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.

The Lord God formed the man from the soil of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow from the soil, every tree that was pleasing to look at and good for food. (Now the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil were in the middle of the orchard.)

The Lord God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all the wild beasts and all the living creatures of the field! On your belly you will crawl and dust you will eat all the days of your life.

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."

When he drove the man out, he placed on the eastern side of the orchard in Eden angelic sentries who used the flame of a whirling sword to guard the way to the tree of life.

Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the first of those who live in tents and keep livestock.

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,

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.

Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life came into the ark to Noah.

Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died.

When the dove returned to him in the evening, there was a freshly plucked olive leaf in its beak! Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth.

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

For your lifeblood I will surely exact punishment, from every living creature I will exact punishment. From each person I will exact punishment for the life of the individual since the man was his relative.

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

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."

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

He will be a wild donkey of a man. He will be hostile to everyone, and everyone will be hostile to him. He will live away from his brothers."

Abraham said to God, "O that Ishmael might live before you!"

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."

"Out of our way!" they cried, and "This man came to live here as a foreigner, and now he dares to judge us! We'll do more harm to you than to them!" They kept pressing in on Lot until they were close enough to break down the door.

Your servant has found favor with you, and you have shown me great kindness by sparing my life. But I am not able to escape to the mountains because this disaster will overtake me and I'll die.

Lot went up from Zoar with his two daughters and settled in the mountains because he was afraid to live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave with his two daughters.

But now give back the man's wife. Indeed he is a prophet and he will pray for you; thus you will live. But if you don't give her back, know that you will surely die along with all who belong to you."

Then Abimelech said, "Look, my land is before you; live wherever you please."

Sarah said, "God has made me laugh. Everyone who hears about this will laugh with me."

God said, "Take your son -- your only son, whom you love, Isaac -- and go to the land of Moriah! Offer him up there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I will indicate to you."

Here I am, standing by the spring, and the daughters of the people who live in the town are coming out to draw water.

saying "Praised be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his faithful love for my master! The Lord has led me to the house of my master's relatives!"

Now, if you will show faithful love to my master, tell me. But if not, tell me as well, so that I may go on my way."

Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man who had lived a full life. He joined his ancestors.

Then prepare for me some tasty food, the kind I love, and bring it to me. Then I will eat it so that I may bless you before I die."

You will live by your sword but you will serve your brother. When you grow restless, you will tear off his yoke from your neck."

Live with him for a little while until your brother's rage subsides.

Then Rebekah said to Isaac, "I am deeply depressed because of these daughters of Heth. If Jacob were to marry one of these daughters of Heth who live in this land, I would want to die!"

Since Jacob had fallen in love with Rachel, he said, "I'll serve you seven years in exchange for your younger daughter Rachel."

So Jacob worked for seven years to acquire Rachel. But they seemed like only a few days to him because his love for her was so great.

So Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, "The Lord has looked with pity on my oppressed condition. Surely my husband will love me now."

She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, "Now this time my husband will show me affection, because I have given birth to three sons for him." That is why he was named Levi.

I am not worthy of all the faithful love you have shown your servant. With only my walking stick I crossed the Jordan, but now I have become two camps.

Then he became very attached to Dinah, Jacob's daughter. He fell in love with the young woman and spoke romantically to her.

But Hamor made this appeal to them: "My son Shechem is in love with your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife.

You may live among us, and the land will be open to you. Live in it, travel freely in it, and acquire property in it."

Then we will give you our daughters to marry, and we will take your daughters as wives for ourselves, and we will live among you and become one people.

"These men are at peace with us. So let them live in the land and travel freely in it, for the land is wide enough for them. We will take their daughters for wives, and we will give them our daughters to marry.

Only on this one condition will these men consent to live with us and become one people: They demand that every male among us be circumcised just as they are circumcised.

If we do so, won't their livestock, their property, and all their animals become ours? So let's consent to their demand, so they will live among us."

In three days, when they were still in pain, two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, each took his sword and went to the unsuspecting city and slaughtered every male.

Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, "You have brought ruin on me by making me a foul odor among the inhabitants of the land -- among the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I am few in number; they will join forces against me and attack me, and both I and my family will be destroyed!"

