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

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.

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'?"

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

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 "

If you do what is appropriate, you'll be accepted, won't you? But if you don't do what is appropriate, sin is crouching near your doorway, turning toward you. Now as for you, will you take dominion over it?"

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

Now you're more cursed than the ground, which has opened to receive your brother's blood from your hand.

Whenever you work the ground, it will no longer yield its produce to you, and you'll wander throughout the earth as a fugitive."

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.

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."

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.

Now after the population of human beings had increased throughout the earth, and daughters had been born to them,

However, the LORD was pleased with Noah.

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

Noah fathered three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

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.

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.

Seven days from now I'll send rain on the earth for 40 days and 40 nights, and I'll destroy every living creature that I've made."

Noah did everything that the LORD commanded.

Noah was 600 years old when water began to flood the earth.

Noah, his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives entered the ark with him before the flood waters arrived.

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

On the seventeenth day of the second month, when Noah was 600 years old, all the springs of the great deep burst open, the floodgates of the heavens were opened,

On that very day, Noah entered the ark with his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, Noah's wife, his sons' three wives with them,

Two of each living creature entered the ark with Noah.

All existing creatures that had lived on the surface of the ground were annihilated, from humans to livestock, from crawling creatures to birds of the sky. They were wiped off the earth. Only Noah remained, along with those who were with him in the ark.

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.

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

but the dove could not yet find a place to rest, so it returned to Noah on the ark, since water still covered the land. Noah reached out his hand and took the dove back into the ark with him.

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

The dove returned to him in the evening, but in its beak there was an olive leaf that it had plucked! So Noah knew that the flood waters had decreased on the land.

In the six hundred and first year of Noah's life, during the first month, the flood water began to evaporate from the land. Noah then removed the ark's cover and saw that the surface of the land was drying.

God spoke to Noah,

So Noah, his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives emerged.

Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and offered burnt offerings on it from every clean animal and every clean bird.

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

All the living creatures of the earth will be filled with fear and terror of you from now on, including all the creatures that fly in the sky, everything that crawls on the ground, and all the fish of the ocean. They've been assigned to live under your dominion.

"Every living, moving creature will be food for you. Just as I gave you green plants before, so now you have everything.

Now as for you, be productive and multiply; spread out over the land and multiply throughout it."

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

Noah's sons who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham later fathered Canaan.)

These three were Noah's sons, and from these men the whole earth was repopulated.

Noah, a man of the soil, was the first to plant and farm a vineyard.

When Noah sobered up and learned what his youngest son had done to him,

Noah lived 350 years after the flood.

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

These are the records of Noah's sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, to whom descendants were born after the flood.

These are the families of Noah's sons, according to their records, by their nations. From these people, the nations on the earth spread out after the flood.

Now these are the family records of Terah: Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran fathered Lot.

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!"

Now Abram had become quite wealthy in livestock, silver, and gold.

Now the men of Sodom were particularly evil and sinful in their defiance of the LORD.

Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits, so when the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some of their people fell into them, while the rest fled to the hill country.

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

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

Now Abram's wife Sarai had not borne a child for him. She had an Egyptian servant girl whose name was Hagar.

Your name is no longer to be Abram. Instead your name will be Abraham, since I'll make you the father of many nations.

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.

Now as to Isaac, I'll confirm my covenant with him, to whom Sarah will give birth as your son at this time next year."

Now Sarah was listening at the tent entrance behind him. Abraham and Sarah were old really old and Sarah was beyond the age of childbearing.

Is anything impossible for the LORD? At the time set for it, I will return to you about a year from now and Sarah will have a son."

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

I'm going down to see whether they've acted according to the protests that have reached me. If not, I wish to know."

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.

"No! Please, my lords!" Lot pleaded with them.

One day the firstborn told the younger one, "Our father is old, and there's no man in the land to have sex with us, as everybody else throughout all the earth does.

Now Abimelech had not yet come near her, so he asked, "LORD, will you destroy an innocent nation?

Then God replied to him in the dream, "I know that you did this with pure intentions, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore, I didn't allow you to touch her.

Now then, return the man's wife. As a matter of fact, he's a prophet and can intercede for you so you'll live. But if you don't return her, be aware that you and all who are yours will certainly die."

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

Now Sarah had said, "God has caused me to laugh, and all who hear about it will laugh with me."

"I don't know who did this thing," Abimelech replied. "You didn't report this to me, and I didn't hear about it until today."

Abraham ordered his two servants, "Both of you are to stay here with the donkey. Now as for the youth and me, we'll go up there, we'll worship, and then we'll return to you."

Now after these things somebody told Abraham, "Look, Milcah has given birth to sons for your brother Nahor.

Now since Ephron the Hittite had taken a seat there among the Hittites, he responded publicly to Abraham where the Hittites and everyone who was entering the gate of his city could hear him:

"No, sir. Listen to me! I'll give you the field, and I'll give you the cave that's in it. I give it to you publicly, in the sight of my people. Bury your dead."

Now Abraham had grown old, was well advanced in age, and the LORD had blessed Abraham in every way.

May it be that the young woman to whom I ask, "Please, lower your jug so that I may drink,' responds, "Have a drink, and I'll water your camels as well.' May she be the one whom you have chosen for your servant Isaac. This is how I'll know that you have shown your gracious love to my master."

Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban, who ran out to the man and met him at the spring.

So now, if you wish to show gracious love and truth toward my master, tell me so. But if not, tell me, so that I may go elsewhere."

Now this is what happened to Ishmael, whom Sarah's Egyptian servant Hagar bore for Abraham.

But Jacob responded, "Sell me your birthright. Do it now."

But Jacob insisted, "Swear it by an oath right now." So he swore an oath to him and sold his birthright to Jacob.

"What have you done to us?" Abimelech asked. "Any minute now, one of the people could have had sex with your wife and you would have caused all of us to be guilty."

"Look how old I am! I could die any day now,

Now Rebekah overheard Isaac while he was speaking to his son Esau. When Esau had gone out to the field to hunt and bring in some game,

So now, my son, listen to what I have to say and pay attention to what I'm about to tell you.

So Isaac told Jacob, "Come here, my son, so I can feel you and know for sure whether or not you're my son Esau."

prepared some delicious food, brought it to his father, and told him, "Can you get up now, father, so you may eat some of your son's game and then bless me?"

Then he said, "Isn't his name rightly called Jacob?" Esau asked. "He has circumvented me this second time. First, he took away my birthright, and now, look how he also stole my blessing." Then he added, "Haven't you reserved a blessing for me?"

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."

Then Jacob woke up during the night and told himself, "Surely, the LORD is in this place and I never knew it!"

"Do you happen to know Nahor's son Laban?" he inquired. "We do," they replied.