This is the history of [the origin of] the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day [that is, days of creation] that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens—

no shrub or plant of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb 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,

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.

Cain talked with Abel his brother [about what God had said]. And when they were [alone, working] in the field, Cain attacked Abel his brother and killed him.

When you cultivate the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength [it will resist producing good crops] for you; you shall be a fugitive and a vagabond [roaming aimlessly] on the earth [in perpetual exile without a home, a degraded outcast].”

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].

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.

When Seth was a hundred and five years old, he became the father of Enosh.

When Enosh was ninety years old, he became the father of Kenan.

When Kenan was seventy years old, he became the father of Mahalalel.

When Mahalalel was sixty-five years old, he became the father of Jared.

When Jared was a hundred and sixty-two years old, he became the father of Enoch.

When Enoch was sixty-five years old, he became the father of Methuselah.

When Methuselah was a hundred and eighty-seven years old, he became the father of Lamech.

When Lamech was a hundred and eighty-two years old, he became the father of a son.

Now it happened, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them,

There were Nephilim (men of stature, notorious men) on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God lived with the daughters of men, and they gave birth to their children. These were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown (great reputation, fame).

Noah was six hundred years old when the flood (deluge) of water came on the earth [covering all of the land].

The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma [a soothing, satisfying scent] and the Lord said to Himself, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intent (strong inclination, desire) of man’s heart is wicked from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done.

It shall come about, when I bring clouds over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the clouds,

When the rainbow is in the clouds and I look at it, I will [solemnly] remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”

When Noah awoke from his wine [induced stupor], he knew what his younger son [Ham] had done to him.

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.

Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went out together to go from Ur of the Chaldeans into the land of Canaan; but when they came to Haran [about five hundred and fifty miles northwest of Ur], they settled there.

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.

Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had acquired, and the people (servants) which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan,

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

so when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me [to acquire you], but they will let you live.

And when Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was very beautiful.

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.

The birds of prey swooped down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.

When the sun was setting, a deep sleep overcame Abram; and a horror (terror, shuddering fear, nightmare) of great darkness overcame him.

When the sun had gone down and a [deep] darkness had come, there appeared a smoking brazier and a flaming torch which passed between the [divided] pieces [of the animals].

He went in to [the bed of] Hagar, and she conceived; and when she realized that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress [regarding Sarai as insignificant because of her infertility].

Then Sarai said to Abram, “May [the responsibility for] the wrong done to me [by the arrogant behavior of Hagar] be upon you. I gave my maid into your arms, and when she realized that she had conceived, I was despised and looked on with disrespect. May the Lord judge [who has done right] between you and me.”

But Abram said to Sarai, “Look, your maid is entirely in your hands and subject to your authority; do as you please with her.” So Sarai treated her harshly and humiliated her, and Hagar fled from her.

Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said,

“I am God Almighty;
Walk [habitually] before Me [with integrity, knowing that you are always in My presence], and be blameless and complete [in obedience to Me].

So Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised.

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

He said, “I will surely return to you at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door, which was behind him.

And the Lord asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh [to herself], saying, ‘Shall I really give birth [to a child] when I am so old?’

Is anything too difficult or too wonderful for the Lord? At the appointed time, when the season [for her delivery] comes, I will return to you and Sarah will have a son.”

As soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham the Lord departed, and Abraham returned to his own place.

It was evening when the two angels came to Sodom. Lot was sitting at Sodom’s [city] gate. Seeing them, Lot got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground.

When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot [to hurry], saying, “Get up! Take your wife and two daughters who are here [and go], or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city.”

When they had brought them outside, one [of the angels] said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, or stop anywhere in the entire valley; escape to the mountains [of Moab], or you will be consumed and swept away.”

The sun had risen over the earth when Lot came to Zoar.

Now when God ravaged and destroyed the cities of the plain [of Siddim], He remembered Abraham [and for that reason], and He sent [Abraham’s nephew] Lot out of the midst of the destruction, when He destroyed the cities in which Lot had lived.

So they gave their father wine that night, and the firstborn went in and lay with her father; and he did not know when she lay down or when she got up [because he was completely intoxicated].

