God saw that the light was good, so God separated the light from the darkness.

So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. It was so.

God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place and let dry ground appear." It was so.

God called the dry ground "land" and the gathered waters he called "seas." God saw that it was good.

God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: plants yielding seeds according to their kinds, and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds." It was so.

The land produced vegetation -- plants yielding seeds according to their kinds, and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. God saw that it was good.

and let them serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." It was so.

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

God created the great sea creatures and every living and moving thing with which the water swarmed, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. God saw that it was good.

God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: cattle, creeping things, and wild animals, each according to its kind." It was so.

God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the cattle according to their kinds, and all the creatures that creep along the ground according to their kinds. God saw that it was good.

Then God said, "Let us make humankind in our image, after our likeness, so they may rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move on the earth."

God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply! Fill the earth and subdue it! Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that moves on the ground."

And to all the animals of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to all the creatures that move on the ground -- everything that has the breath of life in it -- I give every green plant for food." It was so.

God saw all that he had made -- and it was very good! There was evening, and there was morning, the sixth day.

The Lord God formed out of the ground every living animal of the field and every bird of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them, and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.

So the man named all the animals, the birds of the air, and the living creatures of the field, but for Adam no companion who corresponded to him was found.

So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he was asleep, he took part of the man's side and closed up the place with flesh.

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

Then the eyes of both of them opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

The man replied, "I heard you moving about in the orchard, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid."

So the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" And the woman replied, "The serpent tricked me, and I ate."

And I will put hostility between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring; her offspring will attack your head, and you will attack her offspring's heel."

So the Lord God expelled him from the orchard in Eden to cultivate the ground from which he had been taken.

but with Cain and his offering he was not pleased. So Cain became very angry, and his expression was downcast.

Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the field." While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

Then the Lord said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" And he replied, "I don't know! Am I my brother's guardian?"

But the Lord said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying out to me from the ground!

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

But the Lord said to him, "All right then, if anyone kills Cain, Cain will be avenged seven times as much." Then the Lord put a special mark on Cain so that no one who found him would strike him down.

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

the sons of God saw that the daughters of humankind were beautiful. Thus they took wives for themselves from any they chose.

So the Lord said, "My spirit will not remain in humankind indefinitely, since they are mortal. They will remain for 120 more years."

But the Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind had become great on the earth. Every inclination of the thoughts of their minds was only evil all the time.

So the Lord said, "I will wipe humankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth -- everything from humankind to animals, including creatures that move on the ground and birds of the air, for I regret that I have made them."

God saw the earth, and indeed it was ruined, for all living creatures on the earth were sinful.

So God said to Noah, "I have decided that all living creatures must die, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. Now I am about to destroy them and the earth.

Of the birds after their kinds, and of the cattle after their kinds, and of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every kind will come to you so you can keep them alive.

In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month -- on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst open and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.

The waters completely inundated the earth so that even all the high mountains under the entire sky were covered.

So the Lord destroyed every living thing that was on the surface of the ground, including people, animals, creatures that creep along the ground, and birds of the sky. They were wiped off the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark survived.

The waters kept receding steadily from the earth, so that they had gone down by the end of the 150 days.

Then Noah sent out a dove to see if the waters had receded from the surface of the ground.

The dove could not find a resting place for its feet because water still covered the surface of the entire earth, and so it returned to Noah in the ark. He stretched out his hand, took the dove, and brought it back into the ark.

In Noah's six hundred and first year, in the first day of the first month, the waters had dried up from the earth, and Noah removed the covering from the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry.

Every living creature of the earth and every bird of the sky will be terrified of you. Everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea are under your authority.

"Whoever sheds human blood, by other humans must his blood be shed; for in God's image God has made humankind."

So God said to Noah, "This is the guarantee of the covenant that I am confirming between me and all living things that are on the earth."

Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father's nakedness and told his two brothers who were outside.

Shem and Japheth took the garment and placed it on their shoulders. Then they walked in backwards and covered up their father's nakedness. Their faces were turned the other way so they did not see their father's nakedness.

So he said, "Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves he will be to his brothers."

