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

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."

This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created -- when the Lord God made the earth and heavens.

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

(The gold of that land is pure; pearls and lapis lazuli are also there).

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

The name of the third river is Tigris; it runs along the east side of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.

The Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a companion for him who corresponds to him."

Then the man said, "This one at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one will be called 'woman,' for she was taken out of man."

That is why a man leaves his father and mother and unites with his wife, and they become a new family.

Now the serpent was more shrewd than any of the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, "Is it really true that God said, 'You must not eat from any tree of the orchard'?"

but concerning the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the orchard God said, 'You must not eat from it, and you must not touch it, or else you will die.'"

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.

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."

But to Adam he said, "Because you obeyed your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat from it,' cursed is the ground thanks to you; in painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.

And the Lord God said, "Now that the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil, he must not be allowed to stretch out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever."

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!"

Then the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why is your expression downcast?

Is it not true that if you do what is right, you will be fine? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. It desires to dominate you, but you must subdue it."

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!

Then Cain said to the Lord, "My punishment is too great to endure!

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.

If Cain is to be avenged seven times as much, then Lamech seventy-seven times!"

This is the record of the family line of Adam. When God created humankind, he made them in the likeness of God.

He named him Noah, saying, "This one will bring us comfort from our labor and from the painful toil of our hands because of the ground that the Lord has cursed."

This is the account of Noah. Noah was a godly man; he was blameless among his contemporaries. He walked with God.

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.

This is how you should make it: The ark is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high.

I am about to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy from under the sky all the living creatures that have the breath of life in them. Everything that is on the earth will die,

And you must take for yourself every kind of food that is eaten, and gather it together. It will be food for you and for them.

male and female, came into the ark to Noah, just as God had commanded him.

Those that entered were male and female, just as God commanded him. Then the Lord shut him in.

The flood engulfed the earth for forty days. As the waters increased, they lifted the ark and raised it above the earth.

And the Lord smelled the soothing aroma and said to himself, "I will never again curse the ground because of humankind, even though the inclination of their minds is evil from childhood on. I will never again destroy everything that lives, as I have just done.

You may eat any moving thing that lives. As I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.

But you must not eat meat with its life (that is, its blood) in it.

But as for you, be fruitful and multiply; increase abundantly on the earth and multiply on it."

and with every living creature that is with you, including the birds, the domestic animals, and every living creature of the earth with you, all those that came out of the ark with you -- every living creature of the earth.

And God said, "This is the guarantee of the covenant I am making with you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all subsequent generations:

When the rainbow is in the clouds, I will notice it and remember the perpetual covenant between God and all living creatures of all kinds that are on the earth."

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."

He also said, "Worthy of praise is the Lord, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem!

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

He was a mighty hunter before the Lord. (That is why it is said, "Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.")

and Resen, which is between Nineveh and the great city Calah.

and the borders of Canaan extended from Sidon all the way to Gerar as far as Gaza, and all the way to Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.

The sons of Aram were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash.

And the Lord said, "If as one people all sharing a common language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be beyond them.

That is why its name was called Babel -- because there the Lord confused the language of the entire world, and from there the Lord scattered them across the face of the entire earth.

This is the account of Shem. Shem was 100 old when he became the father of Arphaxad, two years after the flood.

This is the account of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot.

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.)

Abram traveled through the land as far as the oak tree of Moreh at Shechem. (At that time the Canaanites were in the land.)

As he approached Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, "Look, I know that you are a beautiful woman.

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

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!"

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

And he journeyed from place to place from the Negev as far as Bethel. He returned to the place where he had pitched his tent at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai.

Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself now from me. If you go to the left, then I'll go to the right, but if you go to the right, then I'll go to the left."

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.

went to war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).

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

and the Horites in their hill country of Seir, as far as El Paran, which is near the desert.

Then they attacked En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh) again, and they conquered all the territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who were living in Hazazon Tamar.

Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out and prepared for battle. In the Valley of Siddim they met

When Abram heard that his nephew had been taken captive, he mobilized his 318 trained men who had been born in his household, and he pursued the invaders as far as Dan.

Then, during the night, Abram divided his forces against them and defeated them. He chased them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus.

He retrieved all the stolen property. He also brought back his nephew Lot and his possessions, as well as the women and the rest of the people.

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).

Worthy of praise is the Most High God, who delivered your enemies into your hand." Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything.

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.'

I will take nothing except compensation for what the young men have eaten. As for the share of the men who went with me -- Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre -- let them take their share."

But Abram said, "O sovereign Lord, what will you give me since I continue to be childless, and my heir is Eliezer of Damascus?"

Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord considered his response of faith as proof of genuine loyalty.

But as for you, you will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age.

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.

That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi. (It is located between Kadesh and Bered.)

"As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of a multitude of nations.

I will confirm my covenant as a perpetual covenant between me and you. It will extend to your descendants after you throughout their generations. I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you.

I will give the whole land of Canaan -- the land where you are now residing -- to you and your descendants after you as a permanent possession. I will be their God."

Then God said to Abraham, "As for you, you must keep the covenantal requirement I am imposing on you and your descendants after you throughout their generations.

This is my requirement that you and your descendants after you must keep: Every male among you must be circumcised.

Throughout your generations every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, whether born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not one of your descendants.

They must indeed be circumcised, whether born in your house or bought with money. The sign of my covenant will be visible in your flesh as a permanent reminder.

Then God said to Abraham, "As for your wife, you must no longer call her Sarai; Sarah will be her name.

Then Abraham bowed down with his face to the ground and laughed as he said to himself, "Can a son be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Can Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?"

God said, "No, Sarah your wife is going to bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. I will confirm my covenant with him as a perpetual covenant for his descendants after him.

As for Ishmael, I have heard you. I will indeed bless him, make him fruitful, and give him a multitude of descendants. He will become the father of twelve princes; I will make him into a great nation.

Abraham took his son Ishmael and every male in his household (whether born in his house or bought with money) and circumcised them on that very same day, just as God had told him to do.

And let me get a bit of food so that you may refresh yourselves since you have passed by your servant's home. After that you may be on your way." "All right," they replied, "you may do as you say."

Then they asked him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" He replied, "There, in the tent."

So Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, "After I am worn out will I have pleasure, especially when my husband is old too?"

Is anything impossible for the Lord? I will return to you when the season comes round again and Sarah will have a son."

I have chosen him so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. Then the Lord will give to Abraham what he promised him."

So the Lord said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so blatant

that I must go down and see if they are as wicked as the outcry suggests. If not, I want to know."

Far be it from you to do such a thing -- to kill the godly with the wicked, treating the godly and the wicked alike! Far be it from you! Will not the judge of the whole earth do what is right?"