,

but you are not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, because you will certainly die during the day that you eat from it."

These are the family records of Noah: Noah was a righteous man. Blameless during his times, Noah communed with God.

These are the records of the universe at its creation. Onthe day that the LORD God made the earth and skies,

With this the heavens and the earth were completed, including all of their vast array.

Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God stopped working on everything that he had been creating.

The twilight and the dawn were the third day.

When Abram was 99 years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and announced, "I am God Almighty. Live in constant awareness that I'm always with you, and be blameless.

When the woman saw that the tree produced good food, was attractive in appearance, and was desirable for making one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate it. Then she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate some, too.

The LORD God commanded the man: "You may freely eat from every tree of the garden,

Some time later, a message came from the LORD to Abram in a vision. "Stop being afraid, Abram," he said. "I myself your shield am your very great reward."

Then God said, "Let there be lights across the sky to distinguish day from night, to act as signs for seasons, days, and years,

He told the man, "Because you have listened to what your wife said, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, "You must not eat from it,' cursed is the ground because of you. You'll eat from it through pain-filled labor for the rest of your life.

Later, the LORD God said, "Look! The man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, so he won't reach out, also take from the tree of life, eat, and then live forever "

"Whoever sheds human blood, by a human his own blood is to be shed; because God made human beings in his own image.

to differentiate between day and night, and to distinguish light from darkness. And God saw how good it was.

Abram believed the LORD, and it was credited to him as righteousness.

The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor a ruler's staff from between his feet, until the one comes, who owns them both, and to him will belong the allegiance of nations.

Whenthey heard the voice of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden during the breeze of the day, the man and his wife concealed themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

By the seventh day God had completed the work he had been doing, so on the seventh day he stopped working on everything that he had done.

Later, the LORD appeared to Abraham by the oaks belonging to Mamre. As Abraham was sitting near the entrance to his tent during the hottest part of the day,

You will eat food by the sweat of your brow until you're buried in the ground, because you were taken from it. You're made from dust and you'll return to dust."

"You certainly will not die!" the Shining One told the woman.

God blessed Noah and his sons and ordered them, "Be productive, multiply, and fill the earth.

King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine, since he was serving as the priest of God Most High.

The LORD God told the Shining One, "Because you have done this, you are more cursed than all the livestock, and more than all the earth's animals, You'll crawl on your belly and eat dust as long as you live.

Then God said, "Let the oceans swarm with living creatures, and let flying creatures soar above the earth throughout the sky!"

The two angels entered Sodom at sunset while Lot was sitting in the gate area of the city. When Lot saw them, he got up, greeted them, bowed low with his face to the ground,

I'll make a great nation of your descendants, I'll bless you, and I'll make your reputation great, so that you will be a blessing.

The Nephilim were on the earth at that time (and also immediately afterward), when those divine beings were having sexual relations with those human women, who gave birth to children for them. These children became the heroes and legendary figures of ancient times.

God saw that the light was beautiful. He separated the light from the darkness,

"Even God knows that on the day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened and you'll become like God, knowing good and evil."

As far as you're concerned, you were planning evil against me, but God intended it for good, planning to bring about the present result so that many people would be preserved alive.

The LORD God planted a garden in Eden, toward the east, where he placed the man whom he had formed.

Then God said, "Let there be a canopy between bodies of water, separating bodies of water from bodies of water!"

so the LORD God caused a deep sleep to overshadow the man.

So the LORD said, "My Spirit won't remain with human beings forever, because they're truly mortal. Their lifespan will be 120 years."

This is the historical record of Adam's generations. When God created mankind, he made them in his own likeness.

Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth each kind of living creature, each kind of livestock and crawling thing, and each kind of earth's animals!" And that is what happened:

The twilight and the dawn were the fourth day.

Then God said, "Let the water beneath the sky come together into one area, and let dry ground appear!" And that is what happened:

Indeed, I've made myself known to him in order that he may encourage his sons and his household that is born after him to keep the way of the LORD, and to do what is right and just, so that the LORD may bring about for Abraham what he has promised."

Meanwhile, Jacob had left Beer-sheba and was on his way to Haran.

calling the light "day," and the darkness "night." The twilight and the dawn were day one.

That very day the LORD made this covenant with Abram: "I'm giving this land to your descendants, from the river of Egypt to the great Euphrates River

After the LORD God formed from the ground every wild animal and every bird that flies, he brought each of them to the man to see what he would call it. Whatever the man called each living creature became its name.

As a result, they both understood what they had done, and they became aware that they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

When Seth had lived 105 years, he fathered Enosh.

So the man exclaimed, "At last! This is bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh. This one will be called "Woman,' because she was taken from Man."

However, the LORD was pleased with Noah.

On the seventeenth day of the second month, when Noah was 600 years old, all the springs of the great deep burst open, the floodgates of the heavens were opened,

When the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, he told himself, "I will never again curse the land because of human beings even though human inclinations remain evil from youth nor will I destroy every living being ever again, as I've done.

The LORD God fashioned garments from animal skins for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.

and with every living creature that is with you the flying creatures, the livestock, and all the wildlife of the earth that are with you all the earth's animals that came out of the ark.

