Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God stopped working on everything that he had been creating.

no shrubs had yet grown in the meadows of the earth and no vegetation had sprouted, because the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there were no human beings to work the ground.

but you are not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, because you will certainly die during the day that you eat from it."

So the man exclaimed, "At last! This is bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh. This one will be called "Woman,' because she was taken from Man."

"I heard your voice in the garden," the man answered, "and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid from you."

The LORD God told the Shining One, "Because you have done this, you are more cursed than all the livestock, and more than all the earth's animals, You'll crawl on your belly and eat dust as long as you live.

He told the man, "Because you have listened to what your wife said, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, "You must not eat from it,' cursed is the ground because of you. You'll eat from it through pain-filled labor for the rest of your life.

You will eat food by the sweat of your brow until you're buried in the ground, because you were taken from it. You're made from dust and you'll return to dust."

Now Adam had named his wife "Eve," because she was to become the mother of everyone who was living.

The LORD told him, "This won't happen, because whoever kills you will suffer seven times the vengeance." Then the LORD placed a sign on Cain so that no one finding him would kill him.

Later on, after Adam had sexual relations with his wife, she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, because "God granted me another offspring to replace Abel, since Cain murdered him."

communing with God and then he was there no longer, because God had taken him.

whom he named Noah, because he said, "May this one comfort us from our work, from pain that is caused by our manual labor, and from the ground that the LORD has cursed."

So the LORD said, "My Spirit won't remain with human beings forever, because they're truly mortal. Their lifespan will be 120 years."

So the LORD said, "I will annihilate these human beings whom I've created from the earth, including people, animals, crawling things, and flying creatures, because I'm grieving that I made them."

God looked at the earth, observing how corrupt its population had become, because the entire human race had corrupted itself.

So God announced to Noah, "I've decided to destroy every living thing on earth, because it has become filled with violence due to them. Look! I'm about to annihilate them, along with the earth.

Then the LORD told Noah, "Come you and all your household into the ark, because I've seen that you alone are righteous in this generation.

When the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, he told himself, "I will never again curse the land because of human beings even though human inclinations remain evil from youth nor will I destroy every living being ever again, as I've done.

"Whoever sheds human blood, by a human his own blood is to be shed; because God made human beings in his own image.

To Eber were born two sons. One was named Peleg, because the earth was divided during his lifetime. His brother was named Joktan.

Therefore it was called Babylon, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth, and from there the LORD scattered them over the surface of the entire earth.

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

He treated Abram well because of her, so Abram acquired sheep, oxen, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.

But the LORD afflicted Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife.

But the land could not support them living together, because they had so many livestock that they could not stay together.

because I'm going to give you and your descendants all of the land that you see forever!

Get up! Walk throughout the length and breadth of the land, because I'm going to give it to you."

"Look, you are pregnant and will give birth to a son," the angel of the LORD continued to say to her. "You will name him Ishmael, because the LORD has heard your cry of misery.

So she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, "You are "God who sees,' because I have truly seen the one who looks after me."

Any uncircumcised male who does not have the foreskin of his flesh circumcised on the eighth day after his birth is to be eliminated from his people because he has broken my covenant."

God told Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you are not to call her Sarai any longer, because her name is to be Sarah.

But Sarah denied it. "I didn't laugh," she claimed, because she was afraid. The LORD replied, "No! You did laugh!"

What if there are five less than 50 righteous ones? Will you bring destruction upon the city because of those five?" The LORD said, "I won't destroy it if I find 45 there."

Look here, I have two daughters who are virgins. Let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them whatever you wish, only don't do anything to these men, because they're here under my protection."

because we're going to destroy it. Their outcry has come to the attention of the LORD, so he sent us here to destroy it!"

But Lot kept lingering in the city, so the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters (because of the LORD's compassion for him!), brought them out of the city, and left them outside.

"Your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me your gracious love in how you have dealt with me by keeping me alive. I cannot escape to the hills, because I'm afraid the disaster will overtake me, and I'll die.

Hurry up and flee there, because I cannot do anything until you get to that town." Therefore the name of the town was called Zoar.

