And God made the firmament [the expanse] and separated the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse. And it was so.

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.

This is the history of the heavens and of the earth when they were created. In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens -- "

And the man and his wife were both naked and were not embarrassed or ashamed in each other's presence.

Then the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves apronlike girdles.

And He said, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?

In the sweat of your face shall you eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you shall return.

And Cain said to his brother, Let us go out to the field. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.

He created them male and female and blessed them and named them [both] Adam [Man] at the time they were created.

So all the days of Enoch were 365 years.

So all the days of Lamech were 777 years, and he died.

When men began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them,

The sons of God saw that the daughters of men were fair, and they took wives of all they desired and chose.

There were giants on the earth in those days -- "and also afterward -- "when the sons of God lived with the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.

In the year 600 of Noah's life, in the seventeenth day of the second month, that same day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up and burst forth, and the windows and floodgates of the heavens were opened.

And they went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there were the breath and spirit of life.

And the waters prevailed so exceedingly and were so mighty upon the earth that all the high hills under the whole sky were covered.

[In fact] the waters became fifteen cubits higher, as the high hills were covered.

Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils were the breath and spirit of life died.

God destroyed (blotted out) every living thing that was upon the face of the earth; man and animals and the creeping things and the birds of the heavens were destroyed (blotted out) from the land. Only Noah remained alive, and those who were with him in the ark.

And God [earnestly] remembered Noah and every living thing and all the animals that were with him in the ark; and God made a wind blow over the land, and the waters sank down and abated.

Also the fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, the gushing rain from the sky was checked,

And the waters continued to diminish until the tenth month; on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the high hills were seen.

And sent forth a raven, which kept going to and fro until the waters were dried up from the land.

But the dove found no resting-place on which to roost, and she returned to him to the ark, for the waters were [yet] on the face of the whole land. So he put forth his hand and drew her to him into the ark.

In the year 601 [of Noah's life], on the first day of the first month, the waters were drying up from the land. And Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked, and behold, the surface of the ground was drying.

The sons of Noah who went forth from the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham was the father of Canaan [born later].

So Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it upon the shoulders of both, and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they did not see their father's nakedness.

All the days of Noah were 950 years, and he died.

This is the history of the generations (descendants) of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. The sons born to them after the flood were:

To Shem also, the younger brother of Japheth and the ancestor of all the children of Eber [including the Hebrews], children were born.

To Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg [division], because [the inhabitants of] the earth were divided up in his days; and his brother's name was Joktan.

Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab; all these were the sons of Joktan.

Now the land was not able to nourish and support them so they could dwell together, for their possessions were too great for them to live together.

And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's cattle and the herdsmen of Lot's cattle. And the Canaanite and the Perizzite were dwelling then in the land [making fodder more difficult to obtain].

But the men of Sodom were wicked and exceedingly great sinners against the Lord.

And in the fourteenth year, Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him attacked and subdued the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim,

Now the Valley of Siddim was full of slime or bitumen pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell (were overthrown) there and the remainder [of the kings] fled to the mountain.

Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew [one from the other side], who was living by the oaks or terebinths of Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshcol and of Aner -- "these were allies of Abram.

After his [Abram's] return from the defeat and slaying of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh, that is, the King's Valley.

And Abraham took Ishmael his son and all who were born in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among [those] of Abraham's house, and circumcised [them] the very same day, as God had said to him.

And all the men of his house, both those born in the house and those bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised along with him.

Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in years; it had ceased to be with Sarah as with [young] women. [She was past the age of childbearing].

And they struck the men who were at the door of the house with blindness [which dazzled them], from the youths to the old men, so that they wearied themselves [groping] to find the door.

And Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, and said, Up, get out of this place, for the Lord will spoil and destroy this city! But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be [only] joking.

Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father.

So Abimelech rose early in the morning and called all his servants and told them all these things; and the men were exceedingly filled with reverence and fear.

So the field of Ephron in Machpelah, which was to the east of Mamre [Hebron] -- "the field and the cave which was in it, and all the trees that were in the field and in all its borders round about -- "was made over

The field and the cave in it were conveyed to Abraham for a permanent burial place by the sons of Heth.

So the man came into the house; and [Laban] ungirded his camels and gave straw and provender for the camels and water to bathe his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.

Then they ate and drank, he and the men who were with him, and stayed there all night. And in the morning they arose, and he said. Send me away to my master.

And Isaac went out to meditate and bow down [in prayer] in the open country in the evening; and he looked up and saw that, behold, the camels were coming.

Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. The sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim.

The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah.

The days of Abraham's life were 175 years.