God fashioned two great lights the larger light to shine during the day and the smaller light to shine during the night as well as stars.

some divine beings noticed how attractive human women were, so they took wives for themselves from a selection that pleased them.

After he had expelled the man, the LORD God placed winged angels at the eastern end of the garden of Eden, along with a fiery, turning sword, to prevent access to the tree of life.

God said, "Please take your son, your unique son whom you love Isaac and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him as a burnt offering there on one of the mountains that I will point out to you."

communing with God and then he was there no longer, because God had taken him.

The twilight and the dawn were the fifth day.

As Abram was entering Egypt, the Egyptians noticed how beautiful Sarai was.

If you do what is appropriate, you'll be accepted, won't you? But if you don't do what is appropriate, sin is crouching near your doorway, turning toward you. Now as for you, will you take dominion over it?"

The LORD also said, "How great is the disapproval of Sodom and Gomorrah! Their sin is so very serious!

to serve as lights in the sky, and to shine on the earth!" And that is what happened:

The LORD God caused every tree that is both beautiful and suitable for food to spring up out of the ground. The tree of life was also in the middle of the garden, along with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

"Every living, moving creature will be food for you. Just as I gave you green plants before, so now you have everything.

Instead, Cain told his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the wilderness." When they were outside in the fields, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

And so Jacob was left alone, and he struggled with a man until daybreak.

So Abraham responded to God, "If only Ishmael would live in constant awareness that you're always with him!"

Later, God told Noah and his sons,

When Arpachshad had lived 35 years, he fathered Cainan.

When the sun had fully set and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a fiery torch passed between the animal pieces.

From both clean and unclean animals, from birds, and from everything that crawls on the ground,

When Pharaoh's officials saw her, they brought her to the attention of Pharaoh and took the woman to Pharaoh's palace.

but the dove could not yet find a place to rest, so it returned to Noah on the ark, since water still covered the land. Noah reached out his hand and took the dove back into the ark with him.

Bethuel fathered Rebekah. Milcah bore these eight sons to Nahor, Abraham's brother.

Why did you say, "She is my sister,' so that I took her as a wife for myself? Now, here is your wife! Take her and get out!"

During the night, Abram and his servants divided his forces, conquered his enemies, and pursued them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus.

But the LORD afflicted Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife.

He treated Abram well because of her, so Abram acquired sheep, oxen, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.

About that time, Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, told Abraham, "God is with you in everything that you're doing.

Instead, an underground stream would arise out of the earth and water the surface of the ground.

And yes," she continued, "we have plenty of straw and feed, as well as a place to spend the night."

Look, there is a town nearby where I can flee, and it's a small one. Let me escape there! It's a small one, isn't it? That way I'll stay alive!"

Seth lived a total of 912 years, and then died.

Therefore swear an oath here by God that you won't deal falsely with me, my sons, or my descendants. Just as I've dealt graciously with you, won't you do so with me and with the land in which you live as a foreigner?"

It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you'll eat the plants from the meadows.

After he fathered Enosh, Seth lived 807 years, fathering other sons and daughters.

I'm going down to see whether they've acted according to the protests that have reached me. If not, I wish to know."

Noah fathered three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Pharaoh summoned Abram and asked, "What have you done to me! Why didn't you tell me that she was your wife?

along with Resen, which was located between Nineveh and the great city of Calah.

The gold of that land is pure; bdellium and onyx are also found there.

He recovered all the goods and brought back his nephew Lot, together with his possessions, the women, and the other people.

After Abram's return from defeating Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with them, the king of Sodom went out to meet with him in the Shaveh Valley (that is, the King's Valley).

two by two, male and female, they entered the ark to join Noah, just as God had commanded.

After he fathered Cainan, Arpachshad lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters, and then died. Cainan lived 130 years and fathered Shelah. After he fathered Shelah, Cainan lived 330 years and had other sons and daughters, and then died.

God looked at the earth, observing how corrupt its population had become, because the entire human race had corrupted itself.

Also, his concubine Reumah gave birth to Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.

When Eber had lived 34 years, he fathered Peleg.

May the LORD grant you dew from the skies, and from the fertile land; may he grant you abundant grain and fresh wine.

Later, the LORD noticed that Leah was being neglected, so he made her fertile, while Rachel remained childless.

"All right," the angel replied to Lot, "I'll agree with your request! I won't overthrow the town that you mentioned.

Noah waited another seven days and sent the dove out from the ark again.

Get up! Walk throughout the length and breadth of the land, because I'm going to give it to you."

Make the ark like this: 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high.

Jacob also married Rachel, since he loved her. He served Laban another full seven years' work for Rachel.

So Pharaoh assigned men to Abram, and they escorted him, his wife, and all that he had out of the country.

When Shelah had lived 30 years, he fathered Eber.

"My punishment is too great to bear," Cain told the LORD.

I'll remember my covenant between me and you and every living creature, so that water will never again become a flood to destroy all living beings.

The name of the first one is Pishon it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold.

Then two of the men turned away from there and walked toward Sodom, while Abraham remained standing in the presence of the LORD.

The dove returned to him in the evening, but in its beak there was an olive leaf that it had plucked! So Noah knew that the flood waters had decreased on the land.

