In the beginning, God created the universe.

When the earth was as yet unformed and desolate, with the surface of the ocean depths shrouded in darkness, and while the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters,

God said, "Let there be light!" So there was light.

God saw that the light was beautiful. He separated the light from the darkness,

Then God said, "Let there be a canopy between bodies of water, separating bodies of water from bodies of water!"

So God made a canopy that separated the water beneath the canopy from the water above it. And that is what happened:

God called the canopy "sky." The twilight and the dawn were the second day.

Then God said, "Let the water beneath the sky come together into one area, and let dry ground appear!" And that is what happened:

God called the dry ground "land," and he called the water that had come together "oceans." And God saw how good it was.

Then God said, "Let vegetation sprout all over the earth, including seed-bearing plants and fruit trees, each kind containing its own seed!" And that is what happened:

Vegetation sprouted all over the earth, including seed-bearing plants and fruit trees, each kind containing its own seed. And God saw that it was good.

Then God said, "Let there be lights across the sky to distinguish day from night, to act as signs for seasons, days, and years,

God fashioned two great lights the larger light to shine during the day and the smaller light to shine during the night as well as stars.

God placed them in space to shine on the earth,

to differentiate between day and night, and to distinguish light from darkness. And God saw how good it was.

Then God said, "Let the oceans swarm with living creatures, and let flying creatures soar above the earth throughout the sky!"

So God created every kind of magnificent marine creature, every kind of living marine crawler with which the waters swarmed, and every kind of flying creature. And God saw how good it was.

God blessed them by saying, "Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the oceans. Let the birds multiply throughout the earth!"

Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth each kind of living creature, each kind of livestock and crawling thing, and each kind of earth's animals!" And that is what happened:

God made each kind of the earth's animals, along with every kind of livestock and crawling thing. And God saw how good it was.

Then God said, "Let us make mankind in our image, to be like us. Let them be masters over the fish in the ocean, the birds that fly, the livestock, everything that crawls on the earth, and over the earth itself!"

So God created mankind in his own image; in his own image God created them; he created them male and female.

God blessed the humans by saying to them, "Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it! Be masters over the fish in the ocean, the birds that fly, and every living thing that crawls on the earth!"

God also told them, "Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant that grows throughout the earth, along with every tree that grows seed-bearing fruit. They will produce your food.

Now God saw all that he had made, and indeed, it was very good! The twilight and the dawn were the sixth day.

By the seventh day God had completed the work he had been doing, so on the seventh day he stopped working on everything that he had done.

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

These are the records of the universe at its creation. Onthe day that the LORD God made the earth and skies,

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.

So the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground, breathed life into his lungs, and the man became a living being.

The LORD God planted a garden in Eden, toward the east, where he placed the man whom he had formed.

The LORD God caused every tree that is both beautiful and suitable for food to spring up out of the ground. The tree of life was also in the middle of the garden, along with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

The LORD God took the man and placed him in the Garden of Eden in order to have him work it and guard it.

The LORD God commanded the man: "You may freely eat from every tree of the garden,

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."

Later, the LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make the woman to be an authority corresponding to him."

After the LORD God formed from the ground every wild animal and every bird that flies, he brought each of them to the man to see what he would call it. Whatever the man called each living creature became its name.

so the LORD God caused a deep sleep to overshadow the man.

When the man was asleep, he removed one of the man's ribs and closed up the flesh where it had been. Then the LORD God formed the rib that he had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man.

Now the Shining One was more clever than any animal of the field that the LORD God had made. He asked the woman, "Did God actually say, "You are not to eat from any tree of the garden'?"

"but as for the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, God has said, "You are not to eat from it, nor are you to touch it, or you will die.'"

"Even God knows that on the day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened and you'll become like God, knowing good and evil."

When the woman saw that the tree produced good food, was attractive in appearance, and was desirable for making one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate it. Then she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate some, too.

Whenthey heard the voice of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden during the breeze of the day, the man and his wife concealed themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

So the LORD God called out to the man, asking him, "Where are you?"

Then the LORD God asked the woman, "What did you do?" "The Shining One misled me," the woman answered, "so I ate."

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.

The LORD God fashioned garments from animal skins for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.