May God enlarge Japheth's territory and numbers! May he live in the tents of Shem and may Canaan be his slave!"

This is the account of Noah's sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons were born to them after the flood.

Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg because in his days the earth was divided, and his brother's name was Joktan.

Then they said to one another, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." (They had brick instead of stone and tar instead of mortar.)

Then they said, "Come, let's build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens so that we may make a name for ourselves. Otherwise we will be scattered across the face of the entire earth."

But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the people had started building.

Come, let's go down and confuse their language so they won't be able to understand each other."

So the Lord scattered them from there across the face of the entire earth, and they stopped building the city.

And 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, the father of both Milcah and Iscah.

Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (the son of Haran), and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram's wife, and with them he set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. When they came to Haran, they settled there.

Now the Lord said to Abram, "Go out from your country, your relatives, and your father's household to the land that I will show you.

Then I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great, so that you will exemplify divine blessing.

So Abram left, just as the Lord had told him to do, and Lot went with him. (Now Abram was 75 years old when he departed from Haran.)

The Lord appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." So Abram built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

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

When the Egyptians see you they will say, 'This is his wife.' Then they will kill me but will keep you alive.

So tell them you are my sister so that it may go well for me because of you and my life will be spared on account of you."

When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.

When Pharaoh's officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. So Abram's wife was taken into the household of Pharaoh,

But the Lord struck Pharaoh and his household with severe diseases because of Sarai, Abram's wife.

So Pharaoh summoned Abram and said, "What is this you have done to me? Why didn't you tell me that she was your wife?

Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her to be my wife? Here is your wife! Take her and go!"

Pharaoh gave his men orders about Abram, and so they expelled him, along with his wife and all his possessions.

So Abram went up from Egypt into the Negev. He took his wife and all his possessions with him, as well as Lot.

But the land could not support them while they were living side by side. Because their possessions were so great, they were not able to live alongside one another.

So there were quarrels between Abram's herdsmen and Lot's herdsmen. (Now the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land at that time.)

Lot looked up and saw the whole region of the Jordan. He noticed that all of it was well-watered (before the Lord obliterated Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, all the way to Zoar.

Lot chose for himself the whole region of the Jordan and traveled toward the east. So the relatives separated from each other.

I will give all the land that you see to you and your descendants forever.

And I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone is able to count the dust of the earth, then your descendants also can be counted.

So Abram moved his tents and went to live by the oaks of Mamre in Hebron, and he built an altar to the Lord there.

These last five kings joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea).

They also took Abram's nephew Lot and his possessions when they left, for Lot was living in Sodom.

After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet Abram in the Valley of Shaveh (known as the King's Valley).

that I will take nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal. That way you can never say, 'It is I who made Abram rich.'

The Lord took him outside and said, "Gaze into the sky and count the stars -- if you are able to count them!" Then he said to him, "So will your descendants be."

So Abram took all these for him and then cut them in two and placed each half opposite the other, but he did not cut the birds in half.

Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had not given birth to any children, but she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar.

So Sarai said to Abram, "Since the Lord has prevented me from having children, have sexual relations with my servant. Perhaps I can have a family by her." Abram did what Sarai told him.

So after Abram had lived in Canaan for ten years, Sarai, Abram's wife, gave Hagar, her Egyptian servant, to her husband to be his wife.

Abram said to Sarai, "Since your servant is under your authority, do to her whatever you think best." Then Sarai treated Hagar harshly, so she ran away from Sarai.

The Lord's angel found Hagar near a spring of water in the desert -- the spring that is along the road to Shur.

Then the Lord's angel said to her, "Return to your mistress and submit to her authority.

I will greatly multiply your descendants," the Lord's angel added, "so that they will be too numerous to count."

Then the Lord's angel said to her, "You are now pregnant and are about to give birth to a son. You are to name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard your painful groans.

So Hagar named the Lord who spoke to her, "You are the God who sees me," for she said, "Here I have seen one who sees me!"

So Hagar gave birth to Abram's son, whom Abram named Ishmael.

Abraham looked up and saw three men standing across from him. When he saw them he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.

Let a little water be brought so that you may all wash your feet and rest under the tree.