Now as to your gods, if you find someone has them in their possession, he's a dead man. Take our relatives as witnesses, search through our belongings, and take whatever belongs to you that's in my possession." But Jacob didn't know that Rachel had stolen the idols.

"We may eat from the trees of the garden," the woman answered the Shining One,

Noah's sons who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham later fathered Canaan.)

After he fathered Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.

the Pathrusites, the Casluhites (from which came the Philistines), and the Caphtorites.

Egypt fathered the Ludites, the Anamites, the Lehabites, the Naphtuhites,

After he fathered Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years, fathering other sons and daughters.

When Enosh had lived 90 years, he fathered Kenan.

Now you're more cursed than the ground, which has opened to receive your brother's blood from your hand.

However, I will establish my own covenant with you, and you are to enter the ark you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives.

the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites."

God also told Noah, "This is the symbol of the covenant that I've established between me and everything that lives on the earth."

The name of the second river is Gihon it winds through the entire land of Cush.

May people serve and bow before you; may you be master over your brothers; may your mother's sons bow before you; may anyone who curses you be cursed; and may anyone who blesses you be blessed."

Now these are the family records of Terah: Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran fathered Lot.

At this, the man bowed down and worshipped the LORD.

And as for Ishmael, I've heard you. I'll bless him, and he'll have many descendants. I will multiply him greatly, he'll father twelve tribal leaders, and I'll cause his descendants to become a great nation.

"Why have you come to see me," Isaac asked them, "since you hate me so much that you sent me away from you?"

The third river is named the Tigris it flows to the east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.

Seven days later, the flooding started.

When Nahor had lived 29 years, he fathered Terah.

When the rainbow is in the clouds, I will observe it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living beings on the earth."

After he fathered Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

Now as to Isaac, I'll confirm my covenant with him, to whom Sarah will give birth as your son at this time next year."

Finally, Abraham inquired, "I hope my LORD will not be angry if I speak only once more. What if ten are found there?" He replied, "For the sake of those ten I won't destroy it."

Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow becomes visible in the clouds,

Irad was born to Enoch. Irad fathered Mehujael, and Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech.

Lamech told his wives, "Adah and Zillah, listen to what I have to say: You wives of Lamech, hear what I'm announcing! I've killed a man for wounding me, a young man for bruising me.

Abraham continued to speak to him, asking, "What if 40 are found there?" The LORD replied, "I won't do it for the sake of those 40."

After he fathered Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.

Canaan fathered Sidon his firstborn, along with the Hittites,

Abram traveled through the land to the place called Shechem, as far as the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.

He drank some of the wine, got drunk, and lay down naked right in the middle of his tent.

the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,

including the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,

These three were Noah's sons, and from these men the whole earth was repopulated.

These are Shem's descendants, listed by their families, each with their own lands, language, and family groups.

I'll make your descendants as plentiful as the specks of dust of the earth, so that if one could count the specks of dust of the earth, then your descendants could also be counted.

So Laban entered Jacob's tent, Leah's tent, and the tents of the two maid servants, but he didn't find them. Then he left Leah's tent and entered Rachel's tent.

"Look," Abraham said, "I've presumed to speak to my LORD" so what if 20 are found there?" "For the sake of those 20," the LORD responded, "I won't destroy it."

Make a roof for the ark, and finish the walls to within one cubit from the top. Place the entrance in the side of the ark, and build a lower, a middle, and an upper deck.

He waited seven more days and sent the dove out again, but it did not return to him anymore.

When Peleg had lived 30 years, he fathered Reu.

After he fathered Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.

"For my part, I'm about to flood the earth with water and destroy every living thing that breathes. Everything on earth will die.

When he was about to enter Egypt, he told his wife Sarai, "Look, I'm aware that you're a beautiful woman.

In the six hundred and first year of Noah's life, during the first month, the flood water began to evaporate from the land. Noah then removed the ark's cover and saw that the surface of the land was drying.

These are the records of Noah's sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, to whom descendants were born after the flood.

When Terah had lived 70 years, he fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

Bring out with you every living creature including the flying creatures, animals, and everything that crawls on the ground so they may disperse throughout the land, be fruitful, and multiply throughout the earth."

Joktan fathered Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah,

When Reu had lived 32 years, he fathered Serug.

Hurry up and flee there, because I cannot do anything until you get to that town." Therefore the name of the town was called Zoar.

the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites,

Shem's sons included Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram.

God spoke to Noah,

the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites,

Therefore that place was called Beer-sheba, because the two of them swore an oath.

"We've seen that the LORD is with you," they responded, "so we're proposing an agreement between us between us and you. Allow us to make a treaty with you

Haran died during his father's lifetime in the land of his birth, that is, in Ur of the Chaldeans.

"What do I have to give you?" Laban asked.

Later, the Canaanite families were widely scattered. The Canaanite border extended south from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and east toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.

But Jacob insisted, "Swear it by an oath right now." So he swore an oath to him and sold his birthright to Jacob.

Whenever you work the ground, it will no longer yield its produce to you, and you'll wander throughout the earth as a fugitive."

On that very day, Noah entered the ark with his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, Noah's wife, his sons' three wives with them,

When Serug had lived 30 years, he fathered Nahor.

After he fathered Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.

and it rained throughout the earth for 40 days and 40 nights.

Enosh lived a total of 905 years, and then died.