Later, the LORD God said, "Look! The man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, so he won't reach out, also take from the tree of life, eat, and then live forever "

therefore the LORD God expelled the man from the garden of Eden so he would work the ground from which he had been taken.

After he had expelled the man, the LORD God placed winged angels at the eastern end of the garden of Eden, along with a fiery, turning sword, to prevent access to the tree of life.

"What did you do?" God asked. "Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground.

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."

This is the historical record of Adam's generations. When God created mankind, he made them in his own likeness.

After he fathered Methuselah, Enoch communed with God for 300 years and fathered other sons and daughters.

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

These are the family records of Noah: Noah was a righteous man. Blameless during his times, Noah communed with God.

By this time, the earth had become ruined in God's opinion and filled with violence.

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.

Noah did all of this, precisely as God had commanded.

two by two, male and female, they entered the ark to join Noah, just as God had commanded.

The males and females of each living creature entered the ark, just as God had commanded. Then the LORD sealed them inside.

God kept Noah in mind, along with all the wildlife and livestock that were with him in the ark. God's Spirit moved throughout the earth, causing the flood waters to subside.

God spoke to Noah,

God blessed Noah and his sons and ordered them, "Be productive, multiply, and fill the earth.

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

Later, God told Noah and his sons,

I will establish my covenant with you: No living beings will ever be cut off again by flood waters, and there will never again be a flood that destroys the earth."

God also said, "Here's the symbol that represents the covenant that I'm making between me and you and every living being with you, for all future generations:

When the rainbow is in the clouds, I will observe it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living beings on the earth."

God also told Noah, "This is the symbol of the covenant that I've established between me and everything that lives on the earth."

He drank some of the wine, got drunk, and lay down naked right in the middle of his tent.

He also said, "Blessed be the LORD God of Shem, and may Canaan be his slave.

May God make room for Japheth; may God live in Shem's tents, and may Canaan serve him."

Why did you say, "She is my sister,' so that I took her as a wife for myself? Now, here is your wife! Take her and get out!"

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

King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine, since he was serving as the priest of God Most High.

Melchizedek blessed Abram and said, "Abram is blessed by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth,

and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your control." Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

But Abram answered the king of Sodom, "I have made an oath to the LORD God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth,

But Abram replied, "Lord GOD, what can you give me since I continue to be childless, and the heir of my household is Eliezer from Damascus?

But he replied, "Lord GOD, how will I know that I will inherit it?"

The LORD responded, "Bring me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon."

So Abram brought him all these animals and cut each of them in half, down the middle, placing the pieces opposite each other, but he did not cut the birds in half.

Now as for you, you'll die peacefully, join your ancestors, and be buried at a good old age.

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."

When Abram was 99 years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and announced, "I am God Almighty. Live in constant awareness that I'm always with you, and be blameless.

Then Abram fell to the ground as God continued speaking to him.

I'm establishing my covenant between me and you, and with your descendants who come after you, generation after generation, as an eternal covenant, to be your God and your descendants' God after you.

I'll give to you and to your descendants the land to which you have traveled all the land of Canaan as an eternal possession. I will be their God."

God continued to speak to Abraham, "You and your descendants who are born in the future are to keep my covenant that is, you and your descendants, generation after generation.

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

So Abraham responded to God, "If only Ishmael would live in constant awareness that you're always with him!"

But God replied, "No, but your wife Sarah will give birth to your son, and you are to name him Isaac. I'll confirm my covenant with him as an eternal covenant for his descendants.

With that, God finished talking to Abraham, and ascended, leaving him.

Abraham took his son Ishmael and all the servants born in his house or purchased with his money every male among the men of his household and circumcised them that very day, just as God had spoken to him.

The two angels entered Sodom at sunset while Lot was sitting in the gate area of the city. When Lot saw them, he got up, greeted them, bowed low with his face to the ground,

and said, "Look, my lords! Please come inside your servant's house, wash your feet, and spend the night. Then you can get up early and be on your way." But they responded, "No, we would rather spend the night in the town square."

But they replied, "Get out of the way! This man came here as a foreigner, and now he's acting like a judge! So we're going to deal more harshly with you than with them." Then they pushed hard against the man (that is, against Lot), intending to break down the door.