But water would come out of the ground and water the entire surface of the land.

but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.”

The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the sky, and to every wild animal; but for the man no helper was found as his complement.

But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’”

I will put hostility between you and the woman,
and between your seed and her seed.
He will strike your head,
and you will strike his heel.

Then she also gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel became a shepherd of flocks, but Cain worked the ground.

but He did not have regard for Cain and his offering. Cain was furious, and he looked despondent.

If you do what is right, won’t you be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”

But Cain answered the Lord, “My punishment is too great to bear!

When the Lord saw that man’s wickedness was widespread on the earth and that every scheme his mind thought of was nothing but evil all the time,

Then God said to Noah, “I have decided to put an end to every creature, for the earth is filled with wickedness because of them; therefore I am going to destroy them along with the earth.

You are to make a roof, finishing the sides of the ark to within 18 inches of the roof. You are to put a door in the side of the ark. Make it with lower, middle, and upper decks.

But I will establish My covenant with you, and you will enter the ark with your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives.

but the dove found no resting place for her foot. She returned to him in the ark because water covered the surface of the whole earth. He reached out and brought her into the ark to himself.

After he had waited another seven days, he sent out the dove, but she did not return to him again.

But you, be fruitful and multiply; spread out over the earth and multiply on it.”

Ham’s sons: Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan.

Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (Haran’s son), and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they set out together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled there.

Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him.

When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ They will kill me but let you live.

But the Lord struck Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues because of Abram’s wife Sarai.

But the land was unable to support them as long as they stayed together, for they had so many possessions that they could not stay together,

Abram lived in the land of Canaan, but Lot lived in the cities of the valley and set up his tent near Sodom.

They were subject to Chedorlaomer for 12 years, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

Now the Valley of Siddim contained many asphalt pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into them, but the rest fled to the mountains.

Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people, but take the possessions for yourself.”

But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand in an oath to Yahweh, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth,

I will take nothing except what the servants have eaten. But as for the share of the men who came with me—Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre—they can take their share.”

But Abram said, “Lord God, what can You give me, since I am childless and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”

But he said, “Lord God, how can I know that I will possess it?”

So he brought all these to Him, split them down the middle, and laid the pieces opposite each other, but he did not cut up the birds.

Birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.

But you will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.

When the sun had set and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch appeared and passed between the divided animals.

Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for my suffering! I put my slave in your arms, and ever since she saw that she was pregnant, she has treated me with contempt. May the Lord judge between me and you.”

Your name will no longer be Abram, but your name will be Abraham, for I will make you the father of many nations.

But God said, “No. Your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. I will confirm My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his future offspring.

But I will confirm My covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year.”

I will bring a bit of bread so that you may strengthen yourselves. This is why you have passed your servant’s way. Later, you can continue on.”

“Yes,” they replied, “do as you have said.”

But the Lord asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Can I really have a baby when I’m old?’

Sarah denied it. “I did not laugh,” she said, because she was afraid.

But He replied, “No, you did laugh.”

But he urged them so strongly that they followed him and went into his house. He prepared a feast and baked unleavened bread for them, and they ate.

Before they went to bed, the men of the city of Sodom, both young and old, the whole population, surrounded the house.

“Get out of the way!” they said, adding, “This one came here as a foreigner, but he’s acting like a judge! Now we’ll do more harm to you than to them.” They put pressure on Lot and came up to break down the door.

But the angels reached out, brought Lot into the house with them, and shut the door.

So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were going to marry his daughters. “Get up,” he said. “Get out of this place, for the Lord is about to destroy the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.

But he hesitated. Because of the Lord’s compassion for him, the men grabbed his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters. Then they brought him out and left him outside the city.

But Lot said to them, “No, my lords—please.

Your servant has indeed found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness by saving my life. But I can’t run to the mountains; the disaster will overtake me, and I will die.

But his wife looked back and became a pillar of salt.

But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “You are about to die because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman.”

Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, know that you will certainly die, you and all who are yours.”

But Sarah saw the son mocking—the one Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham.

But God said to Abraham, “Do not be concerned about the boy and your slave. Whatever Sarah says to you, listen to her, because your offspring will be traced through Isaac.