"You're driving me from the soil today. I'll be hidden from you, and I'll wander throughout the earth as a fugitive. In the future, whoever finds me will kill me."

These are Ham's descendants, listed by their families, each with their own lands, language, and family groups.

Zillah gave birth to Tubal-cain, who became a forger of bronze and iron work. Tubal-cain's sister was Naamah.

Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban, who ran out to the man and met him at the spring.

Later, Lamech married two wives. One was named Adah and the other was named Zillah.

As people migrated westward, they came across a plain in the region of Shinar and settled there.

Abraham answered, "Look, even though I am only dust and ashes, I've ventured to speak to my LORD.

By the twenty-seventh day of the second month, the ground was dry.

Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated, and the servants he had acquired while living in Haran. Then they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they arrived in the land of Canaan,

However, the LORD descended to look over the city and the tower that the humans were building.

Therefore it was called Babylon, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth, and from there the LORD scattered them over the surface of the entire earth.

Noah did all of this, precisely as God had commanded.

To Eber were born two sons. One was named Peleg, because the earth was divided during his lifetime. His brother was named Joktan.

When the Egyptians see you, they will say, "She is his wife.' Then they'll kill me, but allow you to live.

From there Abram traveled on to the hill country east of Bethel and set up his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD.

And Abraham replied, "I agree!"

His brother was named Jubal; he became the ancestor of all those who play the lyre and the flute.

Arpachshad fathered Cainan, Cainan fathered Shelah, and Shelah fathered Eber.

Shem, Japheth's older brother, also had descendants. Shem was the father of the descendants of Eber.

"Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hasn't held back his gracious love and faithfulness from my master! The LORD has led me to the house of my master's relatives!"

And so it was, as soon as he saw the nose ring and bracelets on his sister's wrists, and as soon as he heard what his sister Rebekah was saying about what the man had spoken to her, he went out to the man who was still standing by the camels at the spring!

from whom the coastal nations spread into their own lands and nations, each with their own language and family groups.

Creating them male and female, he blessed them and called them humans when he created them.

From birds according to their species, from domestic animals according to their species, and from everything that crawls on the ground according to their species two of everything will come to you so they may remain alive.

Japheth's descendants included Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.

Two of each living creature entered the ark with Noah.

Perhaps there are 50 righteous ones within the city. Will you actually destroy it and not forgive the place for the sake of the 50 righteous that are found there?

Sarai was barren, so she had not borne children.

He replied, "You are to accept from me these seven ewe lambs as a witness that I have dug this well."

They told each other, "Come on! Let's burn bricks thoroughly." They used bricks for stone and tar for mortar.

"It's time for you, your wife, your sons, and your sons' wives who are with you to leave the ark.

Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife was Milcah. She was the daughter of Haran, who was the father of Milcah and Iscah.

Then Jacob gave Esau some of his food, along with some boiled stew. So Esau ate, drank, got up, and left, after having belittled his own birthright.

When Kenan had lived 70 years, he fathered Mahalalel.

"Look! I'm about to die," Esau replied. "What good is this birthright to me?"

Then he said, "Isn't his name rightly called Jacob?" Esau asked. "He has circumvented me this second time. First, he took away my birthright, and now, look how he also stole my blessing." Then he added, "Haven't you reserved a blessing for me?"

The sun had risen over the land about the time Lot reached Zoar.

the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites.

After he fathered Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years, fathering other sons and daughters.

The flood continued throughout the earth for 40 days, while the flood waters increased, lifting the ark so that it rose above the surface of the earth.

So Abram moved his tent and settled beside the oaks of Mamre that are by Hebron, where he built an altar to the LORD.

Every animal, every crawling thing, every flying creature, and everything that moves on the earth emerged from the ark by groups.

Later, she conceived again and said, "This time my husband will become attached to me, now that I've borne him three sons." So he named him Levi.

Gomer's descendants included Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.

With that, God finished talking to Abraham, and ascended, leaving him.

Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these were Joktan's descendants.

along with every species of wild animal, livestock, crawling creature, bird, and every creature that has wings.

"The LORD God of heaven, who brought me from my father's house and from my family's land, who spoke to me and promised me "I will give this land to your descendants,' will send his angel ahead of you, and you are to acquire a wife for my son from there.

He became a fearless hunter in defiance of the LORD. That is why it is said, "Like Nimrod, a fearless hunter in defiance of the LORD."

Kenan lived a total of 910 years, and then died.

After he fathered Methuselah, Enoch communed with God for 300 years and fathered other sons and daughters.

Isaac loved Esau, because he loved to hunt, while Rebekah loved Jacob.

After he fathered Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.

Javan's descendants included Elisha, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim,

When Jared had lived 162 years, he fathered Enoch.

Methuselah lived a total of 969 years, and then died.

Adah gave birth to Jabal, who became the ancestor of those who live in tents and herd livestock.

After Samlah died, Shaul from Rehoboth by the river ruled in his place.

What if there are five less than 50 righteous ones? Will you bring destruction upon the city because of those five?" The LORD said, "I won't destroy it if I find 45 there."

After he fathered Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years, fathering other sons and daughters.

When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he fathered Jared.

For your part, take some of the edible food and store it away these stores will be food for you and the animals."

