And the Lord God said, "Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?"

Now the man had marital relations with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. Then she said, "I have created a man just as the Lord did!"

Look! You are driving me off the land today, and I must hide from your presence. I will be a homeless wanderer on the earth; whoever finds me will kill me."

And Noah did all that God commanded him -- he did indeed.

And Noah did all that the Lord commanded him.

He waited another seven days and sent the dove out again, but it did not return to him this time.

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.

and he did treat Abram well on account of her. Abram received sheep and cattle, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.

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!"

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.

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.

The Lord said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Will I really have a child when I am old?'

Then Sarah lied, saying, "I did not laugh," because she was afraid. But the Lord said, "No! You did laugh."

He looked out toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of that region. As he did so, he saw the smoke rising up from the land like smoke from a furnace.

The older daughter gave birth to a son and named him Moab. He is the ancestor of the Moabites of today.

The younger daughter also gave birth to a son and named him Ben-Ammi. He is the ancestor of the Ammonites of today.

But God appeared to Abimelech in a dream at night and said to him, "You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken, for she is someone else's wife."

Did Abraham not say to me, 'She is my sister'? And she herself said, 'He is my brother.' I have done this with a clear conscience and with innocent hands!"

Then in the dream God replied to him, "Yes, I know that you have done this with a clear conscience. That is why I have kept you from sinning against me and why I did not allow you to touch her.

Abimelech summoned Abraham and said to him, "What have you done to us? What sin did I commit against you that would cause you to bring such great guilt on me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should not be done!"

The Lord visited Sarah just as he had said he would and did for Sarah what he had promised.

"I do not know who has done this thing," Abimelech replied. "Moreover, you did not tell me. I did not hear about it until today."

"Do not harm the boy!" the angel said. "Do not do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God because you did not withhold your son, your only son, from me."

Then Abraham got up from mourning his dead wife and said to the sons of Heth,

"I am a temporary settler among you. Grant me ownership of a burial site among you so that I may bury my dead."

"Listen, sir, you are a mighty prince among us! You may bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb to prevent you from burying your dead."

Then he said to them, "If you agree that I may bury my dead, then hear me out. Ask Ephron the son of Zohar

"No, my lord! Hear me out. I sell you both the field and the cave that is in it. In the presence of my people I sell it to you. Bury your dead."

and said to Ephron in their hearing, "Hear me, if you will. I pay to you the price of the field. Take it from me so that I may bury my dead there."

"Hear me, my lord. The land is worth 400 pieces of silver, but what is that between me and you? So bury your dead."

He prayed, "O Lord, God of my master Abraham, guide me today. Be faithful to my master Abraham.

When I came to the spring today, I prayed, 'O Lord, God of my master Abraham, if you have decided to make my journey successful, may events unfold as follows:

So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, "She is really your wife! Why did you say, 'She is my sister'?" Isaac replied, "Because I thought someone might kill me to get her."

Then he moved away from there and dug another well. They did not quarrel over it, so Isaac named it Rehoboth, saying, "For now the Lord has made room for us, and we will prosper in the land."

But Isaac asked his son, "How in the world did you find it so quickly, my son?" "Because the Lord your God brought it to me," he replied.

He did not recognize him because his hands were hairy, like his brother Esau's hands. So Isaac blessed Jacob.

Stay there until your brother's anger against you subsides and he forgets what you did to him. Then I'll send someone to bring you back from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?"

Then Jacob woke up and thought, "Surely the Lord is in this place, but I did not realize it!"

Jacob did as Laban said. When Jacob completed Leah's bridal week, Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife.

Let me walk among all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb, and the spotted or speckled goats. These animals will be my wages.

Jacob removed these lambs, but he made the rest of the flock face the streaked and completely dark-colored animals in Laban's flock. So he made separate flocks for himself and did not mix them with Laban's flocks.

But if the animals were weaker, he did not set the branches there. So the weaker animals ended up belonging to Laban and the stronger animals to Jacob.

Why did you run away secretly and deceive me? Why didn't you tell me so I could send you off with a celebration complete with singing, tambourines, and harps?

Now I understand that you have gone away because you longed desperately for your father's house. Yet why did you steal my gods?"

Whoever has taken your gods will be put to death! In the presence of our relatives identify whatever is yours and take it." (Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.)

So Laban entered Jacob's tent, and Leah's tent, and the tent of the two female servants, but he did not find the idols. Then he left Leah's tent and entered Rachel's.