But I will also make a nation of the slave’s son because he is your offspring.”

Early in the morning Abraham got up, took bread and a waterskin, put them on Hagar’s shoulders, and sent her and the boy away. She left and wandered in the Wilderness of Beer-sheba.

But Abraham complained to Abimelech because of the water well that Abimelech’s servants had seized.

Abraham separated seven ewe lambs from the flock.

Then Isaac spoke to his father Abraham and said, “My father.”

And he replied, “Here I am, my son.”

Isaac said, “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!”

He replied, “Here I am.”

but will go to my land and my family to take a wife for my son Isaac.”

If the woman is unwilling to follow you, then you are free from this oath to me, but don’t let my son go back there.”

A meal was set before him, but he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I have to say.”

So Laban said, “Please speak.”

My master put me under this oath: ‘You will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I live

but will go to my father’s household and to my family to take a wife for my son.’

But I said to my master, ‘Suppose the woman will not come back with me?’

Then I asked her: Whose daughter are you? She responded, ‘The daughter of Bethuel son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to him.’ So I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists.

But her brother and mother said, “Let the girl stay with us for about 10 days. Then she can go.”

But he responded to them, “Do not delay me, since the Lord has made my journey a success. Send me away so that I may go to my master.”

And Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines, but while he was still alive he sent them eastward, away from his son Isaac, to the land of the East.

This was the field that Abraham bought from the Hittites. Abraham was buried there with his wife Sarah.

But the children inside her struggled with each other, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord.

When the boys grew up, Esau became an expert hunter, an outdoorsman, but Jacob was a quiet man who stayed at home.

Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for wild game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen and said, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Quarrel because they quarreled with him.

You will not harm us, just as we have not harmed you but have only done what was good to you, sending you away in peace. You are now blessed by the Lord.”

Jacob answered Rebekah his mother, “Look, my brother Esau is a hairy man, but I am a man with smooth skin.

She put the skins of the young goats on his hands and the smooth part of his neck.

But Isaac said to his son, “How did you ever find it so quickly, my son?”

He replied, “Because the Lord your God worked it out for me.”

So Jacob came closer to his father Isaac. When he touched him, he said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.”

But his father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?”

He answered, “I am Esau your firstborn son.”

But he replied, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.”

But Isaac answered Esau: “Look, I have made him a master over you, have given him all of his relatives as his servants, and have sustained him with grain and new wine. What then can I do for you, my son?”

You will live by your sword,
and you will serve your brother.
But when you rebel,
you will break his yoke from your neck.

He reached a certain place and spent the night there because the sun had set. He took one of the stones from the place, put it there at his head, and lay down in that place.

But they replied, “We can’t until all the flocks have been gathered and the stone is rolled from the well’s opening. Then we will water the sheep.”

Leah had ordinary eyes, but Rachel was shapely and beautiful.

When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was unable to conceive.

But Leah replied to her, “Isn’t it enough that you have taken my husband? Now you also want to take my son’s mandrakes?”

“Well,” Rachel said, “you can sleep with him tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.”

But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, stay. I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you.”

For you had very little before I came, but now your wealth has increased. The Lord has blessed you because of me. And now, when will I also do something for my own family?”

He put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob. Jacob, meanwhile, was shepherding the rest of Laban’s flock.

Jacob separated the lambs and made the flocks face the streaked and the completely dark sheep in Laban’s flocks. Then he set his own stock apart and didn’t put them with Laban’s sheep.

As for the weaklings of the flocks, he did not put out the branches. So it turned out that the weak sheep belonged to Laban and the stronger ones to Jacob.

He said to them, “I can see from your father’s face that his attitude toward me is not the same, but the God of my father has been with me.

and that he has cheated me and changed my wages 10 times. But God has not let him harm me.

Then Jacob got up and put his children and wives on the camels.

But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night. “Watch yourself!” God warned him. “Don’t say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”

but you didn’t even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters. You have acted foolishly.

I could do you great harm, but last night the God of your father said to me: ‘Watch yourself. Don’t say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.’