So they gave their father wine that night also, and the younger got up and lay with him; and again he did not know when she lay down or when she got up.

When God caused me to wander from my father’s house, I said to her, ‘This kindness and loyalty you can show me: at every place we stop, say of me, “He is my brother.”’”

So Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, just as God had commanded him.

Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born.

When the water in the skin was all gone, Hagar abandoned the boy under one of the bushes.

Then Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well of water which the servants of Abimelech had [violently] seized [from him],

When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood, and bound Isaac his son and placed him on the altar, on top of the wood.

He made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at the time of the evening when women go out to draw water.

When she had given Eliezer a drink, she said, “I will also draw water for your camels until they have finished drinking.”

When the camels had finished drinking, Eliezer took a gold ring weighing a half-shekel and two bracelets for her hands weighing ten shekels in gold,

When he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister’s arms, and when he heard Rebekah his sister, saying, “The man said this to me,” he went to Eliezer and found him standing by the camels at the spring.

Now Sarah my master’s wife bore a son to my master when she was in her old age, and he has given everything that he has to him.

then you will be free of my oath, when you come to my relatives; and if they do not give her to you, you will [also] be free of my oath.’

please look, I am standing by the spring of water; now let it be that when the maiden [whom You have chosen for Isaac] comes out to draw [water], and to whom I say, “Please, give me a little water to drink from your jar”;

When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed himself to the ground [in worship] before the Lord.

Rebekah also raised her eyes and looked, and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from her camel.

Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean (Syrian) of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean.

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

Afterward his brother came out, and his hand grasped Esau’s heel, so he was named Jacob (one who grabs by the heel, supplanter). Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.

When the boys grew up, Esau was an able and skilled hunter, a man of the outdoors, but Jacob was a quiet and peaceful man, living in tents.

Jacob had cooked [reddish-brown lentil] stew [one day], when Esau came from the field and was famished;

It happened when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw Isaac caressing Rebekah his wife.

When Esau was forty years old he married Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite as his wives;

Now when Isaac was old and his eyes were too dim to see, he called his elder [and favorite] son Esau and said to him, “My son.” And Esau answered him, “Here I am.”

Isaac said, “See here, I am old; I do not know when I may die.

But Rebekah overheard what Isaac said to Esau his son; and when Esau had gone to the open country to hunt for game that he might bring back,

When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with a great and extremely bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me, even me also, O my father!”

But you shall live by your sword,
And serve your brother;
However it shall come to pass when you break loose [from your anger and hatred],
That you will tear his yoke off your neck [and you will be free of him].”

So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him; and Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are very near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”

When your brother’s anger toward you subsides and he forgets what you did to him, then I will send and bring you back from there. Why should I be deprived of you both in a single day?”

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

When Jacob saw [his cousin] Rachel, the daughter of Laban, his mother’s brother, and Laban’s sheep, he came up and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered the flock of Laban, his uncle.

When Laban heard of the arrival of Jacob, his sister’s son, he ran to meet him, and embraced and kissed him and brought him to his house. Then he told Laban all these things.

But in the evening he took Leah his daughter and brought her to Jacob, and Jacob went in to [consummate the marriage with] her.

Now when the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, He made her able to bear children, but Rachel was barren.

When Rachel saw that she conceived no children for Jacob, she envied her sister, and said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I will die.”

She said, “Here, take my maid Bilhah and go in to her; and [when the baby comes] she shall deliver it [while sitting] on my knees, so that by her I may also have children [to count as my own].”

When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing [children], she took Zilpah her maid and gave her to Jacob as a [secondary] wife.

Now when Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, that I may go back to my own place and to my own country.

For you had little before I came and it has increased and multiplied abundantly, and the Lord has favored you with blessings wherever I turned. But now, when shall I provide for my own household?”

So my honesty will be evident for me later, when you come [for an accounting] concerning my wages. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and dark among the young lambs, if found with me, shall be considered stolen.”

Then he set the branches which he had peeled in front of the flocks in the watering troughs, where the flocks came to drink; and they mated and conceived when they came to drink.

but when the flock was sickly, he did not put the branches there; so the sicker [animals] were Laban’s and the stronger Jacob’s.