Shem lived 500 years after he fathered Arpachshad and had other sons and daughters.

Every living thing on earth died flying creatures, livestock, wildlife, all creatures that swarm over the earth, and all human beings.

So after they had made a covenant in Beer-sheba, Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, left and returned to Philistine territory.

Abraham was 99 years old when he was circumcised,

Aram's descendants included Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash.

When Noah sobered up and learned what his youngest son had done to him,

The males and females of each living creature entered the ark, just as God had commanded. Then the LORD sealed them inside.

Mahalalel lived a total of 895 years, and then died.

Melchizedek blessed Abram and said, "Abram is blessed by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth,

Enoch lived a total of 365 years,

"Come on," Laban said. "The LORD has blessed you! So why are you standing out here when I've prepared some space in the house and a place for the camels?"

The flood water surged even higher throughout the earth, until all the highest mountains under the sky were covered.

Ham, who fathered Canaan, saw his father's genitals and told his two brothers outside.

The flood water continued to recede until the tenth month, when, on the first of that month, the tops of the mountains could be seen.

So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the surface of the whole earth, so that they had to stop building the city.

May God make room for Japheth; may God live in Shem's tents, and may Canaan serve him."

Then Abram traveled on, continuing into the Negev.

Everything that breathed and everything that had lived on dry land died.

So Noah, his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives emerged.

At this, Isaac began to tremble violently. "Who then," he asked, "hunted some game and brought it to me to eat before you arrived, so that I've blessed him? Indeed, he is blessed."

The flood waters continued to surge, increasing throughout the earth, while the ark floated on the surface of the flood water.

But his father Isaac asked him, "Who are you?" "I'm Esau, your firstborn son," he answered.

For if Cain is being avenged seven times, then Lamech will be avenged 77 times."

Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah,

Obal, Abimael, Sheba,

Then Pharaoh removed his signet ring from his hand, placed it on Joseph's hand, had him clothed in fine linen garments, and placed a gold chain around his neck.

But Lot's wife looked back as she lingered behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

Then Jacob told his relatives, "Go gather some stones." So they picked up stones and stacked them one on top of the other. Then they had a meal together there by the stack of stones.

Their settlements extended from Mesha towards Sephar, the eastern hill country.

All existing creatures that had lived on the surface of the ground were annihilated, from humans to livestock, from crawling creatures to birds of the sky. They were wiped off the earth. Only Noah remained, along with those who were with him in the ark.

The king of Sodom told Abram, "Return the people to me, and you take the possessions for yourself."

Cush's descendants included Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. Raamah's descendants included Sheba and Dedan.

After 40 days, Noah opened the window of the ark that he had built

When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he fathered Lamech.

Eventually, what Rebekah's older son Esau had been saying was reported to her, so she sent for her younger son Jacob and warned him, "Look! Your brother is planning to get even by killing you.

After this, Abraham resided as a foreigner in Philistine territory for a long period of time.

Now as for you, be productive and multiply; spread out over the land and multiply throughout it."

As soon as he finished talking to Abraham, the LORD left and Abraham returned to where he had been sitting.

The flood waters rose 15 cubits above the mountains.

My master made me swear this oath: "You are not to select a wife for my son from among the daughters of the Canaanites in this land where I live.

"Pay attention! I'm establishing my covenant with you and with your descendants after you,

He named his second son Ephraim because, he said, "God has made me fruitful in the land of my troubles."

He also said, "Blessed be the LORD God of Shem, and may Canaan be his slave.

whom he named Noah, because he said, "May this one comfort us from our work, from pain that is caused by our manual labor, and from the ground that the LORD has cursed."

Then Esau implored his father, "Don't you have even one blessing for me, my father? Bless me, even me too, my father!" Then Esau lifted his voice and wept bitterly.

Now that you've searched all my belongings, what did you find that belongs to your house? Set it here in front of our relatives and we'll let them judge between us!

Laban named the place Jegar-sahadutha, but Jacob named it Galeed.

Then the flood waters steadily receded, diminishing completely by the end of the 150 days.

Lamech lived a total of 777 years, and then died.

But Laban answered Jacob, "These women are my daughters. These children are my children. The flocks are mine. In fact, everything that you see belongs to me. But what would I do today to my daughters and the children they have borne?

By your sword you'll live; but you'll serve your brother. But when you've become restless, you'll break off his yoke from your neck."

Seven days from now I'll send rain on the earth for 40 days and 40 nights, and I'll destroy every living creature that I've made."

here I am standing by the spring. May it be that the young woman who comes out to draw water, from whom I request a little water from her jug to drink,

The water sources from the ocean depths were blocked and the floodgates of the heavens were closed.

The flood waters surged over the earth for 150 days.

Abraham took his son Ishmael and all the servants born in his house or purchased with his money every male among the men of his household and circumcised them that very day, just as God had spoken to him.

Later, Cain had sexual relations with his wife. She became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain founded a city and named it after his son Enoch.

While bumper crops grew during the seven abundant years,

Meanwhile, these past 20 years that I've been with you, your sheep and goats never had miscarriages, I never once ate any of the rams from your flock,

"So I gave her a ring for her nose and bracelets for her wrists. I bowed down and worshipped the LORD, and I praised the LORD God of my master Abraham, who led me on the true way to request the daughter of my master's brother for his son.

