Now the earth was formless and empty, and darkness [was] over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God [was] hovering over the surface of the waters.

Now a river flowed out from Eden that watered the garden, and from there it diverged and became four branches.

And the man said, "{She is now} bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh; {she} shall be called 'Woman,' for {she was taken} from man."

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other {wild animal} which Yahweh God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God indeed say, 'You shall not eat from any tree in the garden'?"

Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain. And she said, "I have given birth to a man with [the help of] Yahweh."

So now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive the blood of your brother from your hand.

And God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh [has] come before me, for the earth was filled [with] violence because of them. Now, look, I [am going] to destroy them [along] with the earth.

Every moving thing that lives shall be for you as food. As [I gave] the green plants to you, I have [now] given you everything.

Now the sons of Noah who came out of the ark [were] Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham [was] the father of Canaan.)

Now, the beginning of his kingdom [was] Babel, Erech, Akkad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

Now the whole earth [had] one language and the same words.

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.

Now these are the generations of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran, and Haran fathered Lot.

And Abram went [out] as Yahweh had told him, and Lot went with him. Now Abram {was seventy-five years old} when he went out from Haran.

And Abram traveled through the land up to the place of Shechem, to the Oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanites [were] in the land at that time.

And it happened [that] as he drew near to enter into Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, "Look now, I know that you are a woman beautiful of appearance,

Why did you say 'She [is] my sister,' so that I took her to myself as a wife? Now then, here [is] your wife. Take her and go."

Now Abram [was] very wealthy in livestock, in silver, and in gold.

And there was a quarrel between the herdsmen of the livestock of Abram and the herdsmen of the livestock of Lot. Now at that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land.

Now the men of Sodom {were extremely wicked sinners against Yahweh}.

And Yahweh said to Abram after Lot had separated from him, "Now, lift up your eyes and look from the place where you [are] to the north, and to the south, and to the east and to the west,

Now the Valley of Siddim {was full of tar pits}. And the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled and {fell into them}, but the rest fled to the mountains.

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

Now Sarai, the wife of Abram, had borne him no children. And she had a female Egyptian servant, and her name [was] Hagar.

And God said to Abraham, "Now [as for] you, you must keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you, throughout their generations.

And he said, "I will certainly return to you {in the spring}, and look, Sarah your wife [will have] a son." Now Sarah [was] listening at the doorway of the tent, and which [was] behind him.

Now Abraham and Sarah [were] old, {advanced in age}; {the way of women} had ceased to be for Sarah.

Then Yahweh said to Abraham, "What [is] this [that] Sarah laughed, saying, 'Is it indeed true [that] I will bear a child, now [that] I have grown old?'

And he said, "Please, now, I was bold to speak to my Lord. What if twenty be found there?" And he answered, "I will not destroy [it] for the sake of the twenty."

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.

Now Abimelech had not approached her, so he said, "my Lord, will you even kill a righteous people?"

So now, return the wife of the man, for he [is] a prophet, so that he will pray for you and you will live. And {if you do not return her}, know that you will certainly die, and all that [are] yours."

So now, swear to me here by God [that] you will not deal with me falsely, or with my descendants, or my posterity. According to the kindness that I have done to you, you shall [pledge] to do with me and with the land where you have dwelled as an alien."

And he said, "Do not stretch out your hand against the boy; do not do anything to him. For now I know that you are {one who fears} God, since you have not withheld your son, your only child, from me."

(Now, Bethuel fathered Rebekah). These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, the brother of Abraham.

Now Ephron was sitting among the Hittites. And Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the Hittites with respect to all [who were] entering the gate of his city, [and] said,

Now Abraham [was] old, {advanced in age}, and Yahweh had blessed Abraham in everything.

Now the girl [was] very pleasing in appearance. [She was] a virgin; no man had known her. And she went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up.

Now Rebekah had a brother, and his name [was] Laban. And Laban ran out to the man toward the spring.

And he said, "Come, O blessed [one] of Yahweh. Why do you stand outside? Now I have prepared the house and a place for the camels."

Now Yahweh has blessed my master exceedingly, and he has become great. He has given to him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male slaves and female slaves, and camels and donkeys.

So now, {if you are going to deal loyally and truly} with my master, tell me. And if not, tell me, so that I may turn to [the] right or to [the] left."

And he said to them, "Do not delay me. Now, Yahweh has made my journey successful. Let me go. I must go to my master."

Now Isaac [was] coming from the direction of Beer-Lahai-Roi. And he [was] living in the land of the Negev.

Now Abraham again took a wife, and her name [was] Keturah.

Now these [are] the days of the years of {the life of Abraham}: one hundred and seventy-five years.

Now these [are] the generations of Ishmael, the son of Abraham, that Hagar the Egyptian, the maidservant of Sarah, bore to Abraham.

Now these [are] the years of the life of Ishmael: 137 years. And he passed away and died, and was gathered to his people.

Now these [are] the generations of Isaac, the son of Abraham. Abraham fathered Isaac,

And Esau said, "Look, I am going to die; now what [is] this birthright to me?"

