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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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'?"

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.

"I'll place hostility between you and the woman, between your offspring and her offspring. He'll strike you on the head, and you'll strike him on the heel."

He told the woman, "I'll greatly increase the pain of your labor during childbirth. It will be painful for you to bear children, "since your trust is turning toward your husband, and he will dominate you."

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.

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.

Later, after a while, Cain brought an offering to the LORD from the fruit that he had harvested,

but he did not look favorably upon Cain and his offering.

Later, the LORD asked Cain, "Where's your brother Abel?" "I don't know," he answered. "Am I my brother's guardian?"

His brother was named Jubal; he became the ancestor of all those who play the lyre and the flute.

Seth also fathered a son, whom he named Enosh. At that time, profaning the name of the LORD began.

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

Creating them male and female, he blessed them and called them humans when he created them.

After Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son just like him, that is, according to his own likeness, and named him Seth.

Adam lived another 800 years, fathering other sons and daughters after he had fathered Seth.

When Seth had lived 105 years, he fathered Enosh.

After he fathered Enosh, Seth lived 807 years, fathering other sons and daughters.

When Enosh had lived 90 years, he fathered Kenan.

After he fathered Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years, fathering other sons and daughters.

When Kenan had lived 70 years, he fathered Mahalalel.

After he fathered Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years, fathering other sons and daughters.

When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he fathered Jared.

After he fathered Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years, fathering other sons and daughters.

When Jared had lived 162 years, he fathered Enoch.

After he fathered Enoch, Jared lived 800 years, fathering other sons and daughters.

When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah.

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.

When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he fathered Lamech.

After he fathered Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years, fathering other sons and daughters.

When Lamech had lived 182 years, he fathered a son,

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."

After he fathered Noah, Lamech lived 595 years, fathering other sons and daughters.

After Noah had lived 500 years, he fathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

some divine beings noticed how attractive human women were, so they took wives for themselves from a selection that pleased them.

Then the LORD regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and he was deeply grieved about that.

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

Make the ark like this: 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high.

After 40 days, Noah opened the window of the ark that he had built

Later, he sent a dove out from the ark to see whether the water that covered the land's surface had completely receded,

He waited seven more days and sent the dove out again, but it did not return to him anymore.

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.

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

he said, "Canaan is cursed! He will be the lowest of slaves to his relatives."

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

After Noah had lived a total of 950 years, he died.

He became a fearless hunter in defiance of the LORD. That is why it is said, "Like Nimrod, a fearless hunter in defiance of the LORD."

From there he went north to Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth-ir, and Calah,

These are the family records of Shem. When Shem had lived 100 years, he fathered Arpachshad two years after the flood.

Shem lived 500 years after he fathered Arpachshad and had other sons and daughters.

When Arpachshad had lived 35 years, he fathered Cainan.

After he fathered Cainan, Arpachshad lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters, and then died. Cainan lived 130 years and fathered Shelah. After he fathered Shelah, Cainan lived 330 years and had other sons and daughters, and then died.

When Shelah had lived 30 years, he fathered Eber.

After he fathered Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

When Eber had lived 34 years, he fathered Peleg.

After he fathered Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.

When Peleg had lived 30 years, he fathered Reu.

After he fathered Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.

When Reu had lived 32 years, he fathered Serug.

After he fathered Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.

When Serug had lived 30 years, he fathered Nahor.

After he fathered Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.

When Nahor had lived 29 years, he fathered Terah.

After he fathered Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.

When Terah had lived 70 years, he fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

So Abram left there, as the LORD had directed him, and Lot accompanied him. Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran.

Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated, and the servants he had acquired while living in Haran. Then they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they arrived in the land of Canaan,

From there Abram traveled on to the hill country east of Bethel and set up his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD.

When he was about to enter Egypt, he told his wife Sarai, "Look, I'm aware that you're a beautiful woman.

As Abram was entering Egypt, the Egyptians noticed how beautiful Sarai was.

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

So Pharaoh assigned men to Abram, and they escorted him, his wife, and all that he had out of the country.

He journeyed by stages from the Negev to Bethel, the place where his tent had formerly been, between Bethel and Ai,

where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the LORD.

So Abram moved his tent and settled beside the oaks of Mamre that are by Hebron, where he built an altar to the LORD.

They also took Abram's nephew Lot captive, and confiscated his possessions, since he was living in Sodom.

When Abram heard that his nephew had been taken prisoner, he gathered together 318 of his trained men, who had been born in his household, and they went out in pursuit as far as Dan.

He recovered all the goods and brought back his nephew Lot, together with his possessions, the women, and the other people.

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,

Some time later, a message came from the LORD to Abram in a vision. "Stop being afraid, Abram," he said. "I myself your shield am your very great reward."

Then the LORD took him outside. "Look up at the sky and count the stars if you can!" he said. "Your descendants will be that numerous."

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