Later on, Lot and his two daughters abandoned Zoar and settled in the hills because Lot was afraid to live in Zoar. He lived there in a cave, along with his two daughters.

because Abraham kept saying about his wife Sarah, "She is my sister," King Abimelech of Gerar summoned them and took Sarah into his household.

But God came to Abimelech in a dream during the night and spoke to him, "Pay attention! You're about to die, because the woman you have taken is a man's wife!"

"I thought that there's no fear of God in this place," Abraham replied, "and that they would kill me because of my wife.

she told Abraham, "Throw out this slave girl, along with her son, because this slave's son will never be a co-heir with my son Isaac!"

but God told Abraham, "Don't be troubled about the youth and your slave girl. Pay attention to Sarah in everything she tells you, because your offspring are to be named through Isaac.

Then she went and sat by herself about a distance of a bowshot away, because she kept saying to herself, "I can't bear to watch the child die!" That's why she sat a short distance away, crying aloud and weeping.

God heard the boy's voice, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven. He asked her, "What's wrong with you, Hagar? Don't be afraid, because God has heard the voice of the youth where he is.

Get up! Pick up the youth and grab his hand, because I will make a great nation of his descendants."

Therefore that place was called Beer-sheba, because the two of them swore an oath.

"Don't lay your hand on the youth!" he said. "Don't do anything to him, because I've just demonstrated that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only unique one, from me."

Furthermore, through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed my command."

Isaac loved Esau, because he loved to hunt, while Rebekah loved Jacob.

I'm going to do this because Abraham did what I told him to do. He kept my instructions, commands, statutes, and laws."

Later on, the men of that place asked about his wife, so he replied, "She's my sister," because he was afraid to call her "my wife." He kept thinking, ""otherwise, the men around here will kill me on account of Rebekah, since she's very beautiful."

So Abimelech called Isaac and confronted him. "She is definitely your wife!" he accused him, "So why did you claim, "She's my sister?'" Isaac responded, "Because I had thought ""otherwise, I'll die on account of her.'"

Isaac received a 100-fold return on what he planted that year in the land he received, because the LORD blessed him.

Isaac re-excavated some wells that his father had first dug during his lifetime, because the Philistines had filled them with sand after Abraham's death. Isaac renamed those wells with the same names that his father had called them.

Then he left that area and dug still another well. Because they did not quarrel over that one, Isaac named it Rehoboth, because he used to say, "The LORD has enlarged the territory for us. We will prosper in the land."

where one night the LORD appeared to him. "I am the God of your father Abraham," he told him. "Don't be afraid, because I'm with you. I'm going to bless you and multiply your descendants on account of my servant Abraham."

"How did you get it so quickly, my son?" Isaac asked. Jacob responded, ""because the LORD your God made me successful."

He didn't recognize Jacob, because his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau, so Isaac blessed him.

So Esau harbored animosity toward Jacob because of the way his father had blessed him. Esau kept saying to himself, "The time to mourn for my father is very near. That's when I'm going to kill my brother Jacob."

He reached a certain place and spent the night there, because the sun was setting. He found a stone there, used it for a pillow, and slept there for the night,

Now pay attention! I'm here with you, and I'm going to be watching over you wherever you go. I'm going to bring you back to this land, because I won't ever leave you until I've accomplished what I've promised about you."

As he was observing a well that had been dug out on the open range, all of a sudden he noticed three flocks of sheep lying there, because shepherds watered their flocks from that well. There was a very large stone that covered the opening of the well,

Later, Laban asked Jacob, "Should you serve me for free, just because you're my nephew? Let's talk about what your wages should be."

Jacob served seven years for Rachel, but it seemed like only a few days because of his love for her.

Leah conceived, bore a son, and named him Reuben, because she was saying, "The LORD had looked on my torture, so now my husband will love me."

Later, she conceived again, bore a son, and declared, "Because the LORD heard that I'm neglected, he gave me this one, too." So she named him Simeon.

Rachel noticed that she was not bearing children for Jacob, so because she envied her sister Leah, she told Jacob, "If you don't give me sons, I'm going to die!"