But then Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well of water that Abimelech's servants had seized.

Noah, his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives entered the ark with him before the flood waters arrived.

When Lamech had lived 182 years, he fathered a son,

Later, he sent a dove out from the ark to see whether the water that covered the land's surface had completely receded,

There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down to Egypt to live because the famine was so severe.

no shrubs had yet grown in the meadows of the earth and no vegetation had sprouted, because the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there were no human beings to work the ground.

Noah was 600 years old when water began to flood the earth.

Now Abram's wife Sarai had not borne a child for him. She had an Egyptian servant girl whose name was Hagar.

"Abraham told me, "The LORD, who is with me wherever I go, will send his angel with you to make your journey successful. So you are to choose a wife for my son from my family, from my father's household.

Jared lived a total of 962 years, and then died.

This is the account of Isaac, Abraham's son. Abraham fathered Isaac.

and stay there with him a few days until your brother's fury subsides.

So God created every kind of magnificent marine creature, every kind of living marine crawler with which the waters swarmed, and every kind of flying creature. And God saw how good it was.

The young woman then ran ahead and informed her mother's household what had happened.

Noah lived 350 years after the flood.

Noah, a man of the soil, was the first to plant and farm a vineyard.

The LORD came to Sarah, just as he had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what he had promised.

Joseph collected the surplus food throughout the land of Egypt, storing food in cities; that is, he gathered the food from fields that surrounded every city and stored it there.

and sent out a raven. It went back and forth as the flood water continued to evaporate throughout the earth.

After he fathered Enoch, Jared lived 800 years, fathering other sons and daughters.

Then the LORD regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and he was deeply grieved about that.

Esau told Jacob, "Let me gobble down some of this red stuff, since I'm starving." (That's how Esau got his nickname "Edom".)

and his son Ishmael was thirteen years old when he was circumcised.

One day the firstborn told the younger one, "Our father is old, and there's no man in the land to have sex with us, as everybody else throughout all the earth does.

Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beer-sheba, and there he called on the name of the LORD God Everlasting.

So the LORD God called out to the man, asking him, "Where are you?"

Then the LORD took him outside. "Look up at the sky and count the stars if you can!" he said. "Your descendants will be that numerous."

Later that night, he woke up, quickly took his two wives, his two women servants, and his eleven children, and forded the river at Jabbok.

by which you'll agree not to do us any harm, just as we haven't harmed you, since we've done nothing but good for you after we sent you away in peace. As a result, you've been tremendously blessed by the LORD."

But Abram answered the king of Sodom, "I have made an oath to the LORD God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth,

Then the LORD rained sulfur and fire out of the sky from the LORD on Sodom and Gomorrah,

when he had a dream! He saw a raised highway that had been built with its ending point on earth and its beginning point in heaven. God's angels were ascending and descending on it.

After Lot had separated from Abram, the LORD told Abram, "Look off to the north, south, east, and west from where you're living,

So make yourself an ark out of cedar, constructing compartments in it, and cover it inside and out with tar.

Then the LORD told Noah, "Come you and all your household into the ark, because I've seen that you alone are righteous in this generation.

After he fathered Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years, fathering other sons and daughters.

"Never again, as long as the earth exists, will sowing and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night ever cease."

Then Abraham set aside seven ewe lambs,

Noah did everything that the LORD commanded.

Far be it from you to do such a thing to kill the righteous along with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike! The Judge of all the earth will do what is right, won't he?"

Then Shem and Japheth took their father's cloak, laid it across both their shoulders, and walking backwards, they both covered their father's genitals. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father's genitals.

Every man born in his household as well as those who had been purchased with money from a foreigner was circumcised with him.

and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your control." Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, "I'll give this land to your descendants." So Abram built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

A river flows from Eden to water the garden, and from there it divides, becoming four branches.

along with seven pairs of the flying birds, male and female, in order to keep their offspring alive on the surface of all the earth.

After he fathered Noah, Lamech lived 595 years, fathering other sons and daughters.

"Your name won't be Jacob anymore," the man replied, "but Israel, because you exerted yourself against both God and men, and you've emerged victorious."

However, you are not to eat meat with its life that is, its blood in it!

Even though both the man and his wife were naked, they were not ashamed about it.

When the man was asleep, he removed one of the man's ribs and closed up the flesh where it had been. Then the LORD God formed the rib that he had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man.

"I don't know who did this thing," Abimelech replied. "You didn't report this to me, and I didn't hear about it until today."

The LORD said, "If I find 50 righteous people within Sodom, I'll forgive the whole place for their sake."

Meanwhile, Joseph had been delivered to Egypt and turned over to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's court officials and the Commander-in-Chief of the imperial guards. An Egyptian, he bought Joseph from the Ishmaelites, who had brought him down there.

Both Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised on that very day.

After Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son just like him, that is, according to his own likeness, and named him Seth.

Later on, a famine swept through the land. This famine was different from the previous famine that had occurred earlier, during Abraham's lifetime. So Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, at Gerar.

After Noah had lived a total of 950 years, he died.

where Terah died at the age of 205 years.

So the LORD said, "I will annihilate these human beings whom I've created from the earth, including people, animals, crawling things, and flying creatures, because I'm grieving that I made them."

