Now the earth was without shape and empty, and darkness was over the surface of the watery deep, but the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the water.

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

God saw that the light was good, so God separated the light from the darkness.

God called the light "day" and the darkness "night." There was evening, and there was morning, marking the first day.

So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. It was so.

God called the expanse "sky." There was evening, and there was morning, a second day.

God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place and let dry ground appear." It was so.

God called the dry ground "land" and the gathered waters he called "seas." God saw that it was good.

God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: plants yielding seeds according to their kinds, and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds." It was so.

The land produced vegetation -- plants yielding seeds according to their kinds, and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. God saw that it was good.

There was evening, and there was morning, a third day.

and let them serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." It was so.

to preside over the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good.

There was evening, and there was morning, a fourth day.

God created the great sea creatures and every living and moving thing with which the water swarmed, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. God saw that it was good.

There was evening, and there was morning, a fifth day.

God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: cattle, creeping things, and wild animals, each according to its kind." It was so.

God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the cattle according to their kinds, and all the creatures that creep along the ground according to their kinds. God saw that it was good.

And to all the animals of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to all the creatures that move on the ground -- everything that has the breath of life in it -- I give every green plant for food." It was so.

God saw all that he had made -- and it was very good! There was evening, and there was morning, the sixth day.

The heavens and the earth were completed with everything that was in them.

Now no shrub of the field had yet grown on the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground.

The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow from the soil, every tree that was pleasing to look at and good for food. (Now the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil were in the middle of the orchard.)

The Lord God formed out of the ground every living animal of the field and every bird of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them, and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.

So the man named all the animals, the birds of the air, and the living creatures of the field, but for Adam no companion who corresponded to him was found.

So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he was asleep, he took part of the man's side and closed up the place with flesh.

Then the man said, "This one at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one will be called 'woman,' for she was taken out of man."

Now the serpent was more shrewd than any of the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, "Is it really true that God said, 'You must not eat from any tree of the orchard'?"

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

The man replied, "I heard you moving about in the orchard, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid."

The man named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all the living.

But Abel brought some of the firstborn of his flock -- even the fattest of them. And the Lord was pleased with Abel and his offering,

but with Cain and his offering he was not pleased. So Cain became very angry, and his expression was downcast.

Cain had marital relations with his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was building a city, and he named the city after his son Enoch.

To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael. Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech.

Lamech took two wives for himself; the name of the first was Adah, and the name of the second was Zillah.

Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the first of those who live in tents and keep livestock.

The name of his brother was Jubal; he was the first of all who play the harp and the flute.

Now Zillah also gave birth to Tubal-Cain, who heated metal and shaped all kinds of tools made of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah.

And a son was also born to Seth, whom he named Enosh. At that time people began to worship the Lord.

The length of time Adam lived after he became the father of Seth was 800 years; during this time he had other sons and daughters.

The entire lifetime of Adam was 930 years, and then he died.

The entire lifetime of Seth was 912 years, and then he died.

The entire lifetime of Enosh was 905 years, and then he died.

The entire lifetime of Kenan was 910 years, and then he died.

The entire lifetime of Mahalalel was 895 years, and then he died.

The entire lifetime of Jared was 962 years, and then he died.

The entire lifetime of Enoch was 365 years.

The entire lifetime of Methuselah was 969 years, and then he died.

The entire lifetime of Lamech was 777 years, and then he died.

After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

But the Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind had become great on the earth. Every inclination of the thoughts of their minds was only evil all the time.

The Lord regretted that he had made humankind on the earth, and he was highly offended.

This is the account of Noah. Noah was a godly man; he was blameless among his contemporaries. He walked with God.

The earth was ruined in the sight of God; the earth was filled with violence.

God saw the earth, and indeed it was ruined, for all living creatures on the earth were sinful.

Noah was 600 years old when the floodwaters engulfed the earth.

So the Lord destroyed every living thing that was on the surface of the ground, including people, animals, creatures that creep along the ground, and birds of the sky. They were wiped off the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark survived.

When the dove returned to him in the evening, there was a freshly plucked olive leaf in its beak! Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth.

In Noah's six hundred and first year, in the first day of the first month, the waters had dried up from the earth, and Noah removed the covering from the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry.

And by the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth was dry.

For your lifeblood I will surely exact punishment, from every living creature I will exact punishment. From each person I will exact punishment for the life of the individual since the man was his relative.

The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Now Ham was the father of Canaan.)

These were the sons of Noah, and from them the whole earth was populated.

The entire lifetime of Noah was 950 years, and then he died.

Cush was the father of Nimrod; he began to be a valiant warrior on the earth.

He was a mighty hunter before the Lord. (That is why it is said, "Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.")

Mizraim was the father of the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites,

Canaan was the father of Sidon his firstborn, Heth,

Arphaxad was the father of Shelah, and Shelah was the father of Eber.

Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg because in his days the earth was divided, and his brother's name was Joktan.

Joktan was the father of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah,

Their dwelling place was from Mesha all the way to Sephar in the eastern hills.

That is why its name was called Babel -- because there the Lord confused the language of the entire world, and from there the Lord scattered them across the face of the entire earth.

This is the account of Shem. Shem was 100 old when he became the father of Arphaxad, two years after the flood.

Haran died in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans, while his father Terah was still alive.

And Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife was Milcah; she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milcah and Iscah.

But Sarai was barren; she had no children.

The lifetime of Terah was 205 years, and he died in Haran.

So Abram left, just as the Lord had told him to do, and Lot went with him. (Now Abram was 75 years old when he departed from Haran.)

There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down to Egypt to stay for a while because the famine was severe.

When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.

When Pharaoh's officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. So Abram's wife was taken into the household of Pharaoh,

So Pharaoh summoned Abram and said, "What is this you have done to me? Why didn't you tell me that she was your wife?

(Now Abram was very wealthy in livestock, silver, and gold.)

This was the place where he had first built the altar, and there Abram worshiped the Lord.

Now Lot, who was traveling with Abram, also had flocks, herds, and tents.

Lot looked up and saw the whole region of the Jordan. He noticed that all of it was well-watered (before the Lord obliterated Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, all the way to Zoar.

Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits. When the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell into them, but some survivors fled to the hills.

They also took Abram's nephew Lot and his possessions when they left, for Lot was living in Sodom.

A fugitive came and told Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, the brother of Eshcol and Aner. (All these were allied by treaty with Abram.)

Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (Now he was the priest of the Most High God.)

When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking firepot with a flaming torch passed between the animal parts.

He had sexual relations with Hagar, and she became pregnant. Once Hagar realized she was pregnant, she despised Sarai.

Then Sarai said to Abram, "You have brought this wrong on me! I allowed my servant to have sexual relations with you, but when she realized that she was pregnant, she despised me. May the Lord judge between you and me!"

That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi. (It is located between Kadesh and Bered.)

(Now Abram was 86 years old when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.)

When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, "I am the sovereign God. Walk before me and be blameless.

Now Abraham was 99 years old when he was circumcised;

his son Ishmael was thirteen years old when he was circumcised.