God saw that the light was good (pleasing, useful) and He affirmed and sustained it; and God separated the light [distinguishing it] from the darkness.

And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that this was good (pleasing, useful) and He affirmed and sustained it.

The earth sprouted and abundantly produced vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, according to their kind; and God saw that it was good and He affirmed and sustained it.

God made the two great lights—the greater light (the sun) to rule the day, and the lesser light (the moon) to rule the night; He made the [galaxies of] stars also [that is, all the amazing wonders in the heavens].

to rule over the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good and He affirmed and sustained it.

God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind; and God saw that it was good and He affirmed and sustained it.

So God made the wild animals of the earth according to their kind, and the cattle according to their kind, and everything that creeps and crawls on the earth according to its kind; and God saw that it was good (pleasing, useful) and He affirmed and sustained it.

So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them.

God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good and He validated it completely. And there was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.

And by the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested (ceased) on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.

So God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it [as His own, that is, set it apart as holy from other days], because in it He rested from all His work which He had created and done.

And the Lord God planted a garden (oasis) in the east, in Eden (delight, land of happiness); and He put the man whom He had formed (created) there.

The gold of that land is good; bdellium (a fragrant, valuable resin) and the onyx stone are found there.

So the Lord God formed out of the ground every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name.

So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam; and while he slept, He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place.

And the rib which the Lord God had taken from the man He made (fashioned, formed) into a woman, and He brought her and presented her to the man.

Now the serpent was more crafty (subtle, skilled in deceit) than any living creature of the field which the Lord God had made. And the serpent (Satan) said to the woman, “Can it really be that God has said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was delightful to look at, and a tree to be desired in order to make one wise and insightful, she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate.

He said, “I heard the sound of You [walking] in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.”

God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten [fruit] from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”

“And I will put enmity (open hostility)
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed (offspring) and her Seed;
He shall [fatally] bruise your head,
And you shall [only] bruise His heel.”

To the woman He said,
“I will greatly multiply
Your pain in childbirth;
In pain you will give birth to children;
Yet your desire and longing will be for your husband,
And he will rule [with authority] over you and be responsible for you.”

Then to Adam the Lord God said, “Because you have listened [attentively] to the voice of your wife, and have eaten [fruit] from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’;

The ground is [now] under a curse because of you;
In sorrow and toil you shall eat [the fruit] of it
All the days of your life.

And the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us (Father, Son, Holy Spirit), knowing [how to distinguish between] good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take from the tree of life as well, and eat [its fruit], and live [in this fallen, sinful condition] forever”—

therefore the Lord God sent Adam away from the Garden of Eden, to till and cultivate the ground from which he was taken.

So God drove the man out; and at the east of the Garden of Eden He [permanently] stationed the cherubim and the sword with the flashing blade which turned round and round [in every direction] to protect and guard the way (entrance, access) to the tree of life.

but for Cain and his offering He had no respect. So Cain became extremely angry (indignant), and he looked annoyed and hostile.

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And he [lied and] said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”

Adah gave birth to Jabal; he became the father of those [nomadic herdsmen] who live in tents and have cattle and raise livestock.

His brother’s name was Jubal; he became the father of all those [musicians] who play the lyre and flute.

Zillah gave birth to Tubal-cain, the smith (craftsman) and teacher of every artisan in instruments of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

To Seth, also, a son was born, whom he named Enosh (mortal man, mankind). At that [same] time men began to call on the name of the Lord [in worship through prayer, praise, and thanksgiving].

This is the book (the written record, the history) of the generations of [the descendants of] Adam. When God created man, He made him in the likeness of God [not physical, but a spiritual personality and moral likeness].

He created them male and female, and blessed them and named them Mankind at the time they were created.

When Adam had lived a hundred and thirty years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth.

After he became the father of Seth, Adam lived eight hundred years and had other sons and daughters.

So Adam lived nine hundred and thirty years in all, and he died.

So Seth lived nine hundred and twelve years, and he died.

So Enosh lived nine hundred and five years, and he died.

So Kenan lived nine hundred and ten years, and he died.

So Mahalalel lived eight hundred and ninety-five years, and he died.

So Jared lived nine hundred and sixty-two years, and he died.

And [in reverent fear and obedience] Enoch walked with God; and he was not [found among men], because God took him [away to be home with Him].

So Methuselah lived nine hundred and sixty-nine years, and he died.

He named him Noah, saying, “This one shall bring us rest and comfort from our work and from the [dreadful] toil of our hands because of the ground which the Lord cursed.”

So all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy-seven years, and he died.

