When the earth was as yet unformed and desolate, with the surface of the ocean depths shrouded in darkness, and while the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters,

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

God saw that the light was beautiful. He separated the light from the darkness,

God called the dry ground "land," and he called the water that had come together "oceans." And God saw how good it was.

Vegetation sprouted all over the earth, including seed-bearing plants and fruit trees, each kind containing its own seed. And God saw that it was good.

to differentiate between day and night, and to distinguish light from darkness. And God saw how good it was.

So God created every kind of magnificent marine creature, every kind of living marine crawler with which the waters swarmed, and every kind of flying creature. And God saw how good it was.

God made each kind of the earth's animals, along with every kind of livestock and crawling thing. And God saw how good it was.

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

The LORD God caused every tree that is both beautiful and suitable for food to spring up out of the ground. The tree of life was also in the middle of the garden, along with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds that fly, and to each of earth's animals, but there was not found a strength corresponding to him,

When the man was asleep, he removed one of the man's ribs and closed up the flesh where it had been. Then the LORD God formed the rib that he had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man.

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."

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'?"

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

Whenthey heard the voice of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden during the breeze of the day, the man and his wife concealed themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

"I heard your voice in the garden," the man answered, "and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid from you."

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

Irad was born to Enoch. Irad fathered Mehujael, and Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech.

Later, Lamech married two wives. One was named Adah and the other was named Zillah.

His brother was named Jubal; he became the ancestor of all those who play the lyre and the flute.

Zillah gave birth to Tubal-cain, who became a forger of bronze and iron work. Tubal-cain's sister was Naamah.

communing with God and then he was there no longer, because God had taken him.

The LORD saw that human evil was growing more and more throughout the earth, with every inclination of people's thoughts becoming only evil on a continuous basis.

Then the LORD regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and he was deeply grieved about that.

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

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,

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.

By the twenty-seventh day of the second month, the ground was dry.

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.

along with Resen, which was located between Nineveh and the great city of Calah.

Shem, Japheth's older brother, also had descendants. Shem was the father of the descendants of Eber.

To Eber were born two sons. One was named Peleg, because the earth was divided during his lifetime. His brother was named Joktan.

There was a time when the entire earth spoke a common language with an identical vocabulary.

Therefore it was called Babylon, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth, and from there the LORD scattered them over the surface of the entire earth.

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, who was the father of Milcah and Iscah.

Sarai was barren, so she had not borne children.

So Abram left there, as the LORD had directed him, and Lot accompanied him. Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran.

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

When he was about to enter Egypt, he told his wife Sarai, "Look, I'm aware that you're a beautiful woman.

As Abram was entering Egypt, the Egyptians noticed how beautiful Sarai was.

Pharaoh summoned Abram and asked, "What have you done to me! Why didn't you tell me that she was your wife?

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

There was strife between the herdsmen in charge of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen in charge of Lot's livestock. Also, at that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land.

Lot looked around and noticed that the whole Jordan plain as far as Zoar was well-watered like the garden of the LORD or like the land of Egypt. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)

At the time when Amraphel was king of Shinar, Arioch was king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer was king of Elam, and Tidal was king of the Goiim,

they engaged in war against King Bera of Sodom, King Birsha of Gomorrah, King Shinab of Admah, King Shemeber of Zeboiim, along with the king of Bela (which was also known as Zoar).

Next they turned back and came to En-mishpat (which was also known as Kadesh) and conquered all the territory of the Amalekites, along with the Amorites who lived in Hazazon-tamar.

Then the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela (which was also known as Zoar) prepared for battle in the Valley of Siddim

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.

They also took Abram's nephew Lot captive, and confiscated his possessions, since he was living in Sodom.

Someone escaped, arrived, and reported what had happened to Abram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks belonging to Mamre the Amorite, whose brothers Eshcol and Aner were allied with Abram.

King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine, since he was serving as the priest of God Most High.

Abram believed the LORD, and it was credited to him as righteousness.

As the sun began to set, Abram was overcome with deep sleep, and suddenly a frightening and terrifying darkness descended on him.

When the sun had fully set and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a fiery torch passed between the animal pieces.

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

He had sex with Hagar, and she became pregnant. When she realized that she was pregnant, she looked with contempt on her mistress.

Then Sarai told Abram, "My suffering is your fault! I gave you my servant so you could have sex with her, and when she discovered that she was pregnant, she looked on me with contempt. May the LORD judge between you and me!"

That's why the spring was called, "The Well of the Living One who Looks after Me." It was between Kadesh and Bered.

Abram was 86 years old when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael for Abram.

When Abram was 99 years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and announced, "I am God Almighty. Live in constant awareness that I'm always with you, and be blameless.

Abraham was 99 years old when he was circumcised,

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

Every man born in his household as well as those who had been purchased with money from a foreigner was circumcised with him.

Later, the LORD appeared to Abraham by the oaks belonging to Mamre. As Abraham was sitting near the entrance to his tent during the hottest part of the day,

I'll have some water brought to wash your feet while you rest under the tree.

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.

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

The two angels entered Sodom at sunset while Lot was sitting in the gate area of the city. When Lot saw them, he got up, greeted them, bowed low with his face to the ground,

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."

Lot then went out and told his sons-in-law (they had married his daughters), "Get out of here! The LORD is going to destroy this city!" But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.

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."

Hurry up and flee there, because I cannot do anything until you get to that town." Therefore the name of the town was called Zoar.

And so it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham and brought Lot out from the midst of the destruction when he overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.

Later on, Lot and his two daughters abandoned Zoar and settled in the hills because Lot was afraid to live in Zoar. He lived there in a cave, along with his two daughters.

So they had their father drink wine that night, and the older one had sexual relations with her father, but he was not aware when she lay down or when she got up.

So they made their father drink wine that night as well, so he was not aware when she lay down or when she got up.

Abraham traveled from there to the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he was living in Gerar as an outsider,

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.

Abraham named his son who was born to him Isaac the very one whom Sarah bore for him!

Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

The child grew and eventually was weaned, so Abraham threw a tremendous banquet on the very day Isaac was weaned.

Abraham was very troubled about what was being said about his son,

God was with the boy as he grew up. He settled in the wilderness and became an expert archer.

Therefore that place was called Beer-sheba, because the two of them swore an oath.

Sarah lived for 127 years. That's how long Sarah's life was.

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:

That's how Ephron's field in Machpelah, east of Mamre the field, the cave that was in it, and all the trees that were within the boundaries of the field came to be deeded

to Abraham in the presence of all the Hittites and everyone who was entering the city gate.

And so the field with its cave was deeded by the Hittites to Abraham as a burial site.

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

So Abraham instructed his servant, who was the oldest member of his household and in charge of everything he owned, "Make this solemn oath to me

Before he had finished speaking, Rebekah appeared. She was a daughter of Milcah's son Bethuel. (Milcah was the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor.) She approached the well, carrying a jug on her shoulder.

The woman was very beautiful, young, and had not had sexual relations with a man. Going down to the spring, she filled her jug and turned for home.

And so it was, as soon as he saw the nose ring and bracelets on his sister's wrists, and as soon as he heard what his sister Rebekah was saying about what the man had spoken to her, he went out to the man who was still standing by the camels at the spring!