She said, "How happy I am, because women will call me happy!" So she named him Asher.

Then Leah said, "God has given me a good gift. This time my husband will exalt me, because I've borne him six sons." So she named him Zebulun.

Because she had been asking, "May God give me another son," she named him Joseph.

Then Laban responded, "If I've found favor in your sight, please stay with me, because I've learned through divination that the LORD has blessed me because of you.

What you had previously was only a few head, but the herd has now multiplied, because the LORD has blessed you through my efforts. But now, when am I going to be able to provide for my own household?"

In the future, you'll be able to verify my honesty because, when you come to check what I've earned, if you find a goat that's not speckled or spotted or a sheep that's not black, then it will have been stolen by me."

""Look around!' he said. "Go ahead, look! All the male goats have been mating with the flock, producing offspring that are streaked, speckled, and spotted, because I've been watching everything that Laban has done to you.

Moreover, Jacob had deceived Laban the Aramean, because he had never told him that he was intending to leave.

Now, you can go if you must go, because you certainly are longing to go to your father's house. But why did you steal my gods?"

It was also called Mizpah, because Laban said, "May the LORD watch between you and me, when we are estranged from each other.

Deliver me from my brother Esau's control, because I'm terrified of him, and I'm afraid that he's coming to attack me, the mothers, and their children.

and said, "Let me go, because the dawn has come." "I won't let you go," Jacob replied, "unless you bless me."

"Your name won't be Jacob anymore," the man replied, "but Israel, because you exerted yourself against both God and men, and you've emerged victorious."

Jacob would later call that place Peniel, because "I saw God face to face, but my life was spared."

Therefore, to this day the Israelis do not eat the hip tendon that connects to the thigh socket, because he had injured the socket of the thigh where the tendon connected to Jacob's hip.

"Please," Jacob implored him, "don't refuse. If I'm to receive favor from you, then receive this gift from me, because seeing your face is like seeing the face of God, since you have favorably accepted me.

So receive my blessing, which has been sent to you, since God has been gracious to me. Besides, I have enough." Because Jacob kept pressing him, Esau accepted the gifts.

Because Jacob learned that Shechem had dishonored his daughter Dinah while his sons were still out with their cattle on the open range, he remained silent until they returned.

Just then Jacob's sons arrived from the field. When they heard what had happened, they were distraught with grief and livid with anger toward Shechem, because he had committed a disgraceful deed in Israel by forcing Jacob's daughter to have sex, an act that never should have happened.

But Jacob's sons answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceptively, because Shechem had dishonored their sister Dinah.

They told them, "We can't do this. We can't give our sister to a man who isn't circumcised, because that would be insulting to us.

Then Jacob told Simeon and Levi, "You have certainly stirred up trouble for me! You've made me despised by the Canaanites and the Perizzites who live in this territory. Because I have only a few men with me, they're going to gather themselves together and attack me until I am totally destroyed, along with my entire household!"

As they set out on their journey, because the people who lived in the cities around them feared God, they did not pursue Jacob's sons.

He built an altar there to God and named the place El Beth-el, because God had revealed himself there when he was fleeing from his brother.

because their holdings were too vast to allow them to stay together, since the land where they had settled was not able to support all of their livestock.

At this, his brothers replied, "Do you really think you're going to rule us or lord it over us?" So they hated him even more because of his dreams and his interpretations of them.

And Israel instructed Joseph, "Your brothers are tending the flock in Shechem. Come here, because I'm going to send you to them." "Here I am!" he responded.

So she took off her mourning apparel, covered herself with a shawl, and concealed her outward appearance. Then she went out and sat at the entrance of Enaim, which is on the way to Timnah, because she knew that even though Shelah had grown up, she wasn't being given to him as his wife.

Three months later, it was reported to Judah, "Your daughter-in-law Tamar has turned to prostitution! And look! She's pregnant because of it!" "Bring her out," Judah responded. "Let's burn her to death!"

When Judah recognized them, he admitted, "She is more upright than I, because I never did give her my son Shelah." And he never had sex with her again.