(Now Rachel had taken the idols and put them inside her camel's saddle and sat on them.) Laban searched the whole tent, but did not find them.

Rachel said to her father, "Don't be angry, my lord. I cannot stand up in your presence because I am having my period." So he searched thoroughly, but did not find the idols.

Jacob became angry and argued with Laban. "What did I do wrong?" he demanded of Laban. "What sin of mine prompted you to chase after me in hot pursuit?

When you searched through all my goods, did you find anything that belonged to you? Set it here before my relatives and yours, and let them settle the dispute between the two of us!

Laban replied to Jacob, "These women are my daughters, these children are my grandchildren, and these flocks are my flocks. All that you see belongs to me. But how can I harm these daughters of mine today or the children to whom they have given birth?

Laban said, "This pile of stones is a witness of our agreement today." That is why it was called Galeed.

Esau then asked, "What did you intend by sending all these herds to meet me?" Jacob replied, "To find favor in your sight, my lord."

The young man did not delay in doing what they asked because he wanted Jacob's daughter Dinah badly. (Now he was more important than anyone in his father's household.)

and they started on their journey. The surrounding cities were afraid of God, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.

What he did was evil in the Lord's sight, so the Lord killed him too.

So she removed her widow's clothes and covered herself with a veil. She wrapped herself and sat at the entrance to Enaim which is on the way to Timnah. (She did this because she saw that she had not been given to Shelah as a wife, even though he had now grown up.)

He turned aside to her along the road and said, "Come on! I want to have sex with you." (He did not realize it was his daughter-in-law.) She asked, "What will you give me in exchange for having sex with you?"

Judah said, "Let her keep the things for herself. Otherwise we will appear to be dishonest. I did indeed send this young goat, but you couldn't find her."

Judah recognized them and said, "She is more upright than I am, because I wouldn't give her to Shelah my son." He did not have sexual relations with her again.

Even though she continued to speak to Joseph day after day, he did not respond to her invitation to have sex with her.

The warden did not concern himself with anything that was in Joseph's care because the Lord was with him and whatever he was doing the Lord was making successful.

So he asked Pharaoh's officials, who were with him in custody in his master's house, "Why do you look so sad today?"

In three more days Pharaoh will reinstate you and restore you to your office. You will put Pharaoh's cup in his hand, just as you did before when you were cupbearer.

But the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph -- he forgot him.

Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, "Today I recall my failures.

But Jacob did not send Joseph's brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, "What if some accident happens to him?"

Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him.

But you must bring your youngest brother to me. Then your words will be verified and you will not die." They did as he said.

(Now they did not know that Joseph could understand them, for he was speaking through an interpreter.)

But Jacob replied, "My son will not go down there with you, for his brother is dead and he alone is left. If an accident happens to him on the journey you have to make, then you will bring down my gray hair in sorrow to the grave."

Israel said, "Why did you bring this trouble on me by telling the man you had one more brother?"

The man did just as Joseph said; he brought the men into Joseph's house.

They said, "My lord, we did indeed come down the first time to buy food.

Then put my cup -- the silver cup -- in the mouth of the youngest one's sack, along with the money for his grain." He did as Joseph instructed.

Joseph said to them, "What did you think you were doing? Don't you know that a man like me can find out things like this by divination?"

We said to my lord, 'We have an aged father, and there is a young boy who was born when our father was old. The boy's brother is dead. He is the only one of his mother's sons left, and his father loves him.'

So the sons of Israel did as he said. Joseph gave them wagons as Pharaoh had instructed, and he gave them provisions for the journey.

They told him, "Joseph is still alive and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt!" Jacob was stunned, for he did not believe them.

Pharaoh said to Joseph's brothers, "What is your occupation?" They said to Pharaoh, "Your servants take care of flocks, just as our ancestors did."

But he did not purchase the land of the priests because the priests had an allotment from Pharaoh and they ate from their allotment that Pharaoh gave them. That is why they did not sell their land.

Joseph said to the people, "Since I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed for you. Cultivate the land.

So Joseph made it a statute, which is in effect to this day throughout the land of Egypt: One-fifth belongs to Pharaoh. Only the land of the priests did not become Pharaoh's.

So the sons of Jacob did for him just as he had instructed them.

When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "What if Joseph bears a grudge and wants to repay us in full for all the harm we did to him?"

Tell Joseph this: Please forgive the sin of your brothers and the wrong they did when they treated you so badly.' Now please forgive the sin of the servants of the God of your father." When this message was reported to him, Joseph wept.