I'm establishing my covenant between me and you, and with your descendants who come after you, generation after generation, as an eternal covenant, to be your God and your descendants' God after you.

Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and offered burnt offerings on it from every clean animal and every clean bird.

Jacob responded, "You don't have to give me anything. Just do this for me: Let me tend your flock again and watch over it. Let me walk among your flocks today and remove every speckled or spotted sheep, along with every black lamb, and let me do the same with the speckled and spotted goats. These will be my wages.

Rachel noticed that she was not bearing children for Jacob, so because she envied her sister Leah, she told Jacob, "If you don't give me sons, I'm going to die!"

By this time, the earth had become ruined in God's opinion and filled with violence.

The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds that fly, and to each of earth's animals, but there was not found a strength corresponding to him,

Sarah lived for 127 years. That's how long Sarah's life was.

Now Adam had named his wife "Eve," because she was to become the mother of everyone who was living.

he glanced up and saw three men standing there, not far from him. As soon as he noticed them, Abraham ran from the tent entrance to greet them and bowed low to the ground.

Later, Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, instructing him, "Don't marry a wife from the local Canaanite women.

After this, the men set out from there and looked out over Sodom. Abraham went with them to send them off.

Later, after a while, Cain brought an offering to the LORD from the fruit that he had harvested,

Just after Isaac had finished blessing Jacob and Jacob had left his father Isaac, Jacob's brother Esau returned from hunting,

Later, the LORD asked Cain, "Where's your brother Abel?" "I don't know," he answered. "Am I my brother's guardian?"

Pharaoh also changed Joseph's name to Zaphenath-paneah and gave Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On, to him as his wife. And that's how Joseph gained authority over the land of Egypt.

Furthermore, through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed my command."

Abram traveled from Egypt, along with his wife and everyone who belonged to his household including Lot to the Negev.

Then the LORD told Abram, "You can be certain about this: Your descendants will be foreigners in a land that isn't theirs. They will be slaves there and will be oppressed for 400 years.

Jacob continued to live in the land they were occupying, where his father had journeyed in the territory of Canaan.

Lot looked around and noticed that the whole Jordan plain as far as Zoar was well-watered like the garden of the LORD or like the land of Egypt. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)

Eventually, Isaac grew so old that he could not see. One day, he called his eldest son Esau. "My son," he called out to him.

God kept Noah in mind, along with all the wildlife and livestock that were with him in the ark. God's Spirit moved throughout the earth, causing the flood waters to subside.

But Jacob responded, "Sell me your birthright. Do it now."

God placed them in space to shine on the earth,

Leah conceived, bore a son, and named him Reuben, because she was saying, "The LORD had looked on my torture, so now my husband will love me."

When Abram heard that his nephew had been taken prisoner, he gathered together 318 of his trained men, who had been born in his household, and they went out in pursuit as far as Dan.

I will certainly bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in heaven and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the gates of their enemies.

Cush fathered Nimrod, who became the first fearless leader throughout the land.

They woke up early the next morning and made the treaty. After this, Isaac sent them off and they left on peaceful terms.

These are the family records of Shem. When Shem had lived 100 years, he fathered Arpachshad two years after the flood.

that I will not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that belongs to you, so you won't be able to say, "I made Abram rich.'

Also, I will certainly demand an accounting regarding bloodshed, from every animal and from every human being. I'll demand an accounting from every human being for the life of another human being.

So Abraham took sheep and oxen and presented them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant.

As the boys were growing up, Esau became skilled at hunting and was a man of the outdoors, but Jacob was the quiet type who tended to stay indoors.

When Cain became very upset and depressed, the LORD asked Cain, "Why are you so upset? Why are you depressed?

After Shaul died, Achbor's son Baal-hanan ruled in his place.

These are the families of Noah's sons, according to their records, by their nations. From these people, the nations on the earth spread out after the flood.

Later on, Lot and his two daughters abandoned Zoar and settled in the hills because Lot was afraid to live in Zoar. He lived there in a cave, along with his two daughters.

When Esau was 40 years old, he married Judith, the daughter of Beeri the Hittite and Basemath, the daughter of Elon the Hittite.

At the time when Amraphel was king of Shinar, Arioch was king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer was king of Elam, and Tidal was king of the Goiim,

And she did it again, giving birth to his brother Abel. Abel shepherded flocks and Cain became a farmer.

The LORD spoke to him, "I am the LORD, who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land as an inheritance."

Someone escaped, arrived, and reported what had happened to Abram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks belonging to Mamre the Amorite, whose brothers Eshcol and Aner were allied with Abram.

After this, Jacob called his sons together and told them, "Assemble yourselves around me so I can tell you all what is going to happen to you in the last days.

"I heard your voice in the garden," the man answered, "and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid from you."

God made each kind of the earth's animals, along with every kind of livestock and crawling thing. And God saw how good it was.

Abraham named that place, "The LORD Will Provide," as it is told this day, "On the LORD's mountain, he will provide."

You are to take with you seven pairs of every clean animal, a male and its mate, and two of the unclean animals, a male and its mate;

Later, God told Jacob, "Get up, move to Bethel, and live there. Build an altar to the God who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau."