After Noah was five hundred years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive and remain with man forever, because he is indeed flesh [sinful, corrupt—given over to sensual appetites]; nevertheless his days shall yet be a hundred and twenty years.”

The Lord regretted that He had made mankind on the earth, and He was [deeply] grieved in His heart.

God looked on the earth and saw how debased and degenerate it was, for all humanity had corrupted their way on the earth and lost their true direction.

So Noah did this; according to all that God commanded him, that is what he did.

The flood [the great downpour of rain] was forty days and nights on the earth; and the waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it floated [high] above the land.

The waters prevailed so greatly and were so mighty and overwhelming on the earth, so that all the high mountains everywhere under the heavens were covered.

[In fact] the waters became fifteen cubits higher [than the highest ground], and the mountains were covered.

The waters continued to decrease until the tenth month; on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains were seen.

At the end of [another] forty days Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made;

Then Noah sent out a dove to see if the water level had fallen below the surface of the land.

But the dove found no place on which to rest the sole of her foot, and she returned to him to the ark, for the waters were [still] on the face of the entire earth. So he reached out his hand and took the dove, and brought her into the ark.

He waited another seven days and again sent the dove out from the ark.

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

“Whoever sheds man’s blood [unlawfully],
By man (judicial government) shall his blood be shed,
For in the image of God
He made man.

And Noah began to farm and cultivate the ground and he planted a vineyard.

He drank some of the wine and became drunk, and he was uncovered and lay exposed inside his tent.

So he said,

“Cursed be Canaan [the son of Ham];
A servant of servants
He shall be to his brothers.”

He also said,

“Blessed be the Lord,
The God of Shem;
And let Canaan be his servant.

So all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years, and he died.

Cush became the father of Nimrod; he became a mighty one on the earth.

He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the Lord.”

From that land Nimrod went to Assyria, and built Nineveh, and Rehoboth-Ir, and Calah,

These are the records of the generations of Shem [from whom Abraham descended]. Shem was a hundred years old when he became the father of Arpachshad, two years after the flood.

When Arpachshad had lived thirty-five years, he became the father of Shelah.

When Shelah had lived thirty years, he became the father of Eber.

When Eber had lived thirty-four years, he became the father of Peleg.

When Peleg had lived thirty years, he became the father of Reu.

When Reu had lived thirty-two years, he became the father of Serug.

When Serug had lived thirty years, he became the father of Nahor.

When Nahor had lived twenty-nine years, he became the father of Terah.

After Terah had lived seventy years, he became the father of Abram and Nahor and Haran [his firstborn].

So Abram departed [in faithful obedience] as the Lord had directed him; and Lot [his nephew] left with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.

Then he moved on from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord [in worship through prayer, praise, and thanksgiving].

And when he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “Listen: I know that you are a beautiful woman;

Therefore Pharaoh treated Abram well for her sake; he acquired sheep, oxen, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.

So Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they escorted him on his way, with his wife and all that he had.

So Abram went up out of Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot [his nephew] with him, into the Negev (the South country of Judah).

He journeyed on from the Negev as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai,

where he had first built an altar; and there Abram called on the name of the Lord [in prayer].

Then Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan, and he traveled east. So they separated from each other.

When Abram heard that his nephew [Lot] had been captured, he armed and led out his trained men, born in his own house, [numbering] three hundred and eighteen, and went in pursuit as far [north] as Dan.

He divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and attacked and defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus.

And he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his nephew Lot and his possessions, and also the women, and the people.

Melchizedek king of Salem (ancient Jerusalem) brought out bread and wine [for them]; he was the priest of God Most High.

And Melchizedek blessed Abram and said,

“Blessed (joyful, favored) be Abram by God Most High,
Creator and Possessor of heaven and earth;

And blessed, praised, and glorified be God Most High,
Who has given your enemies into your hand.”

And Abram gave him a tenth of all [the treasure he had taken in battle].

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

Abram said, “Lord God, what reward will You give me, since I am [leaving this world] childless, and he who will be the owner and heir of my house is this [servant] Eliezer from Damascus?”

Then behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This man [Eliezer] will not be your heir but he who shall come from your own body shall be your heir.”

And the Lord brought Abram outside [his tent into the night] and said, “Look now toward the heavens and count the stars—if you are able to count them.” Then He said to him, “So [numerous] shall your descendants be.”

Then Abram believed in (affirmed, trusted in, relied on, remained steadfast to) the Lord; and He counted (credited) it to him as righteousness (doing right in regard to God and man).

And He said to him, “I am the [same] Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land as an inheritance.”