But Simeon and Levi replied, "Should he treat our sister like a common prostitute?"

Then God said to Jacob, "Go up at once to Bethel and live there. Make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau."

The sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, as well as Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.

Then Isaac breathed his last and joined his ancestors. He died an old man who had lived a full life. His sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons because he was a son born to him late in life, and he made a special tunic for him.

When Reuben heard this, he rescued Joseph from their hands, saying, "Let's not take his life!"

Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, "Live as a widow in your father's house until Shelah my son grows up." For he thought, "I don't want him to die like his brothers." So Tamar went and lived in her father's house.

He then said, "Look, I hear that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy grain for us so that we may live and not die."

On the third day Joseph said to them, "Do as I say and you will live, for I fear God.

Then Judah said to his father Israel, "Send the boy with me and we will go immediately. Then we will live and not die -- we and you and our little ones.

I myself pledge security for him; you may hold me liable. If I do not bring him back to you and place him here before you, I will bear the blame before you all my life.

"So now, when I return to your servant my father, and the boy is not with us -- his very life is bound up in his son's life.

Indeed, your servant pledged security for the boy with my father, saying, 'If I do not bring him back to you, then I will bear the blame before my father all my life.'

Now, do not be upset and do not be angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me ahead of you to preserve life!

You will live in the land of Goshen, and you will be near me -- you, your children, your grandchildren, your flocks, your herds, and everything you have.

The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

Tell him, 'Your servants have taken care of cattle from our youth until now, both we and our fathers,' so that you may live in the land of Goshen, for everyone who takes care of sheep is disgusting to the Egyptians."

Then they said to Pharaoh, "We have come to live as temporary residents in the land. There is no pasture for your servants' flocks because the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. So now, please let your servants live in the land of Goshen."

The land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best region of the land. They may live in the land of Goshen. If you know of any highly capable men among them, put them in charge of my livestock."

Jacob said to Pharaoh, "All the years of my travels are 130. All the years of my life have been few and painful; the years of my travels are not as long as those of my ancestors."

Why should we die before your very eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we, with our land, will become Pharaoh's slaves. Give us seed that we may live and not die. Then the land will not become desolate."

Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years; the years of Jacob's life were 147 in all.

Then he blessed Joseph and said, "May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked -- the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day,

Simeon and Levi are brothers, weapons of violence are their knives!

Zebulun will live by the haven of the sea and become a haven for ships; his border will extend to Sidon.

Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah,

"When you assist the Hebrew women in childbirth, observe at the delivery: If it is a son, kill him, but if it is a daughter, she may live."

But the midwives feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them; they let the boys live.

Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, "Why have you done this and let the boys live?"

Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, "All sons that are born you must throw into the river, but all daughters you may let live."

A man from the household of Levi married a woman who was a descendant of Levi.

The Lord said to Moses in Midian, "Go back to Egypt, because all the men who were seeking your life are dead."

Now these are the names of the sons of Levi, according to their records: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. (The length of Levi's life was 137 years.)

The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. (The length of Kohath's life was 133 years.)

The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. These were the clans of Levi, according to their records.

Amram married his father's sister Jochebed, and she bore him Aaron and Moses. (The length of Amram's life was 137 years.)

Now Eleazar son of Aaron married one of the daughters of Putiel and she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers' households of Levi according to their clans.

You will not eat anything made with yeast; in all the places where you live you must eat bread made without yeast.'"

By your loyal love you will lead the people whom you have redeemed; you will guide them by your strength to your holy dwelling place.

No hand will touch him -- but he will surely be stoned or shot through, whether a beast or a human being; he must not live.' When the ram's horn sounds a long blast they may go up on the mountain."

and showing covenant faithfulness to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

"Honor your father and your mother, that you may live a long time in the land the Lord your God is giving to you.

But if the servant should declare, 'I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,'

But if there is serious injury, then you will give a life for a life,

If a ransom is set for him, then he must pay the redemption for his life according to whatever amount was set for him.

If the ox of one man injures the ox of his neighbor so that it dies, then they will sell the live ox and divide its proceeds, and they will also divide the dead ox.

"You must not allow a sorceress to live.

"You must not oppress a foreigner, since you know the life of a foreigner, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.