God also told them, "Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant that grows throughout the earth, along with every tree that grows seed-bearing fruit. They will produce your food.

I have given all green plants as food for every wild animal of the earth, every bird that flies, and to every living thing that crawls on the earth." And that is what happened.

but you are not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, because you will certainly die during the day that you eat from it."

Later, the LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make the woman to be an authority corresponding to him."

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.

So the man exclaimed, "At last! This is bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh. This one will be called "Woman,' because she was taken from Man."

(Therefore a man will leave his father and his mother and cling to his wife, and they will become one flesh.)

"but as for the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, God has said, "You are not to eat from it, nor are you to touch it, or you will die.'"

"You certainly will not die!" the Shining One told the woman.

"Even God knows that on the day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened and you'll become like God, knowing good and evil."

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."

It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you'll eat the plants from the meadows.

You will eat food by the sweat of your brow until you're buried in the ground, because you were taken from it. You're made from dust and you'll return to dust."

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?"

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

"You're driving me from the soil today. I'll be hidden from you, and I'll wander throughout the earth as a fugitive. In the future, whoever finds me will kill me."

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.

For if Cain is being avenged seven times, then Lamech will be avenged 77 times."

So the LORD said, "My Spirit won't remain with human beings forever, because they're truly mortal. Their lifespan will be 120 years."

So the LORD said, "I will annihilate these human beings whom I've created from the earth, including people, animals, crawling things, and flying creatures, because I'm grieving that I made them."

"For my part, I'm about to flood the earth with water and destroy every living thing that breathes. Everything on earth will die.

However, I will establish my own covenant with you, and you are to enter the ark you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives.

From birds according to their species, from domestic animals according to their species, and from everything that crawls on the ground according to their species two of everything will come to you so they may remain alive.

For your part, take some of the edible food and store it away these stores will be food for you and the animals."

along with every species of wild animal, livestock, crawling creature, bird, and every creature that has wings.

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.

"Never again, as long as the earth exists, will sowing and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night ever cease."

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.

Also, I will certainly demand an accounting regarding bloodshed, from every animal and from every human being. I'll demand an accounting from every human being for the life of another human being.

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."

I'll remember my covenant between me and you and every living creature, so that water will never again become a flood to destroy all living beings.

When the rainbow is in the clouds, I will observe it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living beings on the earth."

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

The LORD said, "Look! They are one people with the same language for all of them, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. Nothing that they have a mind to do will be impossible for them!

I'll make a great nation of your descendants, I'll bless you, and I'll make your reputation great, so that you will be a blessing.

I'll bless those who bless you, but I'll curse the one who curses you, and through you all the people of the earth will be blessed."

When the Egyptians see you, they will say, "She is his wife.' Then they'll kill me, but allow you to live.

Please say that you are my sister, so things will go well for me for your sake. That way, you'll be saving my life."

Isn't the whole land available to you? Let's separate: If you go to the left, then I will go to the right; if you go to the right, then I will go to the left."

that I will not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that belongs to you, so you won't be able to say, "I made Abram rich.'

I will take nothing except what my warriors have eaten. But as for what belongs to the men who were allied with me, including Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre, let them take their share."

A message came from the LORD to him again: "This one will not be your heir. Instead, the child who will be born to you will be your heir."

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?"

Then the LORD told Abram, "You can be certain about this: Your descendants will be foreigners in a land that isn't theirs. They will be slaves there and will be oppressed for 400 years.

However, I will judge the nation that they serve, and later they will leave there with many possessions.

Your descendants will return here in the fourth generation, since the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet run its course."

The angel of the LORD also told her, "I will greatly multiply your offspring, who will be too many to count.

"Look, you are pregnant and will give birth to a son," the angel of the LORD continued to say to her. "You will name him Ishmael, because the LORD has heard your cry of misery.

He'll be a wild donkey of a man. He'll be against everyone, and everyone will be against him. He will live in conflict with all of his relatives."

"Look, I've made a covenant with you. You will be the father of many nations.

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

I'm going to cause you to have many descendants, and I'll bring nations from you. Kings will come from you.

I'll give to you and to your descendants the land to which you have traveled all the land of Canaan as an eternal possession. I will be their God."

I will bless her. Furthermore, I will give you a son from her. I will bless her, so that nations, kings, and people will come from her."

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.

And as for Ishmael, I've heard you. I'll bless him, and he'll have many descendants. I will multiply him greatly, he'll father twelve tribal leaders, and I'll cause his descendants to become a great nation.

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."