And Abimelech called Isaac and said, "Surely she [is] your wife. Now why did you say 'She [is] my sister'?" And Isaac said to him, "Because I thought I would die on account of her."

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."

that you may not do us harm just as we have not touched you, but have only done good to you and sent you away in peace. You [are] now blessed by Yahweh."

So now, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt food for me.

Now Rebekah [was] listening as Isaac spoke to Esau his son, and [when] Esau went to the field to hunt wild game to bring [back],

So now, my son, listen to my voice, to what I command you.

Then he said, "{Isn't that why he is named Jacob}? He has deceived me these two times. He took my birthright and, look, now he has taken my blessing!" Then he said, "Have you not reserved a blessing for me?"

Then Isaac answered and said to Esau, "Behold, I have made him lord over you and I have given him all his brothers as servants, and [with] grain and wine I have sustained him. Now what can I do for you, my son?"

Now then, my son, listen to my voice; arise and flee to Haran to Laban my brother.

Now, may El-Shaddai bless you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, so that you become an assembly of peoples.

Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-Aram, to take for himself a wife from there, and he blessed him and instructed him, saying, "You must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan,"

Now behold, I [am] with you, and I will keep you wherever you go. And I will bring you to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised to you."

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

Now Laban had two daughters. The name of the older [was] Leah, and the name of the younger [was] Rachel.

Now the eyes of Leah [were] dull, but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance.

And it happened [that] in the morning, behold, it [was] Leah! And he said to Laban, "What [is] this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Now why did you deceive me?"

Then Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and she called his name Reuben, for she said, "Because Yahweh has noticed my misery, that I [am] unloved. Now my husband will love me."

And she conceived again and gave birth to a son. Then she said, "Now this time my husband will be joined to me, for I have borne him three sons." Therefore, she called his name Levi.

Now he heard the words of the sons of Laban, saying, "Jacob has taken all that our father has," and "From that which [was] our father's he has gained all this wealth."

Now you yourselves know that I have served your father with all my strength,

Now it happened [that] at the time of the mating of the flock I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the rams mounting the flock [were] streaked, speckled, and dappled.

I [am] the God of Bethel where you anointed a stone pillar, where you made a vow to me. Now get up, go out from this land and return to the land of your birth.'"

For all the wealth that God has taken away from our father, it belongs to us and to our sons. So now, all that God has said to you, do."

Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel stole the idols that belonged to her father.

And Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban and his kinsmen pitched [their tents] in the hill country of Gilead.

And [why] did you not give me opportunity to kiss my grandsons and my daughters [goodbye]? Now you have behaved foolishly [by] doing [this].

Now, you have surely gone because you desperately longed for the house of your father, [but] why did you steal my gods?"

[But] with whomever you find your gods, he shall not live. In the presence of your kinsmen [now] identify what [is] with me [that is] yours and take it." Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.

Now Rachel had taken the idols and put them in the saddle bag of the camel and sat on them. And Jacob searched the whole tent thoroughly but did not find them.

If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac had not been with me, indeed now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God saw my misery and the labor of my hands and rebuked you last night."

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?

So now, come, let us {make} a covenant, you and I, and let it be a witness between me and you."

And he instructed them, saying, "Thus you must say to my lord, to Esau, 'Thus says your servant Jacob, I have dwelled as an alien with Laban, and I have remained [there] until now.

{I am not worthy} of all the loyal love and all the faithfulness that you have shown your servant, for with [only] my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps.

Now you yourself said, 'I will surely deal well with you and make your offspring as the sand of the sea that cannot be counted for abundance.'"

Then you must say, 'To your servant, to Jacob. It [is] a gift sent to my lord, to Esau. Now behold, he [is] also [coming] after us.'"

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.

Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.

And the young man did not delay to do the thing, for he wanted the daughter of Jacob. Now he [was] the most honored of his father's house.

"These men [are] at peace with us. Let them dwell in the land and let them trade in it. Now, behold, the land is {broad enough for them}. Let us take their daughters as wives, and let us give our daughters to them.

Now the days of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years.

Now these [are] the descendants of Esau (that [is], Edom).

Now these [are] the descendants of Esau, the father of Edom, in the hill country of Seir.

(Now Timnah was the concubine of Eliphaz, the son of Esau. And she bore Amalek to Eliphaz.) These [are] the sons of Adah, the wife of Esau.

Now these [are] the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These [are] the sons of Basemath, the wife of Esau.

Now these [are] the sons of Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah, daughter of Zibeon, the wife of Esau: She bore to Esau Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.

Now these [are] the sons Reuel, the son of Esau: the chiefs Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These [are] the chiefs of Reuel in the land of Edom. These [are] the sons of Basemath, the wife of Esau.

Now these [are] the sons of Oholibamah, the wife of Esau: the chiefs Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These [are] the chiefs born of Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah, the wife of Esau.

Now these [are] the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.

Now these [are] the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah--he [is] Anah who found the hot springs in the desert while he pastured the donkeys of Zibeon his father.