Then he provided him with a chariot as his second-in-command, outfitted with a group of people who shouted out in front of him, "Bow your knees!" And that's how Pharaoh set Joseph over the entire land of Egypt.

"What did you do?" God asked. "Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground.

Seth also fathered a son, whom he named Enosh. At that time, profaning the name of the LORD began.

Right about then, Judah left his brothers and went to live with an Adullamite man named Hirah.

"Look, you are pregnant and will give birth to a son," the angel of the LORD continued to say to her. "You will name him Ishmael, because the LORD has heard your cry of misery.

Now Abraham had grown old, was well advanced in age, and the LORD had blessed Abraham in every way.

So God announced to Noah, "I've decided to destroy every living thing on earth, because it has become filled with violence due to them. Look! I'm about to annihilate them, along with the earth.

Before they could lie down, all the men of Sodom and its outskirts, both young and old, surrounded the house.

Your name is no longer to be Abram. Instead your name will be Abraham, since I'll make you the father of many nations.

Two years later to the day Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile River,

But God replied, "No, but your wife Sarah will give birth to your son, and you are to name him Isaac. I'll confirm my covenant with him as an eternal covenant for his descendants.

Please say that you are my sister, so things will go well for me for your sake. That way, you'll be saving my life."

Vegetation sprouted all over the earth, including seed-bearing plants and fruit trees, each kind containing its own seed. And God saw that it was good.

Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (Haran's son), and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram's wife, and they journeyed together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan. But when they had gone as far as Haran, they settled there,

At this point, Joseph could not control his emotions any longer, so he cried out to everyone who was standing nearby, "Everybody! Leave me!" As a result, none of his staff was anywhere near him when he revealed himself to his brothers.

"Your brothers will praise you, Judah. Your hand will be at the throat of your enemies, and your father's children will bow down to you.

The ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat on the seventeenth day of the seventh month.

but God told Abraham, "Don't be troubled about the youth and your slave girl. Pay attention to Sarah in everything she tells you, because your offspring are to be named through Isaac.

Jacob would later call that place Peniel, because "I saw God face to face, but my life was spared."

Abraham had taken another wife whose name was Keturah.

After this, Cain left the presence of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

Then they said, "Come on! Let's build ourselves a city and a tower, with its summit in the heavens, and let's make a name for ourselves so we won't be scattered over the surface of the whole earth."

I've set my rainbow in the sky to symbolize the covenant between me and the earth.

but he did not look favorably upon Cain and his offering.

I have given all green plants as food for every wild animal of the earth, every bird that flies, and to every living thing that crawls on the earth." And that is what happened.

"Who told you that you are naked?" Godasked. "Did you eat fruit from the tree that I commanded you not to eat?"

The man answered, "The woman whom you provided for me gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate some of it."

"Look!" Pharaoh confirmed to Joseph, "I've put you in charge of the entire land of Egypt!"

After Noah had lived 500 years, he fathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Abraham answered, "God will provide himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son."

Meanwhile, Rachel had taken the idols, placed them inside the saddle of her camel, and sat on them. Laban searched through the whole tent, but found nothing.

God told Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you are not to call her Sarai any longer, because her name is to be Sarah.

Abraham fell to the ground, laughed, and told himself, "Can a child be born to a 100-year-old man? Can a 90-year-old Sarah give birth?"

Later, Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, since she was unable to conceive children, and the LORD responded to him his wife Rebekah became pregnant.

I'll give to you and to your descendants the land to which you have traveled all the land of Canaan as an eternal possession. I will be their God."

In the fourteenth year, Chedorlaomer and the kings with him came and defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh-kiriathaim,

Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

Then one of them said, "I will certainly return to you in about a year's time. By then, your wife Sarah will have borne a son."

"since Abraham's descendants will become a great and powerful nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him?

When Esau realized what his father Isaac was saying, he began to wail out loud bitterly. "Bless me," he cried, "even me, too, my father!"

"Should I hide from Abraham what I'm about to do," the LORD asked,

"Look, I've made a covenant with you. You will be the father of many nations.

Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD earlier.

God also said, "Here's the symbol that represents the covenant that I'm making between me and you and every living being with you, for all future generations:

Later on, after Adam had sexual relations with his wife, she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, because "God granted me another offspring to replace Abel, since Cain murdered him."

Abraham traveled from there to the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he was living in Gerar as an outsider,

Then she conceived yet again, bore a son, and said, "This time I'll praise the LORD." So she named him Judah. Then she stopped bearing children.

I will establish my covenant with you: No living beings will ever be cut off again by flood waters, and there will never again be a flood that destroys the earth."

prepared some delicious food, brought it to his father, and told him, "Can you get up now, father, so you may eat some of your son's game and then bless me?"

So Isaac named the well Shebah, which is why the city is named Beer-sheba to this day.

So early the next morning, Abraham got up, took bread and a leather bottle of water, gave them to Hagar, and placed them on her shoulder. He then sent her away, along with the child. She went off and roamed in the Beer-sheba wilderness.

while Abel brought the best parts of some of the firstborn from his flock. The LORD looked favorably upon Abel and his offering,

"Two nations are in your womb," the LORD responded, "and two separate people will emerge. One people will be the stronger, and the older one will serve the younger."