Then one of them said, "I will certainly return to you in about a year's time. By then, your wife Sarah will have borne a son."

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."

"since Abraham's descendants will become a great and powerful nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him?

Abraham approached and asked, "Will you actually destroy the righteous along with the wicked?

Perhaps there are 50 righteous ones within the city. Will you actually destroy it and not forgive the place for the sake of the 50 righteous that are found there?

Far be it from you to do such a thing to kill the righteous along with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike! The Judge of all the earth will do what is right, won't he?"

What if there are five less than 50 righteous ones? Will you bring destruction upon the city because of those five?" The LORD said, "I won't destroy it if I find 45 there."

Abraham then asked, "I hope my LORD will not be angry if I speak. What if 30 are found there?" The LORD answered, "I won't do it for the sake of those 30."

Finally, Abraham inquired, "I hope my LORD will not be angry if I speak only once more. What if ten are found there?" He replied, "For the sake of those ten I won't destroy it."

As dawn was breaking, the angels pressured Lot. "Get going!" they told him. "Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be engulfed by the devastation that's coming to this city."

"Your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me your gracious love in how you have dealt with me by keeping me alive. I cannot escape to the hills, because I'm afraid the disaster will overtake me, and I'll die.

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

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."

Abimelech also told Sarah, "Look! I am giving your brother 1,000 pieces of silver to vindicate you in the eyes of all who are with you. As a result, you will be completely vindicated."

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

she told Abraham, "Throw out this slave girl, along with her son, because this slave's son will never be a co-heir with my son Isaac!"

Nevertheless, I will make the slave girl's son into a nation, since he, too, is your offspring."

Get up! Pick up the youth and grab his hand, because I will make a great nation of his descendants."

God said, "Please take your son, your unique son whom you love Isaac and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him as a burnt offering there on one of the mountains that I will point out to you."

Abraham answered, "God will provide himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son."

Abraham named that place, "The LORD Will Provide," as it is told this day, "On the LORD's mountain, he will provide."

I will certainly bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in heaven and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the gates of their enemies.

Furthermore, through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed my command."

"The LORD God of heaven, who brought me from my father's house and from my family's land, who spoke to me and promised me "I will give this land to your descendants,' will send his angel ahead of you, and you are to acquire a wife for my son from there.

"Abraham told me, "The LORD, who is with me wherever I go, will send his angel with you to make your journey successful. So you are to choose a wife for my son from my family, from my father's household.

Only then will you be released from fulfilling my oath. However, when you come to my family, if they don't give her to you, you'll be released from fulfilling my oath.'

So they called Rebekah and asked her, "Do you want to go with this man?" "I will go," she replied.

"Two nations are in your womb," the LORD responded, "and two separate people will emerge. One people will be the stronger, and the older one will serve the younger."

I'll cause you to have as many descendants as the stars of the heavens, and I'll certainly give all these lands to your descendants. Later on, through your descendants all the nations of the earth will bless one another.

Later on, the men of that place asked about his wife, so he replied, "She's my sister," because he was afraid to call her "my wife." He kept thinking, ""otherwise, the men around here will kill me on account of Rebekah, since she's very beautiful."

Then he left that area and dug still another well. Because they did not quarrel over that one, Isaac named it Rehoboth, because he used to say, "The LORD has enlarged the territory for us. We will prosper in the land."

At this, his father Isaac replied to him, "Look! Away from the fertile land will be your dwellings; away from the dew of the skies above.

Your descendants are going to become like the dust of the earth and spread out to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants.

and returns me safely to my father's house, then the LORD will be my God,

this stone that I've erected in the form of a pillar will be God's house, and I'll give you a tenth of everything that you give to me."

Leah conceived, bore a son, and named him Reuben, because she was saying, "The LORD had looked on my torture, so now my husband will love me."

Later, she conceived again and said, "This time my husband will become attached to me, now that I've borne him three sons." So he named him Levi.

She said, "How happy I am, because women will call me happy!" So she named him Asher.

Then Leah said, "God has given me a good gift. This time my husband will exalt me, because I've borne him six sons." So she named him Zebulun.

Jacob responded, "You don't have to give me anything. Just do this for me: Let me tend your flock again and watch over it. Let me walk among your flocks today and remove every speckled or spotted sheep, along with every black lamb, and let me do the same with the speckled and spotted goats. These will be my wages.

In the future, you'll be able to verify my honesty because, when you come to check what I've earned, if you find a goat that's not speckled or spotted or a sheep that's not black, then it will have been stolen by me."