When her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.

And [Isaac] built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord and pitched his tent there; and there Isaac's servants were digging a well.

When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau his elder son, and said to him, My son! And he answered him, Here I am.

Then Rebekah took her elder son Esau's best clothes which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son.

He could not identify him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau's hands; so he blessed him.

These words of Esau her elder son were repeated to Rebekah. She sent for Jacob her younger son and said to him, See here, your brother Esau comforts himself concerning you [by intending] to kill you.

And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it!

As he looked, he saw a well in the field; and behold, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it, for out of that well the flocks were watered. The stone on the well's mouth was a big one,

And when all the flocks were gathered there, [the shepherds] would roll the stone from the well's mouth, water the sheep, and replace the stone on the well's mouth.

Leah's eyes were weak and dull looking, but Rachel was beautiful and attractive.

But that same day [Laban] removed the he-goats that were streaked and spotted and all the she-goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had white on it, and every black lamb, and put them in charge of his sons.

And whenever the stronger animals were breeding, Jacob laid the rods in the watering troughs before the eyes of the flock, that they might breed and conceive among the rods.

But when the sheep and goats were feeble, he omitted putting the rods there; so the feebler animals were Laban's and the stronger Jacob's.

And I had a dream at the time the flock conceived. I looked up and saw that the rams which mated with the she-goats were streaked, speckled, and spotted.

And now you felt you must go because you were homesick for your father's house, but why did you steal my [household] gods?

Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two groups,

Jacob heard that [Shechem] had defiled Dinah his daughter. Now his sons were with his livestock in the field. So Jacob held his peace until they came.

When Jacob's sons heard it, they came from the field; and they were distressed and grieved and very angry, for [Shechem] had done a vile thing to Israel in lying with Jacob's daughter, which ought not to be done.

But on the third day [after the circumcision] when [all the men] were sore, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's [full] brothers, took their swords, boldly entered the city [without danger], and slew all the males.

Then Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, Put away the [images of] strange gods that are among you, and purify yourselves and change [into fresh] garments;

So they [both young men and women] gave to Jacob all the strange gods they had and their earrings which were [worn as charms against evil] in their ears; and Jacob buried and hid them under the oak near Shechem.

When Israel dwelt there, Reuben [his eldest son] went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine; and Israel heard about it. Now Jacob's sons were twelve.

Now the days of Isaac were 180 years.

For their great flocks and herds and possessions [which they had collected] made it impossible for them to dwell together; the land in which they were strangers could not support them because of their livestock.

And the sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz.

We [brothers] were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright, and behold, your sheaves stood round about my sheaf and bowed down!

Joseph's brothers envied him and were jealous of him, but his father observed the saying and pondered over it.

But the man said, [They were here, but] they have gone. I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

Then as the Midianite [and Ishmaelite] merchants were passing by, the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the well. And they sold him for twenty pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took Joseph [captive] into Egypt.

Again she conceived and bore a son and named him Shelah. [They were living] at Chezib when she bore him.

Now when the time came for her to be delivered, behold, there were twins in her womb.

Then it happened about this time that Joseph went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the men of the house were indoors.

And Joseph's master took him and put him in the prison, a place where the state prisoners were confined; so he was there in the prison.

And the warden of the prison committed to Joseph's care all the prisoners who were in the prison; and whatsoever was done there, he was in charge of it.

And they both dreamed a dream in the same night, each man according to [the personal significance of] the interpretation of his dream -- "the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison.

When Joseph came to them in the morning and looked at them, he saw that they were sad and depressed.

So he asked Pharaoh's officers who were in custody with him in his master's house, Why do you look so dejected and sad today?

And on the vine were three branches. Then it was as though it budded; its blossoms burst forth and the clusters of them brought forth ripe grapes [almost all at once].

Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your position, and you will again put Pharaoh's cup into his hand, as when you were his butler.

And in the uppermost basket were some of all kinds of baked food for Pharaoh, but the birds [of prey] were eating out of the basket on my head.

And when they had eaten them up, it could not be detected and known that they had eaten them, for they were still as thin and emaciated as at the beginning. Then I awoke. [But again I fell asleep and dreamed.]

Now to Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, whom Asenath daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On, bore to him.

When the seven years of plenty were ended in the land of Egypt,

Joseph saw his brethren and he recognized them, but he treated them as if he were a stranger to them and spoke roughly to them. He said, Where do you come from? And they replied, From the land of Canaan to buy food.

And he said to his brothers, My money is restored! Here it is in my sack! And their hearts failed them and they were afraid and turned trembling one to another, saying